LOS ANGELES, CA – From humble beginnings to World Series Champion, Menlo Baseball alumni William Ireton now finds himself sharing the global spotlight alongside one of the greatest professional baseball players ever, serving as an interpreter for four-time National League Most Valuable Player Shohei Ohtani in the role of Director of Japanese Player Operations & Strategy with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Originally from Tokyo, the Ireton family moved to Hawaii where a 15-year-old Will played high school baseball for Mid-Pacific Institute in Honolulu. He had a brief stay at Occidental College before transferring to Menlo where he continued to pursue his baseball dream, persevering through injury and playing in more than 20 games while boasting a .350 career batting average. President of the Japan Club on campus and a variety of academic awards, he would emerge as a Class of 2012 graduate with a bachelor's degree in International Business, punctuating his time as Menlo's valedictorian that year.

"With its small campus and tight-knit student body, Menlo was a perfect fit," Ireton said in his valedictorian speech. "I was able to find balance in my college life – getting to know professors who were generous with their time."

An opportunity to play for the Philippines National Team came mere months after Ireton delivered that speech as he competed in the 2012 Asian Cup then subsequently for Team Philippines at the 2012 World Baseball Classic Qualifying Round in Taiwan. Simultaneously utilizing his array of skills and foreshadowing his future, Ireton served as an interpreter for one of his Japanese teammates and coaches on the squad.

It was not long before internships with both the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees had Ireton beginning to make his way into the realm of Major League Baseball. He spent one more year building his international network by assisting Japanese MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball players with Yoshimoto Sports and Entertainment as well as handling a variety of responsibilities including scouting for Team Philippines in the 2016 World Baseball Classic Qualifier. These experiences would all combine into what became a life-changing opportunity with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"Be the master of your fate, follow your dreams, be a nonconformist, it's the process that matters not always the results," Ireton said in his valedictorian speech. "These are some of the slogans that I used during my stay at Menlo."

Initially a translator for Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda, Ireton progressed to Development Coach, Coordinator then Manager of Performance Operations before ultimately earning his current title of Director of Japanese Player Operations & Strategy in 2023. Affectionately known as "Will the Thrill" in the clubhouse, Ireton has seen his responsibilities expand as he now manages daily processes, analytics, and both domestic and international scouting.

"There's always players coming from Japan and so [Will] always liaises on stuff like that ... and we count on him for a lot of things," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. "He's like a hired gun, so whether it's the minor leagues, a potential draftee, a potential trade or stuff that internally for that night's game or kind of looking or projecting down the road and establishing, you know, building on relationships that we have in Japan, he's the point person for the Dodgers."

From early days of chasing a dream in Atherton to now multiple World Series Championships in professional baseball, Ireton's bright future is open to just one interpretation – his own.