PEMBROKE – River Ryan joined an elite list of current and former UNC Pembroke baseball players on Tuesday afternoon when the Huntersville native was selected in the 11th round (340th pick) of the 2021 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft by the San Diego Padres.
 
Ryan becomes the 14th player in program history to be drafted by an MLB organization, joining such names as Mike Carruthers (selected in both the 1966 and 1968 drafts) and Torrey Pettitford who was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1994 edition. Ryan is the third MLB draftee to have played collegiate ball under head coach Paul O'Neil, and is the first UNCP baseball player to be drafted since 2014 when the Atlanta Braves selected Jordan Edgerton in the ninth round.
 
Jason Morales was picked in the 24^th round by the Kansas City Royals in the 2008 MLB Draft. Morales played for O'Neil and the Braves from 2005-08.
 
A three-year starter and 2021 all-America selection by two different organizations, Ryan made 35 appearances (7 starts) on the mound for the Black & Gold over his collegiate career, registering an 8-1 record, a 2.32 earned run average and 12 saves. He struck out 114 batters in 93.0 innings pitched over the last three seasons, and held opponents to a paltry .198 batting average.
 
An everyday starter for the Braves at second base in 2021 as well, Ryan exits Pembroke with a .343 (182-for-530) career batting average that complements 56 extra-base hits (12 HR), 119 RBI and 144 runs scored. He earned All-Peach Belt Conference honors in 2021 at second base, relief pitcher and utility player.
 

UNC PEMBROKE MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL DRAFT SELECTIONS
Year	Player	MLB Team	Round	Pick #
2021	River Ryan	San Diego Padres	11	340
2014	Jordan Edgerton	Atlanta Braves	9	283
2008	Jason Morales	Kansas City Royals	24	715
1994	Torrey Pettitford	Philadelphia Phillies	13	366
1991	Jeff Locklear	San Francisco Giants	54	1,373
1989	Stephen Matchett	Detroit Tigers	35	915
1974	Ron Norman	Texas Rangers	5	98
1970	Ronnie Collins	New York Mets	4	96
1969	Melvin Williams	Washington Senators	7	145
1969	Greg Allen	New York Mets	33	758
1968	Mike Carruthers	Cleveland Indians	15	330
1966	Richard Thompson	Los Angeles Dodgers	3	59
1966	William Davis	Cleveland Indians	5	92
1966	Mike Carruthers	Cleveland Indians	25	492