Originally from southern Illinois powerhouse Edwardsville, Trey Riley was the No. 5 right-handed pitcher in the state coming out of high school in 2016, according to Perfect Game.  

He spent his freshman year of college at Oklahoma State before transferring back home to the NJCAA’s John A. Logan College. As a freshman at Oklahoma State, Riley was 2-3 with a 3.59 ERA in 28 innings pitched. For the Volunteers as a sophomore, he went 6-2 with 117 strikeouts and 32 walks in 77.2 innings pitched. He finished with three complete games. At Logan, Riley ranked ninth in the country in strikeouts among NJCAA DI pitchers and 11th in both strikeouts per nine innings and ERA. 

His initial plan was to bounce back to the DI level and sign with Missouri State, but MLB came calling instead. The Atlanta Braves drafted the hurler in the 5th round of the 2018 MLB Draft. Through six seasons of affiliated ball, Riley reached AA for three seasons. In the Braves’ farm system, he logged a 14-21 record and a 6.05 ERA but a 9.0 K/9 rate.