Ward named ABCA Second Team All-American

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Bryant University baseball redshirt freshman Ryan Ward (Millbury, Mass.) has been selected as a second team honoree to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings Division I All-America team, announced by the ABCA on Saturday morning.

After putting together one of the greatest seasons in program history, Ward is now the most decorated player in DI program history. With his selection to the ABCA All-American team, Ward has received All-American citations from three different outlets and freshman All-American honors from three others. Ward was also named the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Co-National Freshman Player of the Year.  

Highlighted by a program-record 30-game hitting streak, Ward enjoyed a prolific spring for the Bulldogs. He broke the program record for hits in a single season with 101 and became the first player in DI program history to hit over .400 in a single season. He posted 22 doubles, five triples, eight home runs, a program-record 150 total bases and struck out just 10 times on the year. He also drove in 52 runs and scored 51 times, becoming just the third player in DI program history to drive in 50+ runs and score 50+ runs in the same season. Currently, he ranks first nationally in hits per game, third in hits and fourth in batting average.

Ward became the first player in Northeast Conference baseball history to win Player and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season and is just the second player in DI program history to earn Second Team All-American honors from the ABCA.