University of Houston Athletics
Wagner Named First-Team All-American by Baseball America
6/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 19, 2003
HOUSTON - University of Houston reliever Ryan Wagner was named a First-Team All-American on Thursday by the editors of Baseball America magazine.
It was the third First-Team All-America honor that the sophomore righthander received during the 2003 postseason. He was named to similar teams by Collegiate Baseball magazine and the American Baseball Coaches Association.
The Yoakum, Texas, native emerged as one of the nation's finest closers in 2003. He ranked among the national leaders with a UH-record 15 saves this season and broke a 39-year-old NCAA Division I record with 16.8 strikeouts per nine innings.
In only 79.1 innings of work, he compiled 148 strikeouts, the third-highest mark in UH single-season history. He also added a 6-5 record with a 1.93 ERA to lead the UH staff in the final category.
He became one of the first players in school history to be drafted in the first round in Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft when he was taken with the 14th pick overall by the Cincinnati Reds
Wagner and starter Brad Sullivan also became the first teammates to throw more than 100 strikeouts each in the same season and combined for 302 strikeouts, the highest total by a Cougar pitching combo in school history.
