The pitcher with the deceptive delivery committed to a college he had never seen.
That combination has worked wonders for Campbell's baseball team, which is in the NCAA tournament for just the second time. The Camels (40-19) secured an automatic berth with submarine-style closer Ryan Thompson earning the Big South Conference tournament MVP honor, and they will face regional host South Carolina (42-16) today at 7 p.m.
"He just kind of evolved as this guy," Campbell coach Greg Goff said. "It's amazing."
Relying on a devastating slider, a mid-80s fastball and an improving changeup, the 6-foot-6, 220-pound Thompson is 6-2 with 17 saves in 37 appearances this season.
He pitched in all five of Campbell's conference tournament wins, registering a save in the first three and picking up a relief victory in the fourth one. He also closed out a 9-1 win against Winthrop in the championship game, finishing the event with totals of nine innings worked and no earned runs allowed.
The lights-out numbers come from a lightly regarded prospect.
A graduate of Cascade High School in Oregon, Thompson was named the Capital Conference's top pitcher after striking out 156 batters as a senior, but recruiting interest in the right-hander was minimal. He attended Chemeketa, made his debut as a middle reliever and was a Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges all-region pick as a freshman.
That honor meant he could participate in an NWAACC showcase during the fall of his sophomore year, and Campbell assistant coach Rick McCarty flew across the country to scout the event. Several Big South schools also have seniors who are NWAACC alums, and four players on Campbell's current roster are from the NWAACC, so the organization has been fruitful for the Camels.
To say Thompson struggled in the showcase is an understatement. He faced four batters and allowed a hit to each one.
"I didn't think I was going to go anywhere," Thompson said.
He was recruited by a few colleges, including Liberty, and amiable phone conversations with McCarty convinced Thompson to choose Campbell even though he had never visited the Buies Creek campus.
For a student moving from Oregon to North Carolina, the availability of furnished apartments also helped Campbell's cause, but Thompson admits McCarty was the deciding factor.
"He charmed me, I guess," Thompson said. "It felt like the right thing to do, and it was.
"Most of the places that were talking to me, it almost felt like they only cared about what I could do for their program more than what was actually best for me. I felt like Coach McCarty actually cared about me more than just what I could do for the baseball team."
When Thompson finally arrived at Campbell, he liked Buies Creek because it reminded him of his hometown of Turner, Oregon.
Ryan Mattes had saved 10 games the previous season, and hard-throwing lefty Matt Marksberry was an option at closer, but Thompson excelled in that role. He allowed seven earned runs in 71-plus innings while going 9-1 with 10 saves for a 49-10 team.
The story of how he developed his delivery is almost as strange as how he chose his college.
Thompson enjoyed throwing from an unorthodox angle as a kid, but concerns that it would cause injuries led him to use an overhand motion.
"Playing Wiffle Ball, I always wanted to mess around like some of the guys in the major leagues that threw different," Thompson said. "I always wanted to be unique and have something the other guys didn't have, but I went away from that."
Thompson stuck with an overhand delivery until coaches at a Western Oregon University camp advised him to change it as a high school sophomore.
After studying his delivery in slow motion, the coaches told Thompson his natural arm slot was lower and warned him that he'd probably have shoulder problems if he continued to pitch the same way.
"I was a million times better ever since that day, and I never went back," Thompson said.
Thompson begins his motion with a high leg kick, and it's particularly hard for right-handed hitters to see him release the ball. The changeup is a developing weapon against left-handed hitters, and Thompson allowed one unearned run while recording the final seven outs last week against a Coastal Carolina team that started only one right-handed batter.
Location is crucial for Thompson, and McCarty stresses it by using a hanging string that crosses the plate at a knee-high level in Campbell's bullpen. Pitches that go under the string would likely turn into groundballs.
"The philosophy here at Campbell fits my pitching style perfectly," Thompson said.
Thompson, who was named one of the nation's top 50 seniors by Baseball America, is expected to be picked at some point in next week's MLB draft. Professional prospects take a backseat to this weekend's regional, Campbell's first NCAA appearance since 1990.
Goff said it's harder for a closer to be a good teammate because he's not in the dugout as often as other players, but Thompson stays in there until he's needed in the bullpen, and he is quick to offer a hug to a fellow pitcher once the outing is over.
When Thompson takes the mound, games end frequently with on-field handshakes and high-fives.
"Just to see him go out and compete every day, it's unbelievable," said roommate Elijah Trail, Campbell's third baseman. "He's the perfect epitome of a leader and a competitor. He's just nasty."
Thompson, who played his first two seasons at Chemeketa Community College in Oregon, ranks sixth in Division I with a 1.22 ERA and is a third-team Louisville Slugger All-American. He led the nation with a 0.88 ERA as a junior.
