Ritchie Ready to Build on Breakout Regional Performance — OSU's star outfielder enters junior season with MLB draft buzz
After batting .538 with five home runs in Athens Regional, Ritchie headlines Cowboys lineup as they chase Big 12 title
Kollin Ritchie dug his back foot into the home plate dirt and locked eyes with the opposing pitcher.
Top of the ninth. Runner on first base. No outs. Oklahoma State trailed the Athens Regional host Georgia Bulldogs 9-7. And the moment couldn’t have been more paramount for OSU’s sophomore outfielder.
As the Georgia sun blazed upon him, a crisp breeze toward left field gave him assurance that anything hit with a sharp enough launch angle would leave the ballpark. So, he trusted his intuition.
On a full count, Georgia right-hander Tyler McLoughlin left a four-seam fastball over the middle of home plate and Ritchie unleashed.
CLANK.
He watched the ball sail well over the left field wall for a game-tying, two-run blast, as the visitor’s dugout at Foley Field erupted into pandemonium. Four at-bats later, freshman Brock Thompson stole the spotlight with a walk-off, two-run, opposite-field blast of his own to finalize a 11-9 OSU win.
Still, OSU’s comeback victory wouldn’t have been possible without Ritchie’s big swing. One that will tether him to Cowboy baseball lore for eternity. And perhaps most importantly, one that jolted him onto a pedestal heading into his junior campaign.
After batting .538 with five home runs in last year's Athens Regional, Ritchie headlines an OSU lineup with under-the-radar yet potent offensive firepower.
“I’ve watched it back a few times since it happened, but not anything recently,” Ritchie said during OSU’s annual baseball team media day last week. “Just kind of tried to move on. Move onto the next season coming up. Trying to get (closer) with these guys more than anything.
“It was a big regional, but (it’s) time to move onto the next season.”
Grasping the limelight isn’t a nuanced element for Ritchie's baseball career.
The Baltimore Orioles drafted Ritchie in the 19th round of the 2023 MLB Draft. Scouts marveled over his 6-foot-2, 200-plus-pound stature. His quickness, agility, baseball I.Q. and swing were merely additional luxuries.
However, instead of chasing instant stardom in an MLB farm system, Ritchie opted to play for OSU coach Josh Holliday and the Cowboys. Fast-forward, his decision has paid off.
ADVERTISEMENT
Shop SWO, Win a $250 American Airlines Gift Card!
Celebrate America’s 250th birthday the Stillwater way this Presidents' Day week, by shopping local, dining out, and supporting our community for a chance to win big.
After an up-and-down freshman season with a slash line of .271/.419/.457 with a .876 OPS and seven home runs, Ritchie upped his efficiency as a sophomore. Despite missing roughly one month of action due to injury, Ritchie slashed .294/.397/.664, to go with a 1.061 OPS, 15 home runs and 39 RBI. He established himself as the Cowboys’ center fielder with his quickness and defensive wizardry down the stretch of the regular season, and his production in regional play was purely a cherry on top.
Now, draft buzz comes tethered to Ritchie entering his junior campaign. And if anything, MLB scouts have more to marvel over than before.
“The MLB scouts have evaluated him before and liked what his projections were,” D1Baseball analyst and national writer Mike Rooney told The Stillwegian. “He’s very physical. He feels like he’s every bit of 220 pounds. And he can run. He’s a really, really good athlete for someone that size. Such that he’s a 220-pound, middle-of-the-field monster. He’s a legitimate center fielder. And then on top of that, he can hit with a lot of left-handed power. So, he checks a lot of boxes from a prospect standpoint.
“Now, it’s just time for him to have a great, full season.”
With such hype often comes unforeseen barriers. Pitchers will likely pitch differently to Ritchie. More breaking balls. Less fastballs inside the strike zone. In general, more difficult pitches to combat at the plate.
Holliday knows that. During the team’s media day, Holliday said he’s profusely relayed that sentiment to Ritchie.
So far, Holliday said, Ritchie’s production from last spring has carried over to the spring. And most notably, the urge to outperform preseason hype hasn't hindered that.
“He understands how people might pitch to him,” Holliday said. “And maybe some of the things that he needs to do in the (batter’s) box to be ready for that. And he’s had a really good spring so far. I think we’ve had between 25 and 30, maybe 40 at-bats for each guy. And his 35 at-bats or so have been very, very good. He’s hitting the ball on the barrel. He’s taking his walks. He’s hitting righties, he’s hitting lefties and he’s hitting a lot of breaking balls very well.”
In a lineup flooded with newcomers and first-year prospects where roles will be earned rather than assumed, Ritchie is an exception. If OSU is to contend for a Big 12 title and return to the College World Series for the first time since 2016, Ritchie will need to be at his best. Especially after a 2025 season in which the Cowboys fell drastically short of preseason expectations with a 30-25 record and an exit in regional play for a fifth-straight year.
Will that come into fruition? TBD. OSU fans will get a first glance Friday at 7 p.m. when the Cowboys open their season against No. 7 Arkansas at Globe Life Field in Arlington as part of the Shriners Children's College Showdown.
But perhaps the 2025 Athens Regional might be indicative of just that — a stellar junior season awaiting OSU’s star prospect.
“You try to keep the feels of all the good,” Ritchie said. “But you can’t keep living on the good and hoping that it happens the same way that it did.
“Ending the season the way I did kind of helped me figure out who I was as a player, but it also taught me little holes in my game that I needed to work on and move towards this season. So, I feel like I figured those out a lot, and now I’m a lot better in those areas than I was.”
Members Discussion