MLS Draft Interview: Ryan Baer, Seattle Sounders

With the No. 28 pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft, the Seattle Sounders selected Ryan Baer, a midfielder out of West Virginia.

Baer was a fixture in central midfield for the Mountaineers not only in 2024, but for nearly his entire career at the school. He played in 20 matches last season, earning him All-Sun Belt First Team honors. He also made the All-Southeast Region First Team by United Soccer Coaches. WVU seldom lost matches, finishing 13-2-7 and ultimately fell to Virginia in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

"This year with the Sun Belt was kind of an accumulation of last year's run," Baer said. "We didn't win the Sun Belt in 2023 but we all felt like we were the best team in the conference. And then to to kind of bring that confidence into this year and and get it done is definitely such a good feeling. And definitely to end my college career with a with a Sun Belt regular season and a tournament championship is special."

In 2023, the Mountaineers danced all the way to the College Cup for the first time. As the No. 5 overall seed in the tournament, expectations were high. They knocked out Vermont during that run, who eventually won the 2024 edition of the national tournament. The trip to Louisville, Ky., was cut short at the hands of the Clemson Tigers, who went on to hoist the trophy. The 17-3-4 record was still something to be extremely proud of.

"The College Cup was definitely a cool experience to to be one of the last four teams," Baer said. "And I think it kind of gave me and the team some confidence that that we really do belong, that we really are some of the best players in the country."

Baer amassed 92 appearances in his West Virginia career, with 87 of those being starts. That number is a program record.

"To have the starts record is something that that I'll have with me forever," Baer said. "Looking back on my time, it kind of comes up on you quickly when you do something like that, it was definitely a super special moment. I'm really thankful that that [head coach Dan Stratford] gave me the opportunity to go and do that."

For states that boast no professional sports team, the state school is often the pride and joy of athletics for its inhabitants. That is absolutely the case for West Virginia and West Virginia University.

"In terms of representing the school, not even the school, but the state as a whole, West Virginia [University] is celebrated by everyone in the entire state," Baer said. "So just to represent that group of people and to kind of bring the underdog mentality and the grittiness that school has and the people have. I'm honored to do it and that's kind of who I am as a person. So hopefully at the next level, Seattle will be able to see that too."

The Huntersville, N.C., native captained the team for the two final years of his career at the school. Leadership goes a long way and it's absolutely a trait that scouts look for in the pros. For Baer, his captaincy came about from the personality he's had his whole life.

"Being a leader is going to help me at the next level, I think there's a lot of things that come with being a captain that can help translate into the next level," Baer said. "But even if I wasn't a captain, I still think that my mentality and kind of what I'm about can translate in the next level. So to lead West Virginia for three years was obviously something super special for me and just kind of being that guy, I think it can definitely translate the next level."

The defensive midfielder excels at switching the play from side to side. He likes picking out wingers on the run and can play the ball down main street as well. On the ball, Baer keeps the ball close and explodes into spaces. Defensively, he's not afraid to put a tackle in and spring the attack from there. He jumps on each and every opportunity to win a 50-50 ball and makes the winning plays that don't show up on the statsheet.

"I'm going to run the motion games, I'm gonna cover the most ground," Baer said. "I think definitely my strengths are counter prevention, intercepting passes [and] breaking up play. In possession, I think I'm really good in tight spaces. I can hit the [diagonal pass] if I need to."

Above all is the stability that Baer feels he brings to every match. No. 6's are not usually the players getting the praise from the fans or the headlines, though they're often the most crucial piece of the team. A team that fields a defensive midfielder who brings 100% energy and effort for 90 minutes is automatically at an advantage.

"I really just think that my value comes in in my consistency," Baer said." I'm going to be an eight out of 10 every game. I think that there's a lot of value in the defensive midfield position if you can do that. I hope to show that I'm an underdog, I'm a hard worker, I'm super gritty, I'm going to fight for everything. After watching some of the Sounders' games, I think that's something they value."