Zac Ryan is a 6-foot-2 inch, 190lb junior RHP/3B out of Andrean HS, and is also a member of the 17U Indiana Prospects.  Ryan verbally committed to Georgia Tech this past week, but the decision was an extremely tough one as the University of Oregon offered an equal opportunity combined with a great coaching staff, and North Carolina provided an amazing campus and a baseball rich tradition. In the end, Georgia Tech was too good to pass up. Ryan’s final decision came down to Georgia Tech traditionally being a top 10 program in the country, their high academic standards, its closer to home than the other schools, and most importantly the strong connection with the coaching staff.  At Georgia Tech Ryan will be given the opportunity to both pitch and play the field.

Last year for Andrean Ryan was 9-2 on the mound with an ERA of 1.8 to go along with 80 strikeouts in 60 innings pitched.  At the plate he hit .400, had 48 RBI and hit seven home runs. Andrean lost last year in the regional finals to eventual state runner-up Mishawaka Marion.  Expectations at Andrean will be high in 2012 as they only graduated a couple of key contributors from last year’s team.  Andrean is one of only a few teams expected to make a strong run to the 2012 State Championship. 

Andrean head coach Dave Pishkur and Ryan’s pitching coach John Coddington have played big roles in Ryan’s development.  Pishkur has been Ryan’s high school coach and has provided a great workout program, routine, and an opportunity to blossom during his high school career.  Coddington has been Ryan’s pitching coach since he was 7 years old and deserves a lot of credit for Ryan’s early success. 

This upcoming summer, Ryan will once again play for the 17U Indiana Prospects and head coach Shane Stout.  “Coach Stout and the Indiana Prospects have put me in front of more college coaches than I think any other program could have. He has done everything for me, and without him I would not be going to Georgia Tech.”  The Indiana Prospects now feature 4 out of the 5 committed 2013’s in the state of Indiana including Ryan (Georgia Tech), Trey Ball (Texas), Nolan Rogers (Duke), and Josh Rogers (Louisville).

Two weeks ago Ryan attended his second Prep Baseball Report Super 60 event.  Compared to last year he was both bigger and stronger, looking much more physical.  On the mound he showed an electric arm touching 91 mph with his fastball.  He was consistently 88-90 mph and showed a good changeup along with a breaking ball that is still progressing.  “The Super 60 is a very nerve-racking and humbling event.  I have never been to an event with so many professional scouts in attendance.”

For now Ryan is strongly committed to play at Georgia Tech in 2013. However, he still holds out hope of hearing his name called early during the 2013 MLB Draft, and if that happens will reevaluate his future of playing the game of baseball.  His main goals for this year is to continue improving as a pitcher and help lead the Andrean 59ers to a state title.