SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Ryan Cole signed a professional baseball contract with the Glacier Range Riders of the Pioneer Baseball League. Cole, a 2022 graduate, made his professional debut in Billings, Montana last night.
The Glacier Range Riders are a member of the Pioneer Baseball League, an MLB Partner League with teams in Montana, Idaho, Utah and Colorado. These eight teams compete in a 96-game split schedule between the North Division and the South Division. Playoffs are determined by first-half division winners against second-half division winners in a best-of-three series.
The Pioneer baseball League is intended to serve as a developmental league, with no player on the active list having more than three years of prior professional baseball service. Each team is limited to a roster of 25 active players.
Cole finished his Irish career hitting for a .284 average, and a .889 OPS. He twice earned Regional All-Tournament Team and All-ACC Academic honors and earned Third Team All-ACC honors this past season. In 2022, he hit for a .295 average with nine home runs, drove in 33 and scored 47 runs on the year. He swiped 22 bases in 23 attempts, ranking eighth best in program history at a .956 success rate.