UNCP's Ryan set for pro baseball, chance to be two-way player

Jul. 15—PEMBROKE — It's quite a feat just to be selected in the Major League Baseball Draft. It's even more rare to get the chance to compete professionally as a two-way player.

After a great career as both a pitcher and a second baseman at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke, the San Diego Padres organization will give River Ryan that chance after selecting him in the 11th round of the draft.

"I'm excited," Ryan said. "They drafted me as a pitcher, and they texted me (Wednesday) morning and they want me to be a two-way player; they want me to hit, play a position and pitch. It's always been a dream of mine to be a professional hitter and position player, so the fact that that's coming true is really heartwarming."

The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Ryan was 5-1 with six saves and a 3.66 ERA in 2021, striking out 68 batters in 51 2/3 innings pitched. The Huntersville native started the season without allowing a run over his first 10 appearances, over a span of 18 2/3 innings; he moved from the closer's role to the starting rotation in the season's stretch run to pitch more innings as the Braves chased, and ultimately won, their first regular-season conference title in program history.

For his UNCP career, Ryan was 8-1 with 12 saves and a 2.32 ERA.

At the plate, Ryan hit .349 this season with nine homers and 51 RBIs and a .985 OPS. He was a career .343 hitter for the Braves with 12 homers and 119 RBIs.

"I couldn't be more excited for him or his family at this point, to be able to realize the boyhood dream of getting an opportunity to play professional baseball is just outstanding for him," UNCP coach Paul O'Neil said. "I guess he's going to start off as a two-way guy, and I guess they'll go from there, and I guess they'll figure out which one they like better."

Ryan said he was expecting to be drafted during Monday's portion of the draft, the second to 10th rounds, because the Padres had called the redshirt-junior and asked if the he would take their signing offer if he was drafted. Ryan wasn't picked Monday, but instead in the 11th round on Tuesday when the draft resumed.

"Day three came along, and I was sitting there watching it, and they were getting to the last five picks of the 11th round, and I was like 'well, I guess I've got to wait for next round,' and then sure enough my name pops up in the 11th round under San Diego, and then they called me afterwards and we talked about the deal then," Ryan said. "It was a little unorthodox way of getting drafted, I guess you could say."

That was the culmination of the draft process in which Ryan says he got phone calls from many different pro scouts in the last week before the draft began.

"Emotional-wise, leading up to the draft is obviously very nerve-racking, because you don't know when you're going to go," Ryan said. "You get all these area scouts telling you, 'I see you going as high as the second round, not going past the 10th round. ... It was just a pretty nerve-racking experience, but as soon as your name gets called, all those nerves go away and your heart gets filled with excitement and joy."

O'Neil says the Padres are getting a quality individual and a "generational talent" in Ryan.

"This kid's makeup is off the chart; on that side of things I can't say enough nice things about him or his family and what he's going to bring to an organization from a personal standpoint," O'Neil said. "He's one of those kids that, as a coach, you can something to him, and by verbally explaining something to him he can then picture it in his mind and has enough body awareness to be able to emulate the skill that you're trying to do and be able to make that adjustment. It was very easy to coach River."

Ryan was UNCP's first draft pick since Jordan Edgerton was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the ninth round in 2014. He was the only player to compete in the Peach Belt Conference this spring who was selected.

"The whole Peach Belt Conference had a lot of draftable guys, a lot of talent, but it's just fortunate," Ryan said. "To be able to represent UNC Pembroke going in the draft, I think that's pretty special. I spent every year of college there; went through some highs and lows, dealing with injury, and just trying to get back on the field. And finally when I was able to get back on the field and throw a full season, luckily I was draft-eligible and it worked out."

"It's great for our program," O'Neil said. "I feel like we've had other quality players also in the program that have done some great things, but I think it's a nice accolade for the program to have a kid selected, especially when the (draft) rounds are so limited. To have one of the few Division-II players selected in the country — I'm ecstatic for him and his family, it's just a bonus for our program."

Ryan will report to the Padres' facility in Peoria, Arizona on Sunday for a COVID-19 test and a physical, then will begin workouts with the Padres organization before they decide which minor-league level he will be assigned to; his most likely destinations are the Lake Elsinore Storm in California (high-A), the Fort Wayne Tin Caps in Indiana (low-A), the Tri-City Dust Devils in Washington (A-short season) or the Padres' Arizona League rookie team.

"I'm ecstatic, man," Ryan said. "I can't wait to get started."

Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at [email protected] You can follow him on Twitter at @StilesOnSports.