Ryan Bunnell

MLB and CFB handicapper

Ryan is a MLB and College Football handicapper born and raised in Arlington, Texas though he currently resides in Phoenix while pursuing a master’s degree at Arizona State. Ryan is an overall sports nut with a passion for crunching numbers and finding winning picks. This is his first season officially handicapping baseball but has recorded three straight winning seasons in college football and is looking to make it four straight while writing for Pickswise this season. College football is by far his favorite sport to bet, although his favorite market is NFL and NBA player props.

Live Picks 2

Live Parlays 0

Weekly News Articles 0

Location

Phoenix, Arizona

Favorite Sports

Favorite Teams

Greatest Betting Win

My favorite betting memory without a doubt is when I had the chance to watch my TCU Horned Frogs win a College Football Playoff game live in-person. I typically stray away from betting on my favorite teams due to underlying bias, but we’re talking about the playoffs here! I cashed over 10 units on TCU +7.5 and TCU money line (+260) against Michigan. Of course seeing my alma mater reach the national championship for the first time in nearly a century was amazing in of itself, but it wouldn’t have been the same experience without a few units on the line!

Greatest Achievements

3-straight winning years in college football Youngest SBNation Managing Editor in the country at the time of holding the position Several videos with over 1 million views posted on the Pickswise TikTok 11-2 run in MLB this season Turned a $10 free bet into $794 on a +7940 odds UFC round/winning method combo parlay (Shoutout Geoff Neal and Jamahal Hill)

Education

Ryan graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism and sports broadcasting from Texas Christian University (TCU) and has experience in several outlets of sports media. He is currently pursuing a master’s of arts in sports journalism at Arizona State University and will graduate this December.

Experience

5+ years betting experience 2+ years as a sports handicapper 5+ years as a sports journalist Ryan has been betting on sports ever since the Supreme Court decided to leave sports gambling laws up to individual state governments when he was 18 (2018). The majority of his experience comes as a sports reporter when he covered the TCU Horned Frogs for Frogs O’ War, an SBNation affiliate, and was the youngest Managing Editor in the country at the time. In that role, Ryan produced a weekly college football podcast and blog breaking down his picks and will be going for a fourth consecutive winning season in CFB this fall. Most recently, Ryan worked on the Pickswise social media team as the TikTok coordinator.

Favorite betting market / type

NFL and NBA player props.

Favorite bookmakers

Ryan's Picks

5 Innings Line Pick

TB Rays F5 ML(-105)

Reasoning

The Minnesota Twins pulled out the win in the home opener Friday after trailing 3-0 against the Rays, going on the win 10-4. This time around, the numbers suggest a different story. Mick Abel (13.50 ERA, 3.60 WHIP) had a nightmare start to the season against an average Baltimore offense and faces a Rays lineup that has been strong against right-handed pitching thus far. Tampa Bay ranks 3rd in BA (.293) and 7th in wRC+ (128) vs. RHP. I expect the Rays offense to get to the 24-year-old coming off a rocky start.

On the contrary, lefty Steven Matz (7.20 ERA, 1.40 WHIP) takes the bump for Tampa Bay in a much more favorable spot. While Matz didn’t have an ideal start to the season either, he faces a Twins offense showing some rough splits early on this season. Minnesota is posting a 145 wRC+ against RHP compared to a 78 wRC+ against LHP; that’s a drastic drop off. As the Rays bullpen is posting a league-worst ERA thus far, I’ll back the lefty Matz to keep the Twins quiet early and take Tampa Bay on the First 5 Innings money line.

Rays vs Twins prediction: Tampa Bay F5 ML (-105) available at time of publishing. Playable to -120.

BET -105.0 NOW WITH

Ryan Bunnell

Money Line Pick

PIT Pirates Win(-105)

Reasoning

The Pittsburgh Pirates have won 3 straight games entering a Saturday contest against the Baltimore Orioles. Both squads have had an up and down start to the young season, but the starting pitching matchup in this one should be interesting. Shane Baz (6.75 ERA, 1.41 WHIP) had a less-than-ideal start to the season and faces a Pittsburgh lineup that found success against right-handed pitching in the opening matchup of the series, forcing an early exit for Orioles starter Kyle Bradish.

Both offenses rank middle of the pack against RHP early on this season, but Baz is tough to rely on after ending the 2025 season ranking in the 19th percentile in pitching run value. The sample size is a small pool to pull from, but the Pirates’ bullpen has outperformed Baltimore’s through seven games with a 4.11 combined ERA and a pair of saves. Neither offense has proven to be better than another, but Pittsburgh starter Carmen Mlodzinski (4.15 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) showed flashes of greatness with 8 strikeouts and 0 walks in 4.1 innings of work to debut the season. At a near coin flip price, I’ll back the home team to pull out back-to-back wins and take the Pirates money line.

Orioles vs Pirates prediction: Pittsburgh ML (-102) available at time of publishing. Playable to -120.

BET -105 NOW WITH

Ryan Bunnell