Former Tennessee baseball star Ben Joyce’s 2025 season came to a close earlier this week. The hard throwing reliever underwent surgery on his right shoulder Wednesday morning and will miss the remainder of the season while recovering, the Los Angeles Angels announced.
Joyce got off to an uncharacteristically poor start to his season back in April, posting a 6.23 ERA in five appearances and 4.1 innings pitched. The tall right hander then went on the IL with the injury. After nearly a month, Joyce had the surgery to repair his shoulder and end his day.
The Knoxville native made his MLB debut throwing 10 innings near the end of the 2023 season, just over a year after the Angels drafted him in the third round of the 2022 MLB Draft. But it was the 2024 season when Joyce truly broke on the scene as a successful MLB reliever. Joyce posted a 2.08 ERA in 34.2 innings pitched while striking out 33 batters and walking 14.
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Joyce went to Walters State Community College out of Farragut High School. After two seasons at Walters State, the right-handed pitcher transferred to Tennessee. He missed the entirety of the 2021 season before breaking onto the college baseball scene as a household name in 2022.
The 6-foot-xx pitcher posted a 2-1 record and 2.23 ERA while striking out 53 batters in 32.1 innings pitched on Tennessee’s SEC Regular-Season and Tournament Championship team. But it was the hard throwing fastball that made Joyce a household name.
Joyce routinely hit triple digits during the 2022 season and broke the NCAA record with a 105 mph fastball in Tennessee’s win over Auburn that season.
It’s been a successful professional career for Joyce to this point. He’ll look to get back to his success in 2024 when he returns to the mound with the Angels in the 2025 season. Former Tennessee teammate Christian Moore could be on the big league squad by that point.
