A Penn State Abington Senior Will Play Major League Baseball With The Toronto Blue Jays

ABINGTON, PA — A college senior from our area will be starting a professional baseball career after he signed with a major league team this week.

Ryan McCarty, a Penn State Abington standout and NCAA Division III National Play of the Year, signed with the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday as an undrafted free agent during the Major League Baseball Draft, according to the university.

The school said that multiple teams showed an interest in McCarty, but that the soon-to-be-graduate ultimately chose to go with the Blue Jays.

McCarty becomes the first Penn State Abington player to sign a professional baseball contract. He will head to the Sunshine State this week where he will participate in a two-week draft camp at the Florida home of Toronto's single-A affiliate Dunedin Blue Jays, according to the school.

"I want people to know they can achieve anything they dream of if they truly believe it and put their mind to it," McCarty said in a released statement. "I would not have accomplished this goal without the support of the Penn State Abington family who have had my back since I arrived on campus."

In his own statement, Penn State Abington head baseball coach David Miller said he was proud of McCarty, noting that "seeing one of your players achieve a dream makes you so emotional in a great way."

McCarty was the highlight of a Patch article last month when the student athlete was named a semifinalist for the USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award.

Related: PSU Abington Student-Athlete In Running For National Baseball Award