SMSU Athletics

Ryan Morse (2002-05) was a four-year member of the baseball team and closed his career as one of the most dominate pitchers in team history. 

A native of St. Cloud, Minn., Morse was a three-year letter winner for the Mustangs following a redshirt season in 2002. He made a big impact for the program his first season on the mound in 2003, earning All-NSIC honors, leading the team in strikeouts (55), victories (6), innings pitched (66) and starts (12). He was named the team’s Most Valuable Pitcher in 2003. 

In 2004, Morse recorded a team-leading 74 strikeouts, which ranks as the fourth highest in team single-season history. He won five games, finished with three complete games and led the conference in strikeouts, while earning All-NSIC honors. 

Morse followed up with another impressive season in 2005, recording a team-low 3.86 ERA with a team-high 61 strikeouts. He once again led the conference in strikeouts, earning All-NSIC honors for the third straight season, while picking up ABCA All-Region second team accolades. Named SMSU’s Most Valuable Pitcher in 2005, a highlight of the season was tossing a no-hitter, the seventh in program history, versus Minnesota Crookston. 

By the time his college run wrapped up, he was all over the SMSU career record book ranking second in strikeouts (190), second in strikeouts per nine innings (9.02), sixth in wins (17), and eighth in innings pitched (189.2). 

After his junior season, Morse was selected by Tampa Bay in the 13th round of the 2005 MLB Draft, where he went on to play six seasons of professional baseball. He pitched for various teams in the organization finishing his career in Double-A. He was named Tampa Bay’s Rookie Pitcher of the Year in 2006 and was the starting pitcher in the Florida State League All-Star game in 2008.