Is Ricky Pearsall related to Jimmy Piersall? Looking into the late baseball star and 49ers WR's connection

Ricky Pearsall and Jimmy Piersall excelled in their respective sports. Ricky Pearsall was a star wide receiver for the Florida Gators and was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2024 NFL draft. While Jimmy Piersall was a decorated American baseball center fielder.

Let's take a look at whether the American sports stars are related.

Is Ricky Pearsall related to Jimmy Piersall?

No, Ricky Pearsall is not related to Jimmy Piersall. The duo have no familial ties and merely have similar-sounding surnames.

Pearsall was born on Sept. 9, 2000, to Rick Pearsall Sr. and Erin Pearsall. Pearsall was a football prodigy, standing out at Corona Del Sol High School. As a junior, he set an Arizona High School 6A receiving yard record with 342 yards against Gilbert High School. Thus, Pearsall had an array of scholarship offers from Division I teams. He chose Arizona State.

Pearsall played for the Sun Devils for three seasons before deciding to take his talents to Florida for Year 4. At the Gators, he shone and was one of the best collegiate wide receivers in the country. His performances were so good that he was selected by the 49ers in round one of the 2024 NFL draft.

The late Jimmy Piersall starred in the MLB for 17 seasons. He appeared for five teams and was a two-time all-star and two-time Golden Glove Award winner. Piersall had a well-publicized battle with bipolar disorder and contributed to the destigmatization of the condition in professional sports. He passed away on June 3, 2017.

Ricky Pearsall joins a stacked offense in San Francisco

Pearsall played with some stars at Arizona State and Florida, but he's set to enter one of the NFL's most stacked offenses in 2024. The San Francisco 49ers have tons of Pro Bowl talent, highlighted by Brock Purdy as quarterback, Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk as wide receivers, Christian McCaffrey as running back and George Kittle at tight end.

The 49ers were the best franchise in the NFC in 2023 and narrowly lost the last Super Bowl game to the Kansas City Chiefs. Pearsall will have his work cut out to earn touches in such an offense. However, fans can be sure that coach Kyle Shanahan has a plan for the first-round pick.