The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Ryan Wesson Joins UAB Baseball
11/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The UAB baseball team welcomes Ryan Wesson (Baldwyn, Miss./Northeast Mississippi CC) as the latest addition to its recruiting class. The JUCO pitcher should have an immediate role when he steps on campus next fall.
“We lose five key pitchers from our 2017 team, so it was important to add a junior college pitcher who had two years of collegiate experience in this recruiting class,” said UAB head coach Brian Shoop. “We are thrilled to add Ryan Wesson. Ryan is a strike thrower and has the makings of a big time breaking ball. Ryan is another perfect match in every way. He is a great student as is evidenced by his being named Phi Theta Kappa at Northeast. Ryan is also an incredible young man off the field, a young man Coach Richy Harrelson call his ‘best guy’ and a ‘winner in every way.’”
Wesson was strong in his freshman year at Northeast Mississippi. He ranked in the top 20 nationally in ERA (2.21) while posting a 6-4 record with 61 strikeouts over 61 innings.
Wesson owns a laundry list of accomplishments at the high school level. He won a State Championship in 2015 with the Tupelo 49ers of the American Legion and was a First Team All-State selection that year (his senior year) after holding a .369 batting average to pair with a 6-2 record on the mound while allowing only two earned runs in 47.1 innings.
“Certainly Ryan is a winner on the field too,” stated Shoop. “An All-State Pitcher and 2A Player of the Year, Ryan stuck out 69 hitters in 47 IP when he pitched for Shannon Smith at Baldwyn High School. He also was a key member of the State champion Tupelo American Legion. At Northeast, he again shined posting the 17th-best ERA in the country.”
Additionally, Wesson was inducted into the Baldwyn High School Athletic Hall of Fame as a two-sport athlete, where he also played basketball and was a part of the 2012-13 squad that won the state championship.
“We love great athletes on the mound and Ryan is certainly that,” said Shoop. “We know that Ryan will be a tremendous addition to UAB and our baseball program.”
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