FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Thursday, May 18, 2017 Myers claims NCBWA All-Region honors
After a power-packed 2017 season, MSUB baseball slugger Ryan Myers is selected as an NCBWA all-region first baseman. BILLINGS, Mont. – After leading the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with an on-base percentage of .474, Montana State University Billings first baseman Ryan Myers has earned National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association all-west region honors announced the organization Thursday. Myers led the Yellowjackets and ranked third in the conference with 11 home runs, and tied for third in the league with 38 RBIs in his first year with the team. “This is a well-deserved honor, and Ryan had an outstanding junior season for us,” commented MSUB head coach Aaron Sutton. “Anyone that played us saw the threat he was day-in and day-out, and he had good offensive production all year.” The Walnut Creek, Calif., native posted the second-highest slugging percentage in MSUB history in 2017, finishing with a mark of .631 to rank second in the GNAC. He batted .300 overall with 10 doubles and 37 runs scored in 44 games.
Myers’ lofty on-base percentage was fueled by a conference-high 16 times hit by pitch, and the sixth most walks in the league with 26. He twice had consecutive games reached base streaks of 10 or more, and he was also a perfect 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts. “As a power-hitting first baseman, he did a lot of the little things right,” Sutton said. “He got on base a ton, and he is a high baseball IQ type of guy. Overall Ryan is a really good baseball player.” Defensively, Myers’ 313 putouts were the third most in MSUB single-season history, and he held a stellar fielding percentage of .976 overall. Myers, in his first year after playing at Laney College (Calif.) last season, was a second-team all-GNAC pick at first base. He helped the Yellowjackets earn a spot in the conference tournament with a league record of 21-19, and MSUB finished the year 23-29 overall. Cameron Santos of Chico State University was named the NCBWA West Region Player of the Year, and Wildcat skipper Dave Taylor was picked as the region’s Coach of the Year. Matthew Gunter of Hawaii Pacific University was named the West Region Pitcher of the Year. --@MSUBSports | #JacketNation--