Valley Village Boy Make Jr. Olympic Baseball Team, Competing in Pan Am Games next week

Tyler Ganus  
Team USA 12U 
 Before he was born, and his parents were picking out a name, his dad liked it because it sounded like a good baseball name.  But Tyler B. Ganus almost didn’t get a chance to play baseball at all. Just after his second birthday, Tyler fell victim to a rare blood disease called Aplastic Anemia, and spent the next two years in and out of Children’s Hospital LA, receiving multiple transfusions, and fighting 18 months of chemo therapy.
     Now, he is often referred to as, “Who’s the long-haired kid that’s throwing all that heat?” 
     That’s because the 12-year-old has worked very hard to become one of the elite 18 players selected to play for Team USA and represent his country in the 2014 Pan American games in Mazatlan, Mexico next week.Tyler doesn’t take anything for granted, and plays full-out in everything he does.
 The selection process this year for Team USA started with thousands of boys, and took the best of the best from regional screenings all over the country, then progressed to several rounds of intense, pressure-packed scrimmages and drills here in California, all under the scrutiny of radar gun and stop-watch toting coaches.  In the final trial weekend, Tyler was clocked on the radar gun pitching in the 70’s during one game, and set the fastest time in the 30-meter dash during the skills tests for the entire 12U group-a blistering 4.1 seconds. 

      The right handed hitting and throwing Ganus came up through the Toluca Baseball PONY league, starting T-Ball at age 4, fresh out of the hospital.   A natural, he became an All-Star every year from Shetland thru Pinto, and Tyler developed into a 5-tool player thru not only practicing baseball almost everyday, but with Extreme Martial Arts training, and a cutting edge nutritional system to rebuild his body. 
      He started out as a first baseman and catcher, then was groomed into a pitcher by several outstanding coaches; Jim Wagner, Ethan Katz, and Steven Messner.  Past Titan/Clash Manager Trent Cooper and Current Manager, Chris Antariksa, both recognized Tyler’s combination of foot speed and arm strength, and with the help of Coach Scott Hong, have recently converted Ganus into a premier outfielder for the L.A. Clash Travel Baseball Club, as well.  
     Tyler hits for power and average, and in last summer’s Park City, Utah, 10U D1 Triple Crown World Series, in the 5 games the Clash played, he batted .574, with an OBP. of .647, and a whopping SLG. of 1.933 with 2 HR’s, 3 doubles, and 2 intentional walks. The previous year, he was recruited by the Tomateros, and helped them win the 9U D1 Triple Crown World Series in Steamboat Springs, CO. This summer, was named as a first team All-American for Travelball Select, and helped his LA Clash team win the Challenge Cup Championship at the Travelball Championship Series in Atlanta, GA, clubbing three home runs in that prestigious tournament. He was also was selected to the USSSA All-American Far West team that will play in the All American Games at ESPN's Wide World of Sports Event in Orlando, Fl, July 31-Aug 3rd.


     Tyler’s interests lie not only in Baseball, but also in entertainment and leadership.  Growing up in a household with two actors as parents and an older sister in ‘the biz’, as well, he has had a great environment where he can also work hard to develop his skills as an actor, singer, keyboard player, dancer, and voice artist. That work has paid off for him; he has been heard as a voice actor in several feature films, including ‘Wreck it Ralph” and “Monsters University”, while recently having had an acting role on Nickelodeon’s “Sam and Cat” TV show, and has starred in several musical stage productions at his school. 



     He was also the President of his Elementary School Student Council, chosen to go to Washington, DC recently for a leadership program, and turned his 11th birthday party into a fundraiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, whom he now represents as a Youth Ambassador. (see the link below)
 


Off the field, Tyler is an engaging, easy going kid who is quick to smile, and loves to tell jokes and perform card tricks. On the field, he never takes a pitch off, no matter where he is playing. He is as competitive as can be, and is not afraid to bring that 70 mph two-seamer in on a hitter’s hands from the mound, or throw out a runner trying to score with a laser from right field, or take that hanging slider over the left field fence from the batter's box. 
"He’s just fun to watch, no matter what he’s doing."  


Tyler Ganus on KTLA News Channel 5