Making Knowledge Cool: How Ryan Cox Is Using His Platform to Inspire Readers

In a world where attention is constantly pulled toward noise, speed, and performance, Ryan Cox is choosing something quieter.

He’s choosing to read — and more importantly, to read out loud, in public, and alongside the people who follow him.

The Savannah Bananas shortstop, known to many fans as The Glove Magician, recently introduced Ryan Reads, a reading channel and informal book club that opens his platform not to challenges or hot takes, but to books, ideas, and curiosity. There’s no pressure to keep up. No expectation to perform. Just an invitation to think.

And in today’s sports and media landscape, that choice stands out.

Beyond the Glove

For fans of the Savannah Bananas, Ryan Cox is already a familiar presence. His defense is smooth, his energy is playful, and his connection with fans feels real.

But what’s always set Cox apart is how he engages — not just that he does. He treats fans like participants, not spectators. That mindset was clear a couple of years ago when he and the Savannah Banana’s stopped at LSU and he appeared on the Up and In Show, where the conversation focused less on baseball and more on authenticity, community, and what it means to hold influence responsibly.

The themes from that conversation now feel like a blueprint. Ryan Reads isn’t a pivot — it’s a continuation.

What Is Ryan Reads?

Ryan Reads is intentionally simple.

It isn’t framed as a self-improvement challenge.
It isn’t optimized for engagement metrics.
It isn’t performative.

In his announcement, Cox explains how he feels the has been “slacking using some of the best resources” and is encouraging his followers to read more in 2026, where Ryan challenges everyone that “we can all read, and get smarter together.”

Ryan goes on to share some of the books that were the most influential on him, including: The Alchemist, Clarity and Connection, Discipline is Destiny, The Creative Act: A Way of Being, and The 48 Laws of Power.

He goes on to say that, “the goal is to create a community that holds us accountable for our knowledge” and that he hopes in 2026 we can become “healthier, smarter, and just a better version of ourself.”

Link to Ryan Reads here.

The Books and the Signal They Send

The books Ryan has shared so far lean toward reflection, awareness, and perspective — less about doing more, and more about seeing differently. They suggest a curiosity about inner development that mirrors the discipline athletes apply to their craft.

What matters isn’t the genre or the reading list itself. It’s the signal:

Reading isn’t homework.
Thinking isn’t weakness.
Growth doesn’t have to be loud.

For younger fans especially, that message lands. When someone you admire makes reading visible — and normal — it quietly reshapes what feels possible and what feels “cool.”

Platform as Responsibility, Not Performance

Athletes today are constantly encouraged to build brands, chase reach, and maximize monetization. None of that is inherently wrong. But it often leaves little room for sincerity.

Ryan Cox is choosing a different lane.

By using his platform to encourage learning without selling it, he’s reframing influence as responsibility. He’s showing that you don’t need to have all the answers to lead — you just need to be willing to learn publicly.

That kind of leadership doesn’t spike overnight. It compounds.

Where This Connects to Business of Ball

At Business of Ball, the goal has always been to tell stories that expand how we think about the game — not just as entertainment, but as a cultural force that shapes values, behavior, and opportunity. Business of Ball University exists within that same spirit: to educate, inspire, and connect — not just fans to players, but people to ideas.

Ryan Reads fits naturally into that ecosystem not because it promotes a brand, but because it reflects the belief that knowledge, when shared, strengthens the game and the people inside it.

A Different Kind of Highlight

There won’t be a stat for this, and there won’t be a leaderboard for perspective gained. But years from now, someone will remember picking up a book because a shortstop they admired made it feel normal — even cool — to do so, and that they were part of a community.

They may not remember all of Ryan’s trick plays (although most of pretty hard to forget) — But they’ll remember the moment they realized learning off the field could be heavily involved in an “cool” athlete’s journey.

That’s impact. That’s influence.

And that’s a version of the game that lasts far beyond the field.