May 31, 2002
San Diego - San Diego State relief pitcher Royce Ring has been named a third-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball newspaper. He becomes the first SDSU baseball player to earn All-American accolades (other than Freshman All-American) since Travis Lee in 1996.
Ring finished his 2002 campaign with a record of 5-1, 17 saves, and a 1.85 earned run average. He concluded the regular season ranked second in the nation in saves. In 36 appearances covering 39 innings, the junior from La Mesa (Monte Vista HS) struck out 54 and walked 13 as opponents batted just .205 against him.
During the 2002 season, Ring established an SDSU record for saves with 17, breaking the old mark of 12 (set by Curtis Smith) that had stood since 1979. He has also shattered the Aztec career saves record, compiling 26 over his three years at San Diego State. That bettered the former record of 17 career saves held by Mark Williamson (1981-82).
Ring had a hand in over half of SDSU's wins this past season as the team finished with a record of 43-23. He was recently named to the first-team all-Mountain West Conference squad and was an all-tournament selection at the MWC championships held last week in Provo, Utah.