Office of Public Relations
Missouri Baptist University
One College Park Drive
Saint Louis, Missouri 63141-8698
314.392.2307 / fax 314.392.2265
www.mobap.edu / pr@mobap.edu
For Immediate Release
RE: Going Pro: 2005 Graduate Joins the Ranks of Several Other MBU Alumni
Going Pro: 2005 Graduate Joins the Ranks of Several Other MBU Alumni
October 10, 2005
| Sport | Name | Signing | Team |
| Baseball | Jesse Bahr | 2005 MBL Draft | Staten Island Yankees |
| Baseball | Nathan Roush | 2005 Free Agent | Gateway Grizzlies |
| Baseball | Jon Kars | 2004 Free Agent | River City Rascals |
| Baseball | Ezekiel Perex | 2004 Free Agent | Mid-Missouri Mavericks |
| Basketball | Ryan Edwards | 2005 CBA Draft | Rockford Lightening |
| Basketball | Martina Gandzalova | 2004 Free Agent | Playing professionally in Sweden |
| Softball | Jaclyn Evans | 2005 Free Agent | Arizona Heat (National Professional Fast pitch League) |
While at Missouri Baptist University, Ryan Edwards ’05, was for two consecutive years the leading scorer for the men’s varsity basketball team.
Averaging a stirring 17 points a game, the 6’ 5” guard is largely credited with leading MBU to two consecutive trips to the NAIA National Tournament.
Now, he’s taking a trip of his own.
On Tuesday, Sept. 20, Continental Basketball Association’s Rockford Lightning signed Edwards as their first-round pick—sixth overall—during the twentieth annual CBA Draft. Terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
"We are glad to have Ryan on board," said Lightning Head Coach Chris Daleo. "Ryan is someone that we have been following for four years. We sent him to Missouri Baptist. He has progressed every year and I feel that he will be able to make the jump to pro ranks as easily as he made the jump to college. Ryan might be an unknown to the casual fan but I can promise you that he will compete and will help us this season with the Lightning."
Edwards attributes much of success to his time spent at MBU.
“I got two years of experience to learn what to do in certain situations to help me become a team leader,” Edwards said.
His former MBU coach is confident that Edwards' catapult onto the professional basketball level will be as smooth as his transition at MBU.
“It’s no surprise at all that Ryan was drafted so quickly after graduating,” said Tony Tompkins, head coach at MBU. “His sure dedication, coupled with his innate talent for the game, resulted in great successes at MBU. He’s a leader on and off of the court and I’m eager to see him compete at the professional level.”
While indeed impressive, Edward’s heightened status in the professional sports arena is no means a rarity for former MBU student athletes. From the Staten Island Yankees to the Arizona Heat a host of MBU alumni are currently playing their game at the professional level.
« MBU Fall Lecturer: Dr. Joel Gregory
News Archives
UPS Foundation Awards $35,750 Scholarship Grant to the Missouri Colleges Fund »
Missouri Baptist University is a premier Christian university in Saint Louis, offering graduate and undergraduate studies in over thirty specialized fields and nine degrees. MBU's education and fine arts programs are nationally known in addition to business, religion, administration of justice, and more. MBU is one of the fastest growing higher education institutions in Missouri with an enrollment of over 4,500 students at five locations in the bi-state region — West County, Lincoln County, Jefferson County, Franklin County and the new Illinois extension at Lewis and Clark Community College.
# # #
