Baseball
- Title:
- Student Assistant Coach
Former Major Leaguer and Liberty standout Ryan Cordell has joined the Flames coaching staff as a student assistant coach.
Cordell, who played for the Flames from 2011-13, returns to his alma mater after nine years of professional baseball, including parts of three season in the major leagues. The outfielder saw action with the Chicago White Sox in 2018 and 2019, while playing with the New York Mets in 2020.
A native of Orange, Calif., Cordell was a member of the Flames’ roster from 2011-13. In his three seasons at Liberty, Cordell hit .273 with 71 RBI, 42 runs scored and 12 home runs.
In 2013, his final season with the Flames, Cordell started every game in center field during Liberty’s run to the 2013 Big South title and an NCAA Regional berth. The outfielder hit .261 with 40 RBI and 42 runs scored while finishing second in the conference with 28 stolen bases. He finished the year seventh in the league in RBI and third with 19 two-out hits.
At the 2013 NCAA Columbia, S.C., Regional, Cordell, and the Flames defeated Clemson twice to become the first Liberty team to reach a regional final.
The outfielder, who was ranked as one top draft prospects in the Big South Conference by Baseball America in 2013, was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 11th round of that year’s MLB Draft. After working his way through the minors, Cordell made his major league debut with the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 3, 2018, scoring the winning run as a pinch-runner on a walk-off home run in Detroit.
In 2019, Cordell played in 97 with the White Sox, hitting .221 with seven home runs, 24 RBI, and 22 runs scored. The following year, he signed a free-agent contract with the New York Mets and saw action in several contests during the Covid shorten 2020 season.
Cordell is currently pursuing his bachelor’s degree in business administration.
