Austin Riley, World Champion and two-time All-Star third baseman for the Atlanta Braves
Austin Riley is the World Champion, two-time All-Star third baseman for the Atlanta Braves. Riley was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the first round, with the 41st overall selection, in the 2015 MLB draft. Though he was committed to the Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball and football teams, Riley chose to sign with the Braves. Riley made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast Braves that season.
Since being called up to the big leagues in 2019, Austin has won multiple awards and accolades, including the Silver Slugger Award (2021), All-MLB First Team (2021), 2 time All-Star (2022 and 2023) and World Champion (2021). He has a .275 lifetime batting average and has hit 134 home runs, 120 doubles and 372 RBI’s (as of 9/29/23). Riley hit his longest recorded home run of 473 feet on April 2, 2023 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. “Those are the ones you don’t feel coming off the bat,” Riley said that night.
Austin is a true Southern man. Born in Memphis and raised in Mississippi, Austin is the eldest son of Mike and Elisa Riley. Austin grew up playing both baseball and football, where he was the quarterback at DeSoto Central High School in Southaven, Mississippi. He eventually turned down the opportunity to be a two-sport athlete at Mississippi State University, where his father played football, when he elected to join the Braves organization in 2015. On August 2, 2022, Austin signed a 10-year contract with the Braves, in pursuit of his hope that he will play his entire career with the organization that drafted him.
Off the field, Austin is a devoted family man, outdoorsman and golfer. He and his wife Anna married in 2018. They welcomed their son Eason in April, 2022. Austin is an avid hunter and golfer, who also commits time and energy raising money for military veterans. Austin believes that without the sacrifice and courage of our military troops, he might not have the opportunity to play baseball for a living. Austin hosts an annual golf tournament raising money for veterans and the organization Team Red, White and Blue.
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