Local Westerville native Bryan Stopar delivered a breakout junior season in 2017, cementing himself as the team’s starting designated hitter after appearing in just 12 combined games as a freshman and sophomore.

Stopar started 39 games and blossomed into a weapon at the plate, leading the Ohio Athletic Conference in RBI (43) and finishing fourth with six home runs. He batted .346 and tallied 56 hits, both team highs, along with 11 doubles, 84 total bases and a .402 on-base percentage.

The St. Francis DeSales product strung together a 17-game hitting streak throughout the middle of the season, and ultimately went on to earn first team All-OAC and second team All-Mideast Region honors.

He remained sharp in the classroom, maintaining a near-perfect grade-point average in allied health and ultimately earning third team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors. Stopar later graduated in the spring of 2018 with a cumulative GPA of 3.92 and was part of three OAC championships teams (2016 regular season, 2017 tournament, 2018 regular season). His teams went a combined 116-56 and made a pair of NCAA appearances.