“Ryan brings a lot of experince and enthusiasm to our staff,” said Finwood. “He’s a wonderful communcator, and to have someone that was an All-American and has pitched in Omaha just brings instant credibility to what he is going to do with our pitchers.”
Halla, who played at Auburn from 1993-96, earned All-America honors from both the American Baseball Coaches’ Association and Baseball American in 1995 after a 16-3 campaign. His 16 victories tied for second most in the nation that season. He started 24 games in ‘95, striking out 148 batters in 146.2 innings of work. He also took home all-Southeastern Conference and all-South Region laurels that season. He also earned Freshman All-America accolades after a 9-4 rookie season in 1993.
Halla finished his collegiate career with a 39-16 record and a 3.67 career earned run average. He struck out 392 batters in 400 career innings, while throwing four complete games. Both his win and strikeout totals rank second on Auburn’s career lists.
The Birmingham native helped guide Auburn to three NCAA Regionals during his career (1993, ‘94 and ‘95), and a trip to the College World Series in 1994. He was named to the 1995 NCAA all-region team, and was a member of the 1994 SEC all-tournament team.
Following his career at Auburn, Halla went on to play six professional seasons in the minor leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Atlanta Braves organizations, reaching Triple-A with the Braves. He then moved on to coaching, taking over the reins at John Carroll Catholic in 2004. This past season, the Cavs advanced to the 6A state playoffs.
