Keoni Ruth's dream of playing pro ball was delayed when he attended class at the University of San Diego about 11 months ago. The 2003 Kamehameha Schools graduate — The Advertiser's high school Player of the Year — was drafted in the 17th round by the Kansas City Royals last year. But when he could not reach an agreement on a bonus, he opted for USD, where he had signed a letter of intent.

"It was tough," he said of his decision. "I definitely wanted to play pro ball. I talked it over with my family and we felt going to school was a better thing to do."

Instead of dwelling on what might have been had he signed the pro contract, Ruth went on to have an impressive freshman season for the Toreros, who finished 35-21. He was in the team's top five in six offensive categories. He led in steals with 14 (in 15 attempts), batted .342 (fifth), and had two triples (tied for second), five home runs (fifth), 77 hits (third) and 47 runs (fourth).

"I just had to get adjusted to seeing good pitching every day," Ruth said of his success. "Once I started being more disciplined, I started seeing the ball better, started to use the opposite field a little bit and then I started getting hits."

Ruth started in 55 games, all at second base. He was primarily a shortstop during high school, but smoothly made the transition.

One of Ruth's highlights came early in the season in a tournament hosted by San Diego State at Petco Park, the San Diego Padres' new stadium. Ruth broke a 3-all game with a solo home run to left-center in the Torero's 7-3 win against then-No. 8 Long Beach State. It was his first collegiate home run.

"It was awesome," Ruth said. "In fact, it was good because my family came up for the weekend. I got a hold of that one pretty good. I knew I had it. I was real fortunate."

His blast turned out to be in one of the toughest parks to hit a home run in the major leagues.

Despite his success as a freshman, Ruth said there is room for improvement, especially if he wants to better his stock by the end of his junior season, when he becomes eligible for the draft again.

"I'm working hard to have that happen," he said. "I'm trying to make myself a well-rounded player, to try to not have any weaknesses in my game and show the scouts that I'm getting better, getting stronger, getting faster."

Ruth said he wants to work on his consistency and plate discipline.

"The power will come a little later," he said. "Right now, I just have to be a consistent hitter."

Ruth is keeping his skills sharp by playing for the Island Movers. They will host the International Goodwill Tournament, which starts today. The Movers will play San Mateo (Calif.) at 6 tonight.

The Movers will then host the Hawai'i International Baseball Championship Tournament, Aug. 5 to 8, against teams from Japan and a team from O'ahu featuring former pro and college players.

The Movers are 10-5-3. Earlier this month, they played games in Japan and South Korea.