Ryan Helsley - Northeastern State University
Baseball Student-Athlete, 2014-15
Ryan Helsley pitched for the RiverHawks from 2014-15, where he made 21 starts and compiled a 14-8 record. In 2015, he ranked fifth in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (13.4) and led the MIAA with 95 punch-outs. The 6-1 pitcher from Tahlequah, Okla., also threw three complete games and tallied 151 strikeouts on the season. He was the lone underclassman to earn a spot on the 2015 All-MIAA First Team and was named to the 2014 All-MIAA Second Team as a freshman.
Helsley’s number eight jersey was removed from circulation in 2015, when the St. Louis Cardinals selected Helsley in the fifth round of the MLB Draft. He was the first player from the MIAA, the second player from the state of Oklahoma selected, and the fifth player in all of NCAA Division II to come off the draft board. Northeastern State baseball officially retired his jersey in 2022.
Helsley completed his fourth season with the Cardinals and is the first former NSU student-athlete to play in the MLB All-Star Game and make the MLB Postseason.
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