Round Rock Express RHP Ryder Ryan Added to Team USA Roster for Upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games
ROUND ROCK, Texas – Ryder Ryan is heading to Tokyo! USA Baseball announced the team’s 24-man roster for the upcoming 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan on Friday morning, which includes Round Rock Express RHP Ryder Ryan. The Huntersville, North Carolina native has spent the duration of the 2021 season
ROUND ROCK, Texas – Ryder Ryan is heading to Tokyo! USA Baseball announced the team’s 24-man roster for the upcoming 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan on Friday morning, which includes Round Rock Express RHP Ryder Ryan.
The Huntersville, North Carolina native has spent the duration of the 2021 season with Round Rock, combining to go 1-2 with a 3.72 ERA (8 ER/19.1 IP) in 17 relief appearances. Ryan has struck out 22 and walked 13 while holding opponents to a .240 batting average. He has also tallied a pair of saves during his time in an E-Train uniform. He set a season high with four strikeouts in 1.1 shutout innings of relief on June 5 against El Paso. The reliever also tossed a perfect 1-2-3 inning in last night’s contest against Sugar Land.
Ryan was acquired by the Texas Rangers on December 18, 2020 as the player to be named later in a trade with the New York Mets that sent fellow Team USA INF Todd Frazier to New York. The 26-year-old was originally selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 30th round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of the University of North Carolina. In five Minor League seasons, Ryan has combined to go 11-11 with a 3.56 ERA (75 ER/189.2 IP), 207 strikeouts and 82 walks in 140 games. He owns a career .231 opponent batting average to go along with a 1.29 WHIP.
The righty was previously named a Midwest League All-Star while pitching for Class-A Lake County in 2017 before being traded from the Indians to the Mets for OF Jay Bruce in August of that year. He was also named a Florida State League All-Star with High-A St. Lucie in 2018. Ryan made his Triple-A debut with Round Rock earlier this summer.
Congratulations to Ryder Ryan on being selected to play for @USABaseball in the 2021 Olympics! #ForGlory🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/lld7GfAiob
— Rangers Player Development (@TEXPlayerDev) July 2, 2021
Led by Manager Mike Scioscia, Ryan and his Team USA counterparts will depart for the USA Baseball National Training Complex in his home state of North Carolina on Friday, July 16 before a three-game exhibition series against the USA Baseball National Collegiate Team from July 18-20.
Team USA is one of six nations competing for a gold medal as baseball returns to the Olympic Games for the first time since 2008. Joining the United States in Tokyo will be the Dominican Republic, Israel, Japan, Korea and Mexico. Play begins with a group round consisting of two pools of three nations each. Team USA is slotted in Group B alongside Israel and South Korea. Each team plays each other once to determine seeding for the double-elimination knockout round. The final two teams standing after the knockout round then face off in a single-elimination gold medal game on Saturday, August 7.
The Olympic baseball tournament begins on Wednesday, July 28 before Team USA takes the field for the first time in a showdown with Israel on Friday, July 30 at 5:00 a.m. CDT. The Americans will later face Korea on Saturday, July 31 at 5:00 a.m. CDT.
Ryan will be joined on Team USA by three other Round Rock alumni, RHP Anthony Carter (2016), INF Patrick Kivlehan (2016) and RHP Nick Martinez (2015-2017). The only other player in Express history to represent the United States in the Olympic Games was RHP Roy Oswalt during the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia, where the Americans topped Cuba 4-0 to win the country’s first and only baseball gold medal. Rosters for the remaining teams participating in the 2021 Olympic Games are expected to be announced in the coming days.
The team that will bring home Olympic gold #ForGlory🇺🇸
— USA Baseball (@USABaseball) July 2, 2021
See you in #Tokyo2020: https://t.co/L9ApiIgXxK pic.twitter.com/51LEnyte85
Meanwhile in Round Rock, Ryan and his Express teammates continue a six-game series against the Sugar Land Skeeters (Houston Astros affiliate) on Friday at 7:05 p.m. at Dell Diamond. The Express and Skeeters are set to face off each night through July 6, with postgame fireworks shows planned for July 2, July 3 and July 4.
Single game tickets as well as full season and mini season membership plans are on sale now. For more information about the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Subscribe to the E-Train email newsletter and keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!
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