Maryland Love Connection: Ryan and Jordan Selmer

Baseball and softball have more similarities than meets the eye. 

The batted ball sports might see pitchers throw in two different ways, but they are as similar as they are different. The two have also helped to spark more than one romantic flame at Maryland, as former Terps softball player Jordan Aughinbaugh and Terps baseball player Ryan Selmer found love on and off the field, blossoming into a relationship and marriage following their time in College Park.

"Obviously number one is that I was able to meet my wife," Ryan said of his time at Maryland. "I had amazing experiences and I wouldn't have wanted to go anywhere else. We enjoy going back to remember the good ole' days when we can."

Jordan and Ryan were both Maryland-born, with Jordan growing up in Port Tobacco, on the other side of the Chesapeake Bay, and Ryan living down the street from College Park in Beltsville. However, the two didn't meet on campus until Ryan's redshirt sophomore season with the Terps, his third year with the program.

Jordan began her softball career at former Atlantic Coast Conference rival NC State, spending her first two seasons with the Wolfpack in Raleigh before transferring to Maryland.

It was then, with Jordan, a junior, and Ryan, a redshirt sophomore, that the two first met.

"We knew each other a little prior to when we actually started talking but didn't really start talking until some baseball/softball people were hanging out at Cornerstone Drafts on a Saturday night," Ryan said. "Baseball was celebrating a win against Michigan and softball was 'dreading' the next day for getting stomped by Ohio State."

That weekend, March 24-26, 2017, was in the midst of what turned out to be their final seasons on the diamond for Maryland, and while it was a great weekend for baseball, taking two of three from the Wolverines, softball was swept by the Buckeyes. However, that weekend meant so much more to the two as their relationship blossomed from there before Jordan graduated in the spring of 2017.

The two clicked near-instantly upon talking for the first time at Cornerstone, which wouldn't be the last time their softball and baseball worlds would collide.

"She was very nice to me, would go out of her way to do something for me," Ryan said. "I could tell she was a very caring and compassionate person. She is a very family first type of person which I liked a lot."

It took about a month or so from the start of the relationship for it to turn serious, which made for some interesting timing as Jordan's graduation date was fast approaching in May 2017. 

"Yes, given I was about to graduate in a couple months, I don't think I would have entertained a relationship if I didn't see Ryan in my future," Jordan said. "When you know, you know, right?"

At that same time, Ryan was preparing for the Big Ten Tournament and, eventually, the NCAA tournament, where the Terps made the Morgantown Regional. However, the tight-knit bond between the two was progressing quickly off the field. With softball and baseball often lining up on the same midweek days and weekend series, it was difficult for the two to watch each other play in person, but it became a nervous watch in either regard.

"Nervous! I think I was more nervous for him then he was nervous for himself," Jordan said. "I was more nervous watching him play than I ever was ever nervous playing myself."

Jordan became the primary first baseman for Maryland once she transferred over from NC State, playing in 84 games with the Terps over two seasons. Across campus at Bob "Turtle" Smith Stadium, Ryan was part of two teams that reached the NCAA Super Regionals and three that reached the NCAA tournament, posting a career 7-6 record 3.06 ERA in 82 appearances with 70 strikeouts overall.

Upon Jordan's graduation and Maryland's elimination from the NCAA tournament soon after, Ryan still had a year remaining of eligibility, but Major League Baseball called. 

He was drafted by the New York Mets in the 31st round of the 2017 MLB Draft, an opportunity he had been working toward his entire career, and he took it, reporting to the Kingsport Mets in the Appalachian League that summer.

"My goal was to visit him once a month, which I was able to do for the most part," Jordan said. "I visited him in Florida when he was in spring training, Brooklyn with the Cyclones, and a few other places for away games (West Virginia, etc.). He also surprised me and came home a few times during his very rare breaks in his schedule."

Ryan spent the summer at Kingsport before reporting to Spring Training in the spring of 2018 in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where he stayed to begin the season with the St. Lucie Mets in the Florida State League, one of three teams he would play for in the Mets system in 2018.

His last team, the Brooklyn Cyclones, was much closer to home. Selmer made 22 appearances for the New York Mets' South Atlantic League affiliate.

The two continued to find time to see each other in person, and when they couldn't, they would stay in touch constantly over the phone.

"We FaceTimed and called each other at night or when we could," Jordan said. "Anyone that's done long distance knows that FaceTime isn't the same as being with the person. It was very difficult at times but we knew it was on for a few months and we were able to make it work and get through it."

Unfortunately, Ryan was released by the Mets following the 2018 season, ending his professional career, but that realization made him realize just how important Jordan was in his life.

Having dated for around 21 months, Ryan decided to pop the question on December 21, 2018, taking Jordan to Georgetown in Washington D.C. for a date night that involved an Italian lunch and outdoor ice skating before the special moment came.

"I decided to propose in Georgetown on the waterfront," Ryan said. "I took her out on a date to Georgetown which l, at that point, we had wanted to do for a while. … After we ice skated, I took her out on the waterfront with a good view and popped the question on one knee. I had a photographer take photos of us so we could remember the moment."

Arguably, more importantly, Jordan had wanted goldendoodles, so Ryan not only surprised her with one but two puppies upon returning home. Buddy and Dolly are nearly five years old now,  the Selmers' "fur babies," as Jordan called them.

The two were married on Oct. 3, 2020, in Maryland fashion; it was a star-studded Terp wedding, with old teammates from softball and baseball coming back to celebrate the day.

"If it wasn't for Maryland we would have never met," Ryan said. "We both played and we are able to attend tailgates and reunions together, sometimes on the same day. I had three of my teammates in my wedding party and plenty of others attended. We really did make lifelong friends at Maryland and it's been a big part of our lives."

The two added a third member to the family in July 2022 with their daughter Peyton, who is nearly one year old.

Ryan and Jordan didn't have much time to find each other at College Park, but that night at Cornerstone changed their lives forever. Maryland was at the center of their lives before their relationship, and it continues to do so as the two have stuck with their Old Line State roots, settling down in Maryland following their time on campus.

"I look back on my time at Maryland with happiness and gratitude," Jordan said. "I'm very thankful I transferred from NC State or I may have never met Ryan."