Brendan Wood Ryan is an American Major League Baseball shortstop for the Seattle Mariners. While he has typically fielded at shortstop in his professional career, Ryan has been known to play at second and third base and has dabbled with pitching. Ryan was born in Los Angeles, California on March 26, 1982, to Katie and Jim Ryan. He is the youngest of their four children. His father was an infielder for Loyola Marymount University and holds the school's single season record for most hits with a wooden bat. His uncle, Willie Ryan, was a National Champion First Team All-American first baseman... for the USC Trojans baseball team; his other uncle, Dr. Patrick Ryan, was a college sprinter at UCLA and Michigan State. When Ryan was a baby, his father dubbed him "The Boog" after major leaguer Boog Powell, and the nickname has endured among family and friends. He is 6'2" and weighs 195 pounds. In the fall of 2000, Ryan enrolled at Lewis-Clark State College, a small NAIA school in Lewiston, Idaho. In his first season, he batted .375 with 5 triples, the third most ever by a Warrior. As a sophomore shortstop, he hit .359 with 34 RBIs and hit .378 with runners on.
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