MCC’s Wallingford signs on to pitch at Ottawa University
Rylan Wallingford, a 5-10 sophomore pitcher on the McCook Community College baseball team, has signed a letter of intent to pitch next year at Ottawa University in Kansas.
The Fort Calhoun native attended Bennington High School and came to MCC last fall hoping to compete as an outfielder. "
He did a nice job in the fall competing as a position player, but some more opportunities were going to present themselves on the mound than in the outfield. He pitched in the past, so he asked if he could try pitching for us," said MCC Coach Jon Olsen.
Ford Ladd, assistant coach last year, put Wallingford through a couple bullpen sessions and decided the position change would be good for the team and for Wallingford.
"As the spring progressed, he started throwing pretty good and put himself into a position where he was giving us some important innings at the end of the year," Olsen said.
Wallingford, appeared in eight games as a freshman. He threw 21.1 innings, allowed 24 hits, struck out 24 hitters and walked six. In April he got the call more frequently and contributed 12.2 innings pitched, allowing three runs, four walks and 15 strikeouts, with a 2.14 April E.R.A.
On April 26, he went four innings in a 7-4 win over Colby Community College. He allowed two hits and one earned run in that win, walking two and striking out a season-high six batters.
Josh Oller, an assistant coach in the Colby dugout took notice. After spending five years at Colby, Oller was hired at Ottawa University (Kan.) in July as full-time assistant and recruiting coordinator.
In September, Wallingford was part of the sophomore showcase at Metro State Community College in Denver, staged for recruiting and scouting. Oller was one of the recruiters in attendance and sought out Wallingford.
"Yes when he talked to me at the showcase, he remembered how I threw pretty well against them," Wallingford said.
The pitcher threw one session for Oller, who showed immediate interest.
"Obviously, as a player, you want a program and a coach who want you on their team," said Wallingford.
When he visited the campus, Wallingford said he felt welcome and that everybody wanted him there.
"My parents have always instilled that I wherever I play, it has to be a home away from home," he said.
Wallingford will complete his associate degree this semester and plans to be a Communications Major at Ottawa.
"He's got a great personality, he's a great kid, a great worker and probably most importantly, a great teammate," said Olsen. "This year he'll be a proven arm for us and while he battled some injuries this fall, we're looking for him to come back healthy and help us out in the spring. He's got the ability to be pretty good."
Wallingford is looking to have an even bigger role on the MCC staff in the spring and said he understands what a special opportunity it has been to play in McCook.
"I talked to former MCC teammates recently about how even when you leave McCook you want to come back because we'll miss all the memories," he said. "It's that small-town feel where you get to connect with everybody here and there's no other college nearby where you can meet with friends there, so we're all just here and we all become so close and become one huge family. It's amazing," he said.
Wallingford said he owes his parents a tremendous amount of gratitude.
"They are the ones who really got me to this point," he said.