CAREER STATISTICS
ACADEMIC HONORS
• Sun Belt Conference Commissioner’s List, 2018-19
• Sun Belt Conference Honor Roll, 2019-20; 2020-21; 2021-22
• Dean’s List, Fall 2018; Fall 2019; Spring 2021; Spring 2023
• Athletic Director’s Honor Roll, Spring 2019; Spring 2020; Fall 2020, Spring 2022
ATHLETIC HONORS
• All-Sun Belt Conference (2nd team), 2023
• Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week, May 15, 2023
• National Player of the Week (Collegiate Baseball), May 29, 2023
AT GEORGIA STATE (2019-23): All-Sun Belt Conference pitcher who is tied for second in school history with 20 career victories ... Right-hander who also collected 12 career saves to stand third in that category ... His 32 combined wins and saves are the school record ... Ranks fifth in strikeouts (213) and appearances (75) and ninth in innings (251.1) ... Five-year letterwinner.
2023: Georgia State’s top starter with a 7-2 record and 3.79 ERA to earn second-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors ... Sixth in the Sun Belt in ERA and eighth in victories ... Logged 92.2 innings with 86 strikeouts (eighth on GSU season list) and just 17 walks ... Led the conference in fewest walks per nine innings (1.75) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.78) and was second in WHIP (1.11).
Named National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball after his final start, when he struck out a career-high 13 against Georgia Southern in the Sun Belt Conference tournament. Pitched 6.2 scoreless innings and allowed two hits lead Georgia State to 8-5 win. Struck out 10 of the final 14 batters he faced before he was lifted with two outs in seventh inning leading 6-0 ... His 13 strikeouts were the most by a Panther since 1997 and equal the third-most in school history.
Named Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week for his final home start, when he pitched seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and just five hits allowed in win over Georgia Southern ... Pitched into the ninth inning and struck out a then career-high nine in win at James Madison ... Allowed just one run on six hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings in win over Troy ... Won his third straight start against Marshall, when he allowed just one unearned run on five hits with five strikeouts over six innings.
2022: Second in the Sun Belt with nine saves, one shy of the GSU season record ... Earned saves in two of the three wins in three Sun Belt Conference sweeps ... Saved the Friday and Sunday games in GSU’s three-game Sun Belt sweep of Little Rock ... Also saved two games in sweep of South Alabama, allowing no earned runs in 3.2 innings ... Had two more saves in sweep at Coastal Carolina, preserving the Saturday and Sunday games ... Earned his first win by finishing the game with three scoreless innings in 8-4 win over Villanova ... Picked up save vs. Presbyterian by finishing the game with three scoreless innings ... Finished the 7-4 win over Arkansas State with 2.2 scoreless innings to earn his ninth save.
2021: Moved from the rotation to a relief role and led the team with four victories and two saves ... Ended the regular season with four outstanding relief appearances in which he earned two wins and two saves, compiling a 2.08 ERA with 14 strikeouts and just one walk in 13 innings ... Began the stretch with a strong outing in win at Texas State as he pitched the final six innings and allowed one run on four hits with seven strikeouts to earn the victory ... Saved back-to-back games vs. Little Rock on final two days of regular season ... Then earned another win with three innings of relief in the Panthers’ Sun Belt tourney victory over ULM ... Earned a win for his start at No. 2 Vanderbilt--the highest ranked team GSU has ever beaten--when he allowed one run on four hits and struck out seven in five innings ... Pitched five innings and allowed two runs on four hits with seven strikeouts and no walks vs. No. 14 West Virginia on Opening Day ... Picked up the win at ULM by pitching six innings and allowing three runs (none earned) on six hits with seven strikeouts and one walk.
2020: Saturday starter with a 2-1 record ... Compiled a 5.95 ERA with 18 strikeouts in 19.2 innings ... Had three pickoffs … Allowed just one earned run in eight innings and struck out a career-high eight in 7-4 win over Bryant. Allowed three hits and walked none. Also picked off two runners ... Earned his second victory with a six-inning start vs. North Alabama, allowing three earned runs on six hits.
2019: Led the team and tied for fifth in the Sun Belt with six victories ... His six wins are the most ever by a Georgia State freshman ... Made 19 appearances, all but one out of the bullpen ... Posted a 6-5 record with one save … Win No. 6 came against No. 30 Texas State (5-4-19), when he finished the 3-1 victory with 2.1 hitless, scoreless innings.
Earned a save in his college debut as he pitched perfect eighth and ninth innings with three strikeouts to preserve win over UIC (2-16-19)... Then picked up a win at Charleston Southern (2-23-19) when he finished the game with two scoreless innings as GSU rallied to take the lead in the top of the ninth ... Earned his third victory with 2.1 innings of relief in series-clinching win at App State (3-17-19) ... Made his one start vs. Georgia Southwestern and earned a victory ... Earned his fourth victory with four scoreless innings in relief vs. Mercer (4-10-19), allowing just one hit ... Two games later, he finished a win over Troy (4-13-19) with five innings, allowing two runs ...
HIGH SCHOOL: First-team all-state selection in Class AAAAAAA, Georgia’s largest classification, by Georgia Dugout Preview … Named All-County and Academic All-County by the Gwinnett Dugout Club … As a junior he was a top reliever for North Gwinnett High School, which reached the final four of the 2017 state playoffs … National Honor Society member … 2018 Rawlings-Perfect Game All-Southeast Region honorable mention.
PERSONAL: Full name is Ryan Andrew Watson … Born April 26, 1999 … Son of Randy and Jane Watson … Father played baseball at Georgia Tech ... Majoring in finance.
