Western Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame
Greg Holland (Baseball, 2005-07)
Within Western Carolina's rich baseball tradition, few names resonate like Greg Holland.
A dominant late-inning reliever for the Catamounts from 2005-07, Holland emerged as one of the Southern Conference's top bullpen arms, helping lead Western Carolina to the 2007 SoCon regular-season championship and a NCAA at-large tournament berth, while earning first-team All-SoCon honors.
Selected in the 10th round of the 2007 MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals, the Marion native went on to author one of the most decorated professional careers by a former Catamount. Over 12 Major League seasons, Holland earned three MLB All-Star selections, became one of baseball's premier closers, and helped the Royals capture the 2015 World Series title.
Holland established a Royals franchise record with 47 saves in 2013, earned consecutive All-Star selections in 2013 and 2014, and later added a third All-Star appearance with Colorado in 2017 after leading the National League with 41 saves and earning Comeback Player of the Year honors.
His professional career included stops with the Royals (2010-15, 2020-21), the Colorado Rockies (2017), St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals (2018), the Arizona Diamondbacks (2019), and finished with the Texas Rangers in 2022.
Over three seasons as a Catamount, Holland collected 19 career saves – sixth in the program record books – over 82 appearances. He recorded a SoCon-best 10 saves for the 2007 SoCon regular-season champion and 42-win Catamounts, collecting first-team All-SoCon honors from the league's head coaches. He also twice garnered SoCon Pitcher of the Week plaudits between 2006 and '07.
Holland's 10 saves in 2007 are tied for fourth in the program's seasonal history, while his nine saves from 2006 rank him tied for sixth in the school's ledger. He also paced the SoCon with a 2.51 collective ERA as a sophomore, limiting opponents to a .225 batting average against. He was also named to the SoCon's Spring Academic All-Conference team in both 2006 and '07.
As a professional, Holland rapidly progressed through the farm system and made his MLB debut against Oakland on Aug. 2, 2010, appearing in 15 games as a rookie. After winning five games and producing four saves over 46 games in 2011, the eventual three-time MLB All-Star Holland began his exponential rise a year later with seven victories and 16 saves in 2012. The following season, he set the Royals' franchise record with 47 saves in 2013 – a mark he challenged the very next season with 46. Holland struck out a single-season personal best 103 in 2013 – the most by an American League reliever that season as part of an All-Star performance, returning to the mid-season classic in 2014 to represent KC, where he was twice named the Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year for the franchise.
The 2015 MLB season was bittersweet for Holland, who saved 32 games for Kansas City during the regular season, but was sidelined by injury during the team's World Series championship run.
After missing the 2016 season due to injury, the resurgent Holland enamored another fanbase with a move to the National League's Colorado Rockies, as he led the NL with 41 saves as part of garnering the Comeback Player of the Year Award. He also landed his third All-Star nod with Colorado in 2017.
