Ryan Brunner (2012) - Hall of Fame

Ryan Brunner

Induction:
2012
Class:
2001

Ryan Brunner (1998-2001) earned first-team All-America honors as a senior first baseman/outfielder for the Panthers in 2001.

Brunner began his career by being named the MVC Freshman of the Year in 1998. He became a three-time all-MVC pick at three different positions (1B, OF, DH).

Brunner, a native of Charles City, Iowa, was named UNI's Outstanding Senior Male Athlete and the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year in 2001. He was also named the Outstanding Player at the 2001 MVC Tournament, where he led UNI to the tournament title and a berth into the NCAA Regional for the first time since 1968.

He closed out his Panther career with UNI records for at-bats (801), hits (285), runs (185), home runs (59), RBI (226), total bases (526) and putouts (1,213). Brunner also set UNI single-season records for home runs (25 in 2001), RBI (82 in 2001), runs (72 in 2001) and total bases (187 in 2001). Brunner reached base 94 consecutive games and 131 of his 132 games. Brunner also tied the single-game record for home runs with three blasts against Air Force on March 2, 2001.

Brunner also earned third-team Academic All-America honors in 2001 with a 3.37 GPA while majoring in mathematics.

Following his senior season, Brunner took part in the 2001 NCAA Home Run Challenge in Omaha, Neb., and won the title. Brunner was selected in the 12th round (363rd pick) of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Boston Red Sox.