LOS ANGELES — UNC Pembroke baseball will be represented in the major leagues for the first time in four decades.

River Ryan, who starred at UNCP from 2017-21, is expected to be called up to the Los Angeles Dodgers after this week’s All-Star break, according to The Athletic.

Ryan will become UNC Pembroke’s first major-league player since Ben Callahan, a pitcher who made four appearances for the Oakland Athletics in 1983.

Ryan has been on the Oklahoma City Baseball Club, the Dodgers’ AAA affiliate, for most of this season. After missing time earlier in the season due to a shoulder injury, he has made seven total starts in 2024 including five at Oklahoma City, where he has no win-loss record with a 2.76 ERA in 16 1/3 innings pitched, with 19 strikeouts.

The Dodgers host the Boston Red Sox in Los Angeles for a three-game series after the All-Star break, followed by a four-game series at home beginning next Monday against the San Francisco Giants. Ryan is expected to join the team’s starting rotation, but it is unclear which game he may start.

Ryan is the fourth-ranked prospect in the Dodgers organization, according to MLB.com. The team has faced numerous injuries on its pitching staff, with seven starting pitchers currently on the injured list; three rookies are already in the current starting rotation, with Ryan set to become the fourth in the five-man unit.

Ryan was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 11th round in 2021, becoming UNCP’s first MLB Draft selection since 2014; Darren Bowen was also drafted out of the Braves program in 2022. The Padres told Ryan they planned to use him as a two-way player, though he never threw a competitive pitch during a short stint in 2021 playing rookie ball, where he had 39 at-bats and played second base.

The Dodgers acquired Ryan from the Padres before the 2022 season in a trade for big-league veteran Matt Beaty. The Dodgers have exclusively used Ryan as a pitcher since his acquisition, and he has quickly risen through the organization’s farm system and become a highly-touted pitching prospect for the team.

At UNCP, Ryan made 35 pitching appearances for the Braves, going 8-1 with a 2.32 ERA and 12 saves. He appeared in multiple pitching roles at UNCP, including as a starter and as the team’s closer, and struck out 114 batters in 93.0 innings. Ryan also compiled a .343 career batting average in 530 at bats for the Braves, with 12 home runs and 119 RBIs, serving as the team’s everyday second baseman for much of his time in the program.

His brother, Ryder Ryan, is also in the major leagues; he is currently on the Pittsburgh Pirates after a brief stint last season with the Seattle Mariners.