Wyomissing’s Ryker Jones facing long rehab after injury in final game
Wyomissing could be without one of the Lancaster-Lebanon League’s top players when next season opens.
Ryker Jones, a Section 4 all-league linebacker as a junior, faces a long rehab after a knee injury in the Spartans’ season-ending 20-17 loss to Neumann-Goretti in the PIAA Class 3A semifinals.
Jones suffered a torn ACL and sprained MCL in his left knee midway through the third quarter, the Spartans leading 10-7.
He returned to the field and finished the game but — coincidentally or not — the Spartans defense had trouble getting off the field after that. Goretti finished the game with a 19-play drive that was stopped on downs and then touchdowns on its final two possessions, the last with eight seconds left to win it 20-17.
Jones is scheduled to have surgery Jan. 13; he faces a rehabilitation process that generally takes nine months.
That means he’ll miss his junior baseball season with the Spartans and with the Berks Bulls, an elite summer program.
He also won’t be able to participate in spring and summer on-campus prospect camps, critical for rising seniors.
Jones was active last summer on the camp circuit and his name is out there.
He received an offer to play at the U.S. Military Academy in mid-November, visited the West Point campus in early December and was invited to and attended the Army-Navy game.
Earlier, he had a visit to Penn State. He’s also had significant interest from Ivy League schools.
Without the injury the 6-foot, 190-pound inside linebacker would’ve received numerous scholarship offers this spring and summer. Now college recruiters are likely to hold off.
Based on his junior film college coaches will be see plenty. He’s a sideline-to-sideline ‘backer and big hitter — Spartans coach Bob Wolfrum calls one of the best hitters he’s had.
Jones led the Spartans with 84 tackles — 35 more than the next guy. He was named Body Zone Physical Therapy Defensive Player of the Week three times — no one else was named more than once.
Jones is also a devastating blocker and figured to be one of the Spartans’ top ballcarriers next season. They need to replace their starting backfield of fullback Matt Kramer and halfbacks Drew Eisenhower and Charlie McIntyre. Jones averaged 7.8 yards per carry this season.
He’ll be missed just as much in baseball. He batted a team-leading .382 as a sophomore with a team-high 15 RBIs in 18 games. He had a 1.015 OPS and his .545 slugging percentage was among Berks League leaders, as were his 10 stolen bases.
