Henryettan Mark Ryal is going to be inducted into the Buffalo Bisons Hall of Fame this month.
ryal todayRyal, who is interim head coach for the Midwestern State University Mustangs in Wichita Falls, Tex., was an outfielder for the Bisons in 1985 and 1990. He was  first signed by the Bisons in 1985 and appeared in 106 games. Hitting .265, the left-handed slugger led the Bisons with 66 RBI and 21 doubles in the team's first season back at the Triple-A level.
Ryal delivered Buffalo’s only American Association batting title, pacing the circuit with a .334 average that still ranks as the third-best single-season mark in the team's modern era. Ryal added 34 doubles, nine home runs and 49 RBI in 109 games during his year that garnered him both midseason and postseason All-Star nods as well as the Bisons Stan Barron Most Valuable Player award.
The son of long-time Dewar coach Wiley Ryal started his major league baseball career in 1982 when he played for the Kansas City Royals. That was followed by the Chicago White Sox, California Angels, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates and even the Chunichi (Japan) Dragons.
This past year, he was assistant coach for Midwestern. He brings 16 years of coaching experience to MSU having coached eight seasons at the NCAA Division I level including a one-year stint as an assistant coach with Oklahoma State in 2015.
Prior to his stint with the Cowgirls, Ryal spent one season as an assistant coach with the South Alabama Jaguars, helping the squad to a 42-14 record and season-best No. 11 ranking in the NFCA Coaches Poll. The Jaguars advanced all the way to the NCAA regional final before falling to national runner-up Alabama, 3-0. Ryal coached three Jaguars to All-Sun Belt Conference honors in his one season with the squad.
Ryal returned to the Sooner State to serve as head coach at Prague  High School after five seasons as the hitting coach for the Auburn Tigers, seeing the Tigers offense record its fewest strikeouts in 13 years in his final season in 2012.
In 2011, Auburn ranked in both the ESPN and NFCA top-25 polls, spending 12 weeks in the NFCA poll with a season-high ranking of 21st. The Tigers also recorded their first-ever series win over a top-five program, taking two wins in a three-game series from No. 4 Georgia.
In his five seasons at Auburn, Ryal helped the Tigers to three consecutive NCAA regional appearances while coaching five All-Southeastern Conference players.
Prior to Auburn, Ryal served as the head coach for Carl Albert State College in Poteau in 2007-08 after a four-year stint as head coach at Inola High School.ryal bisons card
Ryal also spent one season as the hitting coach for the Oklahoma Sooners baseball team during their College World Series run in 1995.
Ryal made his Major League Baseball debut in 1982 with the Kansas City Royals after four years in the minor league system. He was drafted in the third round of the 1978 draft. Ryal spent time with the Chicago White Sox (1985), California Angels (1986-87), Philadelphia Phillies (1989) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (1990) during his professional career. He also served one season as a scout for the Royals in 2005.
Ryal hit .375 in 13 appearances to help the Angels to an American League Western Division title in 1986. In his final MLB season, Ryal helped the Pirates to a National League Eastern Division title in 1990.
Ryal earned his bachelor’s degree from East Central University (Okla.) in 1997.
He and his wife, Renae, have three children – Rusty, Kacie and Karlie. Rusty was a two-year letter winner for the Oklahoma State baseball team from 2004-05 and was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2005, making his MLB debut on Aug. 10, 2009. Kacie played shortstop for three years at Auburn-Montgomery, helping the Warhawks to a NAIA World Series semifinal appearance in 2012.
In 1979 he was aon the Dewar high school state champion baseball team and was an all state player.
He will join teammate Jason Jacome at the formal induction ceremonies during the Bisons Hondafridaynightbash!® June 30 against the Syracuse Chiefs.