Sam Ireland

Photo by: Matt Krohn

Photo by: Kelly Hagenson

Photo by: Kelly Hagenson

Position:
RHP
Ht./Wt.:
6-4 / 210
Bats/Throws:
R/R
Class:
Junior
Hometown:
Highlands Ranch, Colo.
High School:
Mountain Vista

PRONUNCIATION

Honors & Awards
Academic All-Big Ten (2021, 2022)
Big Ten Players to Watch (2022)

2022 | JUNIOR Started in 13 games, pitching in 14 as Minnesota's Friday night starter in 2022 · went 4-5 with a 5.27 ERA in 71.2 innings pitched, striking out 80 with 38 walks · allowed 42 earned runs and 74 hits while opposing batters hit .267 against him. Game Highlights: struck out five and allowed just two hits and one earned run in an opening night win at Florida Atlantic (Feb. 18) · tallied a season-best 10 punchouts in 7.1 innings in a win over Northeastern; allowing just five hits and one earned run (Feb. 25) · tallied five K's and allowed just one earned run in 6.0 innings in a win over Western Illinois (March 25) · registered seven strikeouts and allowed three earned runs in 5.0 innings at Rutgers (April 1) · picked up his first Big Ten win against Penn State, tossing 7.0 innings, striking out nine and allowing four hits and two earned runs (April 22) · ended his season with five K's in 5.0 innings vs. Northwestern (May 19).

2021 | SUMMER Played in 15 games, hitting .327 with 18 hits in 55 at-bats for the Fod du Lac Dock Spiders · also tallied two doubles and 12 RBI at the plate · went 2-0 on the mound in 15.1 innings pitched, striking out 11 with a 2.35 ERA · his best outing was on July 23, when he tossed 6.0 innings, striking out three, allowing no earned runs and two hits.

2021 | SOPHOMORE Started in 20 of the 26 games he played in during the 2021 season · slashed .212/.257/.273 with 14 hits, four doubles and 1 RBI in 66 at bats · also started seven games on the mound, registering a 4.10 ERA in 37.1 innings pitched with 35 strikeouts · led team in lowest ERA and ranked second in strikeouts, innings pitched and starts · his WHIP (1.37) also led the team. Game Highlights: Hit a double after coming off the bench in a win over Rutgers (March 7) · fired a season-best 7 1/3 innings against Illinois, striking out three and allowing just five hits and one run (March 12) · went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored in a win over Illinois (March 14) struck out a season-high 10 batters in 7.0 innings, allowing two runs on just four hits at Northwestern (March 20) · had hits in six out of seven games, including four straight from March 21-27 · tossed 6.0 innings, allowing 0 earned runs and striking out 7 in a game at Iowa (April 9).

2020 | SUMMER Competed for the St. Cloud Rox of the Northwoods League · slashed .256/.313/.333 with one home run, four doubles, 11 runs, 13 RBI, eight walks and four stolen bases across 90 at bats · named the Northwoods League Player of the Night on July 19 after going 3-for-4 at the plate with one home run, two doubles, three RBI and three runs scored · finished the summer with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.

2020 | FRESHMAN Named to D1Baseball's Big Ten Fab Freshman Team · appeared in 16 games including seven starts for Minnesota as a position player while also making five appearances on the mound · batted .303/.361/.424 with four doubles, three runs and four RBI across 33 at bats · finished tied for the team-high in saves with two, ending with an 0-1 record and 9.00 ERA with ten strikeouts over the course of eight innings pitched. Game Highlights: Made his career debut on the mound, registering two strikeouts in one inning of work in the season opener against Oregon on Feb. 14 · collected his first career hit with a double to left-center against Pepperdine on Feb. 15 · went 3-for-4 at the plate with one double, one run and one RBI to achieve the first multi-hit performance of his career against SDSU on March 4 · earned the first save of his career against Utah on March 6 · finished 2-for-4 with a double versus Utah on March 7 · tossed one scoreless inning of relief with two strikeouts to earn the save against Creighton on March 10 · went 2-for-4 with one run scored against Creighton on March 11.

BEFORE MINNESOTA A 2019 graduate of Mountain Vista (Colo.) · Two-time Class 5A Player of the Year in Colorado · PBR’s no. 1 first baseman and no. 3 overall player in Colorado · PBR’s no. 10 first baseman nationally · Perfect Game’s no. 1 first baseman and no. 8 overall player in Colorado · Perfect Game’s no. 22 nationally ranked first baseman, top-500 player · Perfect Game 2018 Underclass High Honorable Mention All-American · USA Today 2018 All-USA First Team · 2018 CHSAA, PBR Colorado, USA Today, Mile High Sports Magazine, Max Preps and Continental League Player of the Year in Colorado · 2018 All-Area, All-State, and All-District selection · two-way player for head coach Rob Quintana · played for Colorado’s top-ranked high school team, ranking no. 8 in the nation after 2018 · tossed two no-hitters in 2018 · played alongside fellow Gophers Jack Liffrig and Drew Stahl · played travel ball for Mountain West Slammers under head coach John Cronican · led the Slammers in batting average for three-straight seasons.

PERSONAL Native of Highlands Ranch, Colorado · son of Mary and Kevin Ireland · sister, Katie, plays volleyball at Cal State East Bay ·plans to study sport management at Minnesota.

WHY MINNESOTA "I chose Minnesota because once I stepped on campus I felt that the academics and college experience would be the perfect fit for me. The culture that Coach Anderson has created is unmatched and will develop me as a player and as a person."