Cullowhee, N.C. – It is with profound sadness that Western Carolina Athletics and Catamount baseball announce the passing of former baseball student-athlete and WCU assistant coach Ryan McCurry this week in Charlotte.
Memorial services will be held this Saturday, Aug. 16, at 3:30 p.m., at the St. John's Episcopal Church (1923 Carmel Rd.) in Charlotte, N.C. At the request of McCurry's family, in place of flowers, donations can be made to the Catamount Baseball
"1002 Club" (link) in Ryan McCurry's name and memory.
Originally from Morganton and a product of Freedom High, McCurry was recruited to Cullowhee in 2000, where he played for the Catamounts through the 2003 season. The four-year letter winner collected his first career homer as a freshman, where he played in 14 games with three starts as a rookie. The following season in 2001, McCurry hit a career-best .271 with 23 hits, including a pair of doubles and eight RBI over 29 games with 23 starts, and was part of the biggest turnaround in program history as WCU went from 15 victories in 2000 to 30 in the 2001 season.
McCurry captained Western Carolina's 2003 Southern Conference regular-season and tournament championship squad that finished 43-21 overall and 22-8 in league play, two and a half games ahead of second-place Georgia Southern. WCU tossed three straight shutout victories at Riley Park in Charleston, S.C., to advance to the title game before falling to GSU in 11 innings to force the winner-take-all finale. The Catamounts outlasted the Eagles, 6-5, in 11 innings to win the championship and advance to the NCAA Wilson, N.C., regional, where they ultimately bowed out to North Carolina State.
After coaching in the Coastal Plain League in 2006 alongside former teammate and current WCU head coach Alan Beck, McCurry returned to his alma mater in 2007 under his former head coach, Todd Raleigh, as a graduate assistant coach. He helped guide the 2007 Catamounts to a first-place regular season tie with the College of Charleston at 20-7 in SoCon play, and an at-large berth to the NCAA Chapel Hill regional, where WCU bounced East Carolina to advance to the regional final, where the Catamounts fell to No. 3 North Carolina.
McCurry was most recently working as a senior sales director for KYND, based remotely in Charlotte for the company, which is based in London, England.
Catamount Athletics and the baseball program extend their deepest condolences on the passing of Ryan McCurry. Please keep the family, friends, and his former teammates in your prayers during this challenging time. Ryan will be sorely missed by the Catamount baseball family.
