FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 20, 2025
Owen Ayers' Hard Work Paying Off with Arizona Fall League
PHOENIX – Baseball was always the path Owen Ayers wanted to take. The Sarasota, Florida native's mom, Kathy Ayers, played softball at Valdosta State, along with his dad, Jeff Ayers, who played baseball. With two parents closely connected to the sport, he had a bat in his hand by the time he was four years old. "It's cool having parents who are very into baseball and softball and just always there to support me and understand how the game is played and what things I need to work on," Ayers said. "It was pretty cool growing up and having them always there for me." While other athletes typically pick up other sports as a young kid before deciding what their favorite is, Ayers knew it was baseball. "Just always loved [baseball] and didn't really play any other sports," Ayers said. "Maybe for fun with my friends, but baseball was always the main thing for me." Some of his earliest memories have included the sport and have allowed him to make lifelong friends from his teams. At 10 years old, Ayer went to the Sarasota Cal Ripken playoffs with his team, but they were one out away from being knocked out before making the World Series. Down by three runs and just one out remaining, Ayers' team came back to make it to the World Series. The special memories from that experience, 14 years later, have been a unique bonding moment for his teammates, with whom he has remained close to this day. Fast forward to high school, Ayers developed into a versatile defensive player, playing as a catcher and in several other positions at Sarasota High School. Instead of taking the traditional college route after his high school career, Ayers opted to take the junior college route, heading to State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. In two seasons with the Manatees, Ayers played as an outfielder and catcher, where he batted .276 with 23 home runs and made First-Team All-Sun Coast Conference. During his junior college days, even with not many opportunities to move up to a Division I program, Ayers kept hope that he would make the transfer. "I just kept believing in myself even when I was at the junior college level and didn't have as many opportunities at the time, but made the most of what I got," Ayers said. With his performance and belief in himself in junior college, he transferred to Marshall University for two more seasons in 2023. With Marshall University in 2024, Ayers played in all 53 games, where he batted .283 with 34 RBI and seven home runs. The catcher also made history, setting a Marshall University program record with 23 doubles in a single season. To make the moment even more important for himself, Ayers had his family in attendance. The opportunities that he was given in junior college and at a Division I program helped Ayers get an even bigger understanding of baseball. Getting at-bats and learning the work it takes to become a better player assisted him in getting drafted to Major League Baseball. "Learning the ups and downs of the game and how difficult it can be and how fun it can be," Ayers said. "Just learning how much work it really takes to put into becoming successful at this game, and it taught me a lot." With the work he put in, the 24-year-old was drafted during the 2024 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs with his friends, family, and girlfriend by his side. In his first year in the minor leagues with the Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Ayers struggled with the adjustment. In 18 games, he had a .190 batting average and .573 OPS, but he didn't see the season as a struggle, but as a way to learn. "I had a little bit of success, a little bit of failure, saw where I was and what I needed to improve on," Ayers said about his first season. "Knowing there was going to be a lot of work and it's not something that's going to be given to me, so it just helped me understand what I needed to do to get to where I want to be." Going into his second season in Myrtle Beach, Ayers added muscle after being an undersized player for most of his playing career. He also worked on his defense, working more on how he's doing behind the plate. In college, while he was both a catcher and outfielder, he played more as an outfielder, which left questions about whether he was solid as a catcher. The switch-hitter worked with the current Pelicans' development coach, Kyle Sutherland, to become more confident at the position. The adjustments gave Ayers a boost in his second season, bumping his average to .238 and OPS to .761 to go along with his 47 RBI, 14 doubles, and six home runs in 65 games. He played 56 games as a catcher, putting up a .981 fielding percentage and totaling 59 assists. In the final month and a half of the season, he had a small bump in the road due to sustaining a broken hand. The injury was hard to come to terms with for Ayers, especially with having a strong bond with his team and improving his game. He received surgery on his hand and started the short rehab process to get back to full health. Desi Wilson, a former professional baseball player who played a season with the San Francisco Giants, worked with Ayers as his rehab hitting coach. Wilson helped him with his hitting, but also was helpful to him mentally. "He helped me a lot mentally and physically," Ayers said. "Just learning what it takes to be at that higher level. He played in the big leagues for a little bit, and he's learned from a lot of great people, so just trying to learn as much as I can from him and soak in the time that I had." With going back to full health, the Cubs sent Ayers to the Arizona Fall League, where he has thrived to start the season. In his first week, he went 5-for-11 with two doubles, a homer, four RBIs, and two walks for a 1.447 OPS. The performance handed him AFL Hitter of the Week honors for the first week. While more attention was brought to his name for the honor, Ayers doesn't want to get too carried away and continue to improve his overall game. "Just trying to keep doing what I've been doing and keep my head down," Ayers said. "[The AFL] has been great, but there's still a lot of work to be done ahead, so just trying to be thankful and grateful for this opportunity being with these guys."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 20, 2025
Owen Ayers' Hard Work Paying Off with Arizona Fall League
PHOENIX – Baseball was always the path Owen Ayers wanted to take.
The Sarasota, Florida native's mom, Kathy Ayers, played softball at Valdosta State, along with his dad, Jeff Ayers, who played baseball. With two parents closely connected to the sport, he had a bat in his hand by the time he was four years old.
"It's cool having parents who are very into baseball and softball and just always there to support me and understand how the game is played and what things I need to work on," Ayers said. "It was pretty cool growing up and having them always there for me."
While other athletes typically pick up other sports as a young kid before deciding what their favorite is, Ayers knew it was baseball.
"Just always loved [baseball] and didn't really play any other sports," Ayers said. "Maybe for fun with my friends, but baseball was always the main thing for me."
Some of his earliest memories have included the sport and have allowed him to make lifelong friends from his teams. At 10 years old, Ayer went to the Sarasota Cal Ripken playoffs with his team, but they were one out away from being knocked out before making the World Series.
Down by three runs and just one out remaining, Ayers' team came back to make it to the World Series. The special memories from that experience, 14 years later, have been a unique bonding moment for his teammates, with whom he has remained close to this day.
Fast forward to high school, Ayers developed into a versatile defensive player, playing as a catcher and in several other positions at Sarasota High School. Instead of taking the traditional college route after his high school career, Ayers opted to take the junior college route, heading to State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota.
In two seasons with the Manatees, Ayers played as an outfielder and catcher, where he batted .276 with 23 home runs and made First-Team All-Sun Coast Conference. During his junior college days, even with not many opportunities to move up to a Division I program, Ayers kept hope that he would make the transfer.
"I just kept believing in myself even when I was at the junior college level and didn't have as many opportunities at the time, but made the most of what I got," Ayers said.
With his performance and belief in himself in junior college, he transferred to Marshall University for two more seasons in 2023.
With Marshall University in 2024, Ayers played in all 53 games, where he batted .283 with 34 RBI and seven home runs. The catcher also made history, setting a Marshall University program record with 23 doubles in a single season.
To make the moment even more important for himself, Ayers had his family in attendance.
The opportunities that he was given in junior college and at a Division I program helped Ayers get an even bigger understanding of baseball. Getting at-bats and learning the work it takes to become a better player assisted him in getting drafted to Major League Baseball.
"Learning the ups and downs of the game and how difficult it can be and how fun it can be," Ayers said. "Just learning how much work it really takes to put into becoming successful at this game, and it taught me a lot."
With the work he put in, the 24-year-old was drafted during the 2024 MLB Draft by the Chicago Cubs with his friends, family, and girlfriend by his side.
In his first year in the minor leagues with the Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Ayers struggled with the adjustment. In 18 games, he had a .190 batting average and .573 OPS, but he didn't see the season as a struggle, but as a way to learn.
"I had a little bit of success, a little bit of failure, saw where I was and what I needed to improve on," Ayers said about his first season. "Knowing there was going to be a lot of work and it's not something that's going to be given to me, so it just helped me understand what I needed to do to get to where I want to be."
Going into his second season in Myrtle Beach, Ayers added muscle after being an undersized player for most of his playing career. He also worked on his defense, working more on how he's doing behind the plate.
In college, while he was both a catcher and outfielder, he played more as an outfielder, which left questions about whether he was solid as a catcher. The switch-hitter worked with the current Pelicans' development coach, Kyle Sutherland, to become more confident at the position.
The adjustments gave Ayers a boost in his second season, bumping his average to .238 and OPS to .761 to go along with his 47 RBI, 14 doubles, and six home runs in 65 games. He played 56 games as a catcher, putting up a .981 fielding percentage and totaling 59 assists.
In the final month and a half of the season, he had a small bump in the road due to sustaining a broken hand. The injury was hard to come to terms with for Ayers, especially with having a strong bond with his team and improving his game.
He received surgery on his hand and started the short rehab process to get back to full health. Desi Wilson, a former professional baseball player who played a season with the San Francisco Giants, worked with Ayers as his rehab hitting coach. Wilson helped him with his hitting, but also was helpful to him mentally.
"He helped me a lot mentally and physically," Ayers said. "Just learning what it takes to be at that higher level. He played in the big leagues for a little bit, and he's learned from a lot of great people, so just trying to learn as much as I can from him and soak in the time that I had."
With going back to full health, the Cubs sent Ayers to the Arizona Fall League, where he has thrived to start the season. In his first week, he went 5-for-11 with two doubles, a homer, four RBIs, and two walks for a 1.447 OPS. The performance handed him AFL Hitter of the Week honors for the first week.
While more attention was brought to his name for the honor, Ayers doesn't want to get too carried away and continue to improve his overall game.
"Just trying to keep doing what I've been doing and keep my head down," Ayers said. "[The AFL] has been great, but there's still a lot of work to be done ahead, so just trying to be thankful and grateful for this opportunity being with these guys."
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