A stellar defensive shortstop, Billy Richards appeared in 75 games at Rutgers-Camden in a three-year career shortened by injuries. Despite only one healthy season, Richards managed to collect 79 putouts, 169 assists and 23 double plays, while adding 30 RBIs, 28 runs and a .229 career batting average.
Academics: Rutgers-Camden Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the 2024 Spring and 2024 Fall semesters.
Baseball 2025: Appeared in 23 games, starting 15 in a season interrupted by injuries…Started the year as the Scarlet Raptors’ shortstop before a knee injury limited him to pinch-hitting and designated hitter duties from mid-April to the end of the season…Hit .207 with 10 runs and seven RBIs…Notched one double and his first career triple and home run…Was hit by four pitches and added eight walks, including one walk in each of his first four games of the season…Successful on his only stolen base attempt and added one sacrifice fly…Had a .338 on-base percentage and a .310 slugging percentage…Defensively, notched 21 putouts, 28 assists and two double plays…Went 2-for-3 with a walk and one run against Gwynedd Mercy (Feb. 25)…Went 1-for-3, including an RBI triple and an RBI walk, and scored a run against Widener (Feb. 27)…Ht his first career home run, going 1-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored against Penn State-Abington (March 4)…Went 2-for-5 with a double, one run and two RBIs against Mount Union (March 15) before suffering an injury later that week on the Scarlet Raptors’ spring break trip to Florida…Defensively, had three putouts and a season-high five assists against Widener (Feb. 27) and notched his high of four putouts, while adding two assists against Ripon (March 17).
Baseball 2024: Appeared in 35 games, starting 27 at shortstop…Hit .248 with a .303 slugging percentage and a .320 on-base percentage…Had six doubles and went 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts…Scored 11 runs and added 16 RBIs…Walked 10 times and was hit twice…Led the team with 94 assists…Added 41 putouts and helped to turn 12 double plays…Had six multiple-hit games and four multiple-RBI games…Had a five-game hitting streak from April 20-26, going 7-for-20 (.350) with three RBIs and one run scored…Went 1-for-2 with three walks, a stolen base, one RBI and three runs scored against Gwynedd Mercy (Feb. 27)…Went 2-for-3 with a double, one run and two RBIs in the opener of a March 3 doubleheader against Rosemont…Went 2-for-4 and added a sacrifice against Cornell (March 12)…In an April 5 game against The College of New Jersey, went 3-for-4 with a double and one RBI…Went 1-for-3 with a double, one run, one walk and two RBIs in a 6-5 10-inning win over Kean (April 6, Game One)…Stole home in the fifth inning against Rutgers-Newark (April 13, Game Two) as part of a double steal…Added a season-high seven assists in that Newark game…Had a 2-for-4 game with one double against Stockton (April 18)…Went 2-for-5 with one run and one RBI in the opener of an April 20 doubleheader against Ramapo…Went 2-for-5 with one RBI against Montclair State (April 26, Game One)…Collected a double and two RBIs against Ramapo in the New Jersey Athletic Conference playoffs (April 30)…
Baseball 2023: Played in 17 games, starting 13…Hit .213 with seven runs and seven RBIs...Walked five times and was hit by a pitch four times for a .322 on-base percentage…Tied for third on the team with three sacrifice flies and added one sacrifice…Finished fourth on the team with 47 assists, despite playing fewer than half of the team’s games due to an injury…Added 17 putouts and nine double plays…Advanced 23 runners in 33 opportunities for a .667 percentage…Had a four-game hitting streak from April 14-18 (5-for-12, .417), including a 2-for-3 game with a walk and one run scored against New Jersey City (April 16, Game Two)…His leadoff double in the 10th inning led to the winning run in an 8-7 win over nationally-ranked Rowan (April 21), finishing the game 2-for-5 with one run scored…Notched seven assists against New Jersey City (April 16, Game One) and six assists against Arcadia (April 18)…Had his season high of four putouts against Stockton (April 14).
Pre-Rutgers: Played two years at Camden County College, compiling a career .370 batting average (78-for-211), 56 runs, 40 RBIs and 13 stolen bases (16 tries) in 58 games…As a freshman in 2021, playing in 26 games, had a slash line of .326/.453/.477 with 19 runs, 16 RBIs, seven doubles and two home runs…Added 13 walks and seven HBP…As a sophomore in 2022, played in 32 games with 24 RBIs, 37 runs, 10 stolen bases and a slash line of .400/.457/.584…Had 12 doubles, one triple and three home runs, while adding eight walks and five HBP…Defensively, collected 57 putouts, 40 assists and six double plays in 110 career chances.
High School: Two-year varsity baseball letterman at Highland Regional High School for Coach DJ Gore…Graduated in 2019.
Club Team: MA Show
Personal: Born December 15, 2000…Nicknamed “billyrich”…Hobbies include working playing video games and fishing…Marketing major at Rutgers-Camden with a Management minor…Post-graduation plan is to work for a sports company/team in the marketing department…Billy is the son of Suzen and Keith Jackson of Blackwood.
