Ben Williamson #15

Ben began playing baseball in his Northern Virginia backyard with his father, Andy, at two years old…he didn’t consider pursuing a professional career as a realistic option until he began playing collegiately at William and Mary...He was a Nationals fan while growing up and idolized Ryan Zimmerman...Ben went from going undrafted following his junior season to a second-round selection after adding 10-15 pounds of muscle and slugging a career-best .662 with 12 HR as a senior…he found out he had been drafted by the Mariners after falling asleep at his parents’ home in Chantilly, Va.…he was woken up by an 11:30 p.m. phone call from his agent, which was followed by a call from Mariners V.P. of Amateur Scouting, Scott Hunter…he immediately went downstairs and woke up his father, who also fell asleep on the basement couch while watching the draft...His mother, Regena, was a four-year gymnast at James Madison (Va.) University...Ben and his fiancée, Sara, were engaged this past offseason... Selected by the Mariners in the second round (57th overall) of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of The College of William & Mary...is the second-highest draft pick in school history behind Bill Bray (2004, 13th overall)...in four collegiate seasons, batted .327 (200-for-611) with 35 2B, 8 3B, 19 HR, 89 RBI a .428 on-base pct. and a .504 slugging pct...Named Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Player of the Season as a senior and became the first player in William & Mary history to be named First Team All-CAA for three consecutive years…both his .390 average (82-for-210) and .513 on-base pct. led the conference... had multiple hits in 26 of 55 games...Attended Freedom (Va.) High School, where he was named first team all-conference, first team all-region, conference player of the Year and regional player of the year as a senior.

2025

Appeared in 85 games during his April 13–July 31 stint with the Mariners, his first Major League action…during his stint in the Majors, his 70 hits ranked fifth among AL rookies and his 13 doubles tied for fifth...Selected from Triple-A Tacoma April 13 and made his MLB debut April 15 at CIN, going 1-for-3 with a run scored…singled off Nick Lodolo in his first trip to the plate…became the 26th player in Mariners history to hit safely in his first career plate appearance…was the first player from The College of William & Mary to debut in the Majors since DET Will Rhymes (July 25, 2010 vs. TOR) and the 13th all-time...Played in a combined 150 Minor League games before making his major league debut, becoming the seventh player in Mariners history to debut having played 150 games or fewer in the minors, first since Mike Zunino (96G) in 2013...Went 2-for-6 with one 2B, one HR and two R on April 19 at TOR…became the fifth Mariner to tally a double and homer in the same game within the first five games of his career, joining Jarred Kelenic, Kyle Lewis, Cade Marlowe and Ichiro Suzuki...Recorded a 4-RBI performance on April 26 vs. MIA, making him the 10th Mariner to tally a 4-RBI game in within his first 15 Major League games, first since Cade Marlowe on Aug. 3, 2023 (four)…went 2-for-5 to raise his average to .310 (13- for-42) through 11 career games, fifth highest in Mariners history over such a span (min. 40AB), including the third best since 2000 to Kyle Lewis (.333) in 2019 and Ichiro Suzuki (.333) in 2001...Despite appearing in 85 games for Seattle, his .268 (19-for-71) average with runners in scoring position was the third best on the roster (min. 70AB)…his 19 hits were also sixth most among Mariners in such situations...Batted .268 (19-for-71) with runners in scoring position, third among Mariners hitters to Jorge Polanco (.337) and J.P. Crawford (.289)...Slashed .314/.392/.462 (66-for-210) with 12 2B, two 3B, five HR, 46 RBI and 10 SB in 52 games with Triple-A Tacoma…recorded an RBI in six straight contests from Sept. 10-16. Batted .385 (30-for-78) and had a 1.028 OPS with runners in scoring position at the Triple-A level… marked the second-highest RISP average among full-season Minor Leaguers (min. 70AB)...In 20 games during August, hit .378 (31-for-82) with four 2B, one 3B, four HR, 23 RBI, 17 R, 6 SB and a 1.056 OPS…ranked fourth in the Pacific Coast League in average, tied for fourth in RBI and tied for seventh in hits...Traded to the Rays as part of a three-team deal with the Cardinals in which the Mariners acquired INF Brendan Donovan on Feb. 2, 2026.

2024

Split season between High-A Everett and Double-A Arkansas, combining to hit .283 (132-for-467) with 34 doubles, four home runs, 19 stolen bases and a .769 OPS in 124 games...Promoted to Arkansas on May 15.

2023

Made professional debut, splitting time between the ACL Mariners and Class-A Modesto.