MINNEAPOLIS — Joe Ryan, who will be inducted into the Stan State Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, January 24, 2026, at the Stan State Event Center in Turlock, has accepted an invitation to represent the United States in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
The former Stan State ace and Minnesota Twins All-Star joins a star-studded Team USA pitching staff as the nation prepares for another championship run. Ryan was officially announced Wednesday as one of three additions to the U.S. starting rotation, alongside Mets right-handers Nolan McLean and Clay Holmes. The trio joins a staff headlined by 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes.
A 2025 All-Star, Ryan continues to establish himself as one of Major League Baseball's most reliable starters. He surpassed 190 strikeouts for the second time in three seasons in 2025 and posted 3.1 FanGraphs WAR for the second consecutive year. His 22.5 percent strikeout-minus-walk rate ranked fourth among qualified MLB pitchers, trailing only Skenes, Garrett Crochet, and Tarik Skubal.
Ryan's selection adds another milestone to a career that began at Stan State, where he authored one of the most dominant pitching seasons in program history. In 2018, Ryan was named CCAA Pitcher of the Year, West Region Pitcher of the Year, and earned First Team All-American honors from CoSIDA, ABCA, and NCBWA while also being selected to the All-CCAA First Team. Following that standout season, he was drafted in the seventh round (210th overall) of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Rays.
Ryan made his Major League debut with the Minnesota Twins on September 1, 2021, and quickly emerged as a cornerstone of the club's rotation. Through the 2025 season, he has compiled a 46–36 career record with a 3.79 ERA, 719 strikeouts, and a 1.06 WHIP across 641 innings pitched, including a 13-win, 3.42 ERA campaign in 2025.
In recognition of his collegiate and professional accomplishments, Ryan was selected as a member of the 2026 Stan State Athletics Hall of Fame class, cementing his legacy as one of the most accomplished student-athletes in program history.
Team USA will begin World Baseball Classic play in Pool B on March 6, facing Brazil at 8 p.m. ET at Daikin Park in Houston.
For Ryan, the opportunity represents both a personal honor and another chapter in a journey that has taken him from a dominant Warrior to one of baseball's premier pitchers — now set to compete on the sport's biggest international stage.
