Ryan McKenna was an All-State athlete in soccer and baseball. He attended St. Edward High School for two years, then transferred to Larkin High where he graduated in 2000. McKenna was an All-State soccer player in 1998 and 1999. During his soccer career, he scored 105 goals (tied for 14th place in IHSA records at that time). In addition, Ryan was All-Area four times, set the record for most goals scored at Larkin, and once scored five goals in one game (1999). In baseball, McKenna was named to the Chicago Tribune All-State Team in 2000. In addition, he was selected to the IBCA All-Chicagoland Team in both his junior and senior years. As a sophomore, Ryan hit .516 with a .779 slugging percentage and did not strike out once all season. In his junior year, he batted .500 with six home runs, 30 runs batted in, and 64 runs scored (4th in state). McKenna hit 14 home runs and had 48 RBI in his senior season, with a .462 average and a 26 game hitting streak. Ryan attended Arizona State University and played three years for the Sun Devils baseball team. He had a career average of .286 and tied the record for fielding with a 1.000 average, having made no errors in his ASU baseball career.