Meet Karina Choi, Softball’s American Ninja Warrior

Karina Choi wasn’t sure how to tell her new travel ball teammates about what she did before she started focusing on softball. After all, it’s not super common to step on the field with a Ninja Warrior.

Choi realized her teammates found out when they approached her one day at practice. They had done an internet search and saw highlights of Choi and her dad, Jimmy, competing on obstacle courses.

Choi and her family have made multiple appearances on the reality game show American Ninja Warrior. Her dad first appeared on the show in 2017 and has competed in seven straight seasons. Choi competed in American Ninja Warrior Junior in 2018 at age 11. They teamed with her aunt to do the family special in 2022.

Although Choi thought she was done with her appearances, the Illinois native joined her dad for a return to America Ninja Warrior this past fall. The episode will air during the spring. Her teammates from Chicago Cheetahs Connolly got an up-close look at all the action.

“They were actually on my sideline for this past one, so they’ve always been super supportive and excited about it,” said Choi, a 2025 recruit who has committed to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. “One of my teammates actually came with me when I was training for it.”

Choi started playing softball a little later than most other high-level players, but quickly fell in love with the sport. By 2020, she knew she’d have to choose between softball and her Ninja Warrior competitions. 

“I thought about it for a month. I was losing sleep and crying over it,” she said. “But I thought about it, and they’re so different, and I really like the team sport, and I really wanted to go to college for softball.”

Choi joined her first travel team at age 14. Until that season, she had never played outfield and only hit from the right side.

“When I got there, they said, ‘Okay, you’re really fast, so you’re gonna turn around and hit lefty and you’re never gonna hit righty again,’” she said. “I don’t actually really know why I was so hesitant about the outfield. Once I realized I have space to move, there was no reason I should not want that. It’s been great for me.”

Choi wanted to attend college on the West Coast and researched several possibilities. After emailing the coaches at Cal Poly, she received an invitation to attend a camp.

“That went really well for me. I was really lucky that they noticed me and asked me back for a visit,” she said. “I loved everything about it. I knew I needed to go there.”

Choi never completely abandoned her America Ninja Warrior roots. She still has a course in her basement and backyard that came in handy once she committed to start training again last fall.

“I actually did not think it was gonna happen, because after we stepped away, we would only go to events every now and then just to have some fun and see some old teammates,” she said. “But I never thought about seriously competing, because honestly those nerves are nothing like softball.”

Her dad, however, made Choi promise that if the show returned for another season, they would compete together again before the Bolingbrook High senior leaves for college. Choi was the person who first encouraged her dad to try out for America Ninja Warrior.

“I went to my little cousin’s softball game, and my dad called me and said, ‘you won’t believe this, but Season 17 is coming back,’” Choi said. “That’s when it hit me that we’d have to go through the whole video submission process again and I have to start training, because that’s a different kind of endurance. Moving your body that way is completely different.”

Choi’s dad is an inspirational figure to many. He was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson’s disease at age 27 and physical activity has become an outlet to help manage the physical and mental ramifications. Along with doing Ninja Warrior competitions, he runs marathons, ultramarathons, and cycles.

The Choi family hosts a 5K every year to raise money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

“He’s always been really great at managing it. I know it’s hard, but he’s still always going to be my best friend,” Choi said. “Even though it really affects his movement, he’s always found time to play catch with me or go hit a bucket of balls. He’s always been my No. 1 supporter.”