Following two seasons in Carolina blue, Ryan Lynch has earned his shot at the pros. The draft-eligible sophomore was selected by the San Diego Padres with the No. 97 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft Saturday.
Lynch becomes the second Tar Heel pitcher to go in the third round after Jason DeCaro was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with pick No. 80
The Moorestown, N.J., native led the Tar Heels with 98.1 innings in 2026, posting a 5-4 record with a 4.21 ERA and 89 strikeouts across 18 starts to earn Third-Team All-ACC honors.
Across four NCAA Tournament starts, Lynch logged 21.1 innings, striking out 19 while allowing eight runs on 16 hits. In Game 1 of the Chapel Hill Regional, he threw seven scoreless innings against VCU, allowing just two hits while striking out five.
“I’m not a big social media guy, but a lot of people enlightened me that we were throwing off today, and I didn’t agree with that at all, Ryan Lynch is one of our best guys,” Scott Forbes said after the win over VCU.
Lynch’s final start as a Diamond Heel was cut short in Game 2 of the College World Series Finals when an oblique injury forced him to exit after 58 pitches and four innings.
As a freshman in 2025, Lynch posted a 2.93 ERA with 73 strikeouts across 61.1 innings, earning Second-Team Freshman All-America honors from both Baseball America and D1Baseball. After making his first 23 appearances out of the bullpen, three of his final four outings came as postseason starts before he transitioned into a full-time role in the rotation as a sophomore.
“Pitching in a winner take all game for the first time was very nerve-racking last year, but ever since that moment, I’ve been able to adjust a little bit and I kind of understand what the feeling is like,” Lynch said after his outing against VCU.
“When you have such a good defense and you know the guys in the locker room support me all the time, it makes the job so much easier, and I never feel like I have to take on anything myself.”