Ryan Perry Rolison (born July 11, 1997) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He played

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for the

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...

and was selected by the Rockies in the first round of the

2018 MLB draft The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation pi ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2025.

Amateur career

Rolison attended and graduated from the

University School of Jackson University School of Jackson (USJ) is a non-denominational, non-sectarian, independent, college preparatory school located in northwest Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. ...

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and 130 Miles Southwest of Nashville, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population wa ...

. As a junior, he compiled a 0.74 ERA with 104 strikeouts. As a senior, he was 9–0 in nine starts, striking out 108 in 58 innings while allowing only three runs and ten hits, earning him the title of Tennessee's DII-A Mr. Baseball. He was selected by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

in the 37th round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

, but did not sign and instead enrolled at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

where he played

. As a freshman in 2017, Rolison began the season in the bullpen before moving into the

starting rotation This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

. In 19 games (ten starts), he compiled a 6–3 record and a 3.06 ERA, holding opposing batters to a .242 average, earning him a spot on the SEC All-Freshman team along with freshman All-American honors. After his freshman season, he played for the

Orleans Firebirds The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

where he went 4–0 with a 1.92 ERA and was named a league all-star. Rolison was named a First Team Preseason All-American prior to his sophomore season. As a sophomore in 2018, Rolison posted a 10–4 record over 17 appearances (16 starts) with a 3.70 ERA and 120 strikeouts.

Professional career

The

selected Rolison in the first round, with the 22nd overall selection, in the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation pi ...

, and he signed with the Rockies for a $2.9 million

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. He made his professional debut with the

Grand Junction Rockies The Grand Junction Jackalopes are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Grand Junction, Colorado, and play their home games ...

of the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

Pioneer League and spent the whole season there. In nine starts, he compiled a 0–1 record with a 1.86 ERA and a 0.79 WHIP. Rolison began 2019 with the

Asheville Tourists The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. It is located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in different ...

of the

Single-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams cl ...

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

. Rolison was promoted to the

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League B ...

of the

High-A High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

after going 2–1 with a 0.69 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 14 innings with the Tourists. With Lancaster, he was selected to participate in the All-Star Game as a member of the South Division team. Over 22 starts with the JetHawks, Rolison went 6–7 with a 4.87 ERA, striking out 118 over innings. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. To begin the 2021 season, Rolison was assigned to the

Hartford Yard Goats The Hartford Yard Goats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Hartford, Connecticut. The Yard Goats, which play in the Eastern League, are the Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. The team was founded in 2016 when the New Britain Ro ...

of the Double-A Northeast. After going 2–1 with a 3.07 ERA over three starts, he was promoted to the

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an ...

of the

Triple-A West The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Base ...

. On June 14, he was placed on the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

after having his

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removed. He was expected to return in early August, but broke a bone in his left hand while fielding balls, delaying his return. He was activated later that same month. Over ten starts with the Isotopes, Rolison went 2–2 with a 5.91 ERA and 45 strikeouts over 45 innings. Following the end of the season, Rolison began playing in the

Dominican Professional Baseball League The Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League ( or LIDOM) is a professional baseball winter league consisting of six teams spread across the Dominican Republic; it is the highest level of professional baseball played in the Dominican Repub ...

for the

Tigres del Licey Tigres del Licey (English: Licey Tigers) is a professional baseball team in the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM). The team was founded in 1907 and is based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Tigres is the oldest team in LIDOM and ...

. On November 19, 2021, the Rockies selected Rolison's contract and added him to their 40-man roster. He opened the 2022 season on the injured list with a shoulder injury. In June, it was announced that Rolison was scheduled for surgery and would miss the entire season. On March 25, 2023, Rolison was placed on the 60-day injured list to begin the year. After rehabbing with the Single-A

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in ...

, Rolison was activated from the injured list on May 29 and optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque. He was placed back on the injured list with an unspecified injury on June 4, and was transferred back to the 60-day injured list on July 14. Following the season on October 20, Rolison was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Triple–A Albuquerque. In 2024, Rolison began pitching primarily out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

, splitting the year between the rookie-level

Arizona Complex League Rockies The Arizona Complex League Rockies are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the Colorado Rockies in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Salt River Fields at Talkin ...

, High-A

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Co ...

, and Albuquerque. In 29 appearances (5 starts) for the three affiliates, he accumulated a 2–3 record and 4.47 ERA with 35 strikeouts across innings pitched. Rolison began 2025 back with Albuquerque, recording a 3–1 record and 3.72 ERA with 23 strikeouts over his first 12 games. On May 11, 2025, Rolison was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.

Personal life

The same night that Rolison was selected by the Rockies in the draft, controversy emerged after a tweet by him from 2012 resurfaced in which he wrote “Well we have one hope left … if someone shoots him during his speech,” regarding the

2012 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic Party (United States), Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Bi ...

. He later apologized, saying “I had no idea what I was talking about, and it was immature of me to post something like that.”

References

External links

Ole Miss Rebels bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rolison, Ryan 1997 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players Arizona Complex League Rockies players Asheville Tourists players Baseball players from Tennessee Colorado Rockies players Fresno Grizzlies players Grand Junction Rockies players Hartford Yard Goats players Lancaster JetHawks players Major League Baseball pitchers Ole Miss Rebels baseball players Orleans Firebirds players Spokane Indians players Sportspeople from Jackson, Tennessee 21st-century American sportsmen