Wikipedia

Ryan Doherty

Ryan Daniel Doherty (born February 2, 1984)[2] is an American professional beach volleyball player.

Ryan Doherty
Personal information
NicknameAvatar[1]
NationalityAmerican
Born (1984-02-02) February 2, 1984 (age 40)
Height7 ft 1 in (216 cm)[1]
Beach volleyball information
Teammate
John Hyden
Medal record
Men's beach volleyball
Representing the  United States
World Tour
Silver medal – second place 2014 Berlin Beach
Silver medal – second place 2017 Olsztyn Beach
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Gstaad Beach
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Kuala Lumpur Beach

Career

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Start in baseball

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Doherty, who was born and raised in Toms River, New Jersey,[2] grew up playing baseball, including at Toms River High School East.[3] He was named the 2002 Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of New Jersey.[4] In 2002, he was named an All-American.[5]

and was awarded a partial scholarship to play baseball at the University of Notre Dame.[6] He is believed to have been the tallest player in the history of the National Collegiate Athletic Association baseball history.[7] While at Notre Dame, he did not play collegiate volleyball due to his baseball commitments.

Doherty forgoed his senior season of college baseball and signed as a free agent by the Arizona Diamondbacks in June 2005.[8][9] He became the first seven-foot-tall player in Minor League Baseball history when he played for the Yakima Bears in 2005.[10] He moved up one minor league level the next two seasons, playing for the Single-A South Bend Silver Hawks in 2006 and the High-A Visalia Oaks in 2007. The Diamondbacks released Doherty in 2007, after just three appearances with Visalia. In his professional baseball career, he had a 12–4 record as a relief pitcher, with 6 saves and a 2.83 earned run average.[11]

Move to beach volleyball

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After his release from minor league baseball, Doherty moved to South Carolina and took up beach volleyball with Steve Johnson.[12] Shortly afterward he decided to pursue a professional career and moved to Huntington Beach, California.[12] He turned professional in 2010, competing in four events on the 2010 AVP Pro Beach Tour. Casey Patterson became his regular partner in 2012.[3] They paired together to win the 2012 National Volleyball League Preakness event in Baltimore over highly ranked Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers.[13]

In 2013, Doherty teamed up with Todd Rogers and began to compete not only in the domestic AVP Tour, but also internationally in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour and NORCECA Beach Volleyball Circuit.[14] Despite a number of top-five finishes, the Rogers/Doherty combination never placed first in a competition.

Starting with the October 2013 São Paulo Grand Slam on the 2013 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, Doherty had switched partners to Nick Lucena.[15]

In the 2015 AVP season, Doherty played with Pepperdine alum John Mayer.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b Hoffarth, Tom (May 11, 2017). "Dalhausser stands tall with milestone victory". Huntington Beach Wave. Orange County Register. p. 4.
  2. ^ a b "MiLB player profile". Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  3. ^ a b Stump, Scott (November 19, 2013). "7-Foot-1 Pitcher Cut By Team In Minors Is Next Big Thing In Beach Volleyball". ThePostGame.com. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  4. ^ "2002 Gatorade Circle Of Champions High School Player Of The Year Award". Baseball American. May 24, 2002. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  5. ^ Hamel, Larry (July 12, 2012). "7-footer Ryan Doherty has become a beach volleyball star". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  6. ^ Bradley, Jeff (July 12, 2002). "A Bigger Unit". ESPN The Magazine. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  7. ^ Torres, Aaron (September 27, 2012). "RYAN DOHERTY GOES FROM MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL TO VOLLEYBALL SUPERSTARDOM". AaronTorres-Sports.com. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  8. ^ "Ryan Doherty Signs Free-Agent Contract With Arizona Diamondbacks". Notre Dame Athletics. June 18, 2005. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  9. ^ Landers, Chris (2017-06-23). "The tallest pitcher in the history of professional baseball is now a beach volleyball star". MLB.com. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  10. ^ Holmes, Baxter (July 20, 2012). "Ryan Doherty has height advantage in conversion to volleyball". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  11. ^ "Ryan Doherty Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
  12. ^ a b Marie, Shannon (September 13, 2013). "INTERVIEW: BEACH VOLLEYBALL'S 7-FT "AVATAR" RYAN DOHERTY". TheSurfChannel.com. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  13. ^ "Beach volleyball stars Dalhausser-Rogers lose at NVL Pimlico". Redlands Daily Facts. May 19, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  14. ^ Hoeptner Evans, B.J. (January 23, 2013). "U.S. Beach Volleyball Update: Embracing Change". USA Volleyball. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  15. ^ Collin, Phil (August 14, 2014). "Nick Lucena, Ryan Doherty take a run at Manhattan Beach Open". The Daily Breeze. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
  16. ^ Sosa, Chris (August 27, 2015). "Career spike: Ex-pitcher transforms into beach volleyball star". AVP Beach Volleyball. RedEye Chicago. Retrieved 2024-09-17.
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Awards
Preceded by Men's FIVB World Tour "Most Improved"
2014 		Succeeded by
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