Ryan Gray
Ryan Gray has been a part of successful baseball experiences his entire life. A native of Eldorado, Illinois, he was a member of the Eldorado High School baseball teams that played in three straight state playoffs. Gray was named to the first-team state tournament squad twice during those years. In 1984 his American Legion team from Harrisburg, Illinois competed in the Illinois State Championships. As a 1985 high school senior, Ryan was named the Southern Illinois Player of the Year. Gray continued to play baseball after high school, joining two highly successful college programs. He played two years at Southeastern Illinois College in Harrisburg, Illinois and then the following two seasons at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, where he was the second leading hitter on the Bulldogs’ 1988 Tennessee Collegiate Athletic Conference championship club. After coaching at the high school level for three years, he joined the coaching staff at Middle Tennessee State University as an assistant coach. In both of his seasons at MTSU, the Blue Raiders earned championship rings, and the 1995 squad played in the NCAA Division One Western Regional in Fresno, California. Gray then served as the head coach at Trevecca Nazarene University, where he coached two players who were selected as back-to-back Player of the Year (2000 and 2001) in the prestigious TranSouth Athletic Conference. Both went on to professional baseball. Gray is a former scout for the Houston Astros. In 1995 he earned a doctoral degree at MTSU in Physical Education. He served as head baseball coach at Emmanuel College and Southeastern Illinois College in the past decade. He is married to the former Danica Colyer of Dexter, MO. They have three daughters, Reagan, Rylee Kate, and Reece. The author currently resides in Eldorado, IL where he owns Ryan Gray & Associates. He is a Certified Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist/Group Employee Benefit Director with Legal Shield.
