Kevin Ritsche will begin his 3^rd season as the head coach for the Winston-Salem State University Rams.  Coach Ritsche started the baseball program in 2010 after a 38-year hiatus and instantly took it from non-existent to 30-win Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association champions in 9 months.  Since the program’s resurrection under Ritsche, it has one back-to-back CIAA championships while compiling 30 or more wins in each of its first two seasons.

Ritsche has guided the Rams to 65 victories in his first two seasons with several coming against opponents ranked nationally in the top-25.  Ritsche has a career head coaching record of 65-46 overall (.586) and a 42-11 overall (.792) record against CIAA conference opponents.   

The 2012 squad set a school record with 35 victories and repeated as CIAA conference champions while capturing the program’s first NCAA Division II regional tournament victory in school history. The 2012 season delivered many accolades as Ritsche built on an impressive 30-win and CIAA conference championship inaugural season in 2011.  Ritsche was chosen as the league’s Coach of the Year while his first baseman Aaron Jones was selected as the CIAA player of the year.  Along with Jones, six other Rams were all-conference selections.  In addition, four of them were named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) all-region squad while junior infielder German Reyes along with Jones were named to the Daktronics NCAA Division II All-Atlantic Region team.  Reyes was also named to the College Baseball Lineup DII All-Star Team while Jones was selected to the North Carolina College Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) 2012 All-State College Division Team.  Ritsche’s squad produced three hitters who batted over .400 on the season (Reyes, Jones & Martin) with a team batting average of .334 that was high enough to tie for the 8^th best nationally.  Offensively, the squad also ranked 7^th nationally in doubles (125), 12^th in hits (607), 17^th in slugging percentage (.431) and 21^st in homeruns (43).  Ritsche’s team ERA was 35^th best nationally (3.56) and they turned the 2^nd most double plays in the country.  

The post-season awards continued off the field in the classroom as Ritsche’s squad garnered the league’s academic award with a 3.07 team GPA.  In addition, Jones was selected to the CIAA Commissioner’s All-Academic team and 15 players had a GPA of 3.0 or higher. 

Ritsche took over the reigns in July of 2010 and diligently worked to renew the men's baseball program for the first time since 1973 following a 38-year absence of the sport at Winston-Salem State University.  In 2011, Ritsche led his team to a 30-25 overall record and a 19-8 CIAA conference record.  The inaugural season under Coach Ritsche witnessed the Rams make history as they won the CIAA conference tournament and were selected to the NCAA division II Atlantic Regional tournament as a #5 seed. The Rams finished the season ranked #8 in the Atlantic Region by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).  Along the way were many challenges including a tough non-conference schedule vs. nationally ranked opponents.  His first career head coaching victory and WSSU’s first baseball victory in 38 years came fitting after defeating the active NCAA Division II all-time career leader in wins, Joe Roberts, the head coach of Armstong Atlantic State University on Feb. 4^th, 2011.  

For his efforts in 2011, Ritsche was named CIAA Coach of the Week in February and March.  At the conclusion of the season, four WSSU players garnered All-CIAA accolades.  

No stranger to WSSU, Ritsche has served as an Assistant Professor of Exercise Science in the WSSU Department of Human Performance and Sport Sciences since 2005. Ritsche is currently enrolled at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro where he is completing the requirements for his Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology.  

Ritsche, a native of Superior, WI, comes to WSSU after earning both his B.A and M.A. in Exercise Physiology from the College of St. Scholastica (CSS) in Duluth, MN.  While attending the College of St. Scholastica, he was a standout baseball player earning two-time Academic All-American honors (2003 and 2004), an Upper-Midwest All-Region First Team Selection (2004) and an NAIA Baseball Honorable Mention All-American honor (2004).  Ritsche was a catcher at CSS and is currently tied for the 9^th highest single season record in homeruns (8), 15^th in runs batted in (48) and 16^th in slugging percentage (.688).  Following graduation in 2004, Ritsche served as a graduate assistant coach at CSS under the late John Baggs.  

“The focus of these early years of our baseball program at Winston-Salem State University is not only build the foundation for a winning team, but for a winning program,” commented Ritsche.  “I feel that we’ve made a giant leap in the right direction as we continue to grow into a national contender.  We accept the challenge that we are trying reach a level of success that no other team at our level has accomplished in such a short amount of time.  The success our program earns must come from the young men who are coached to become leaders on and off the field. My goals are to provide each student-athlete with an exceptional experience and graduate with the tools necessary to become successful professionals within their fields.”

Ritsche is currently a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association and he resides in Winston-Salem with his wife Katherine and daughter Jillian.  They are expecting their first son in September. 

 Kevin Ritsche's Head Coaching Record