George Mason University Athletics

Ryan Ricci enters his second season as George Mason pitching coach after being hired August of 2022, returning to George Mason after spending two seasons in the same role at Lafayette College of the Patriot League. 
 
Ricci plays a key role in player development of the pitching staff on the field, including strength and conditioning and recruiting.
 
In his first season as Mason’s pitching coach, the pitching staff played a key role in helping the Patriots win the 2023 Atlantic 10 Conference Championship.  The Patriots earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Winston-Salem Regional, where they won two NCAA tournament games in the same year for the first time in program history, advancing to the Championship Final with victories over Northeastern and Maryland.
 
The George Mason pitching staff finished first in the Atlantic 10 Conference in ERA (5.02) and saves (15) while posting the lowest opponent batting average (.258) in school history.  The Patriots pitching staff also set single-season program records for strikeouts (516) and strikeouts per nine innings (8.36).  The team dropped the overall ERA from 6.44 in 2022 to 5.02 in 2023.
 
Ricci also coached sophomore Chad Gartland, who was named Atlantic 10 Conference Pitcher of the Year, selected to the A-10 All-Championship Team and voted to the Winston-Salem Regional All-Tournament Team.
 
Sophomore catcher Connor Dykstra, sophomore outfielder Alex Knapp, freshman reliever Owen Stewart along with Gartland were selected to the Winston-Salem Regional All-Tournament Team. 
 
Prior to his return to George Mason, Ricci led a pitching staff that led the Patriot League Conference in 2022 in both conference ERA (3.84) and strikeouts (397).  In his first season with the Lafayette Leopards in 2021, the team advanced to the Patriot League Tournament Semi-Final Game against Army.
 
Ricci also played an integral role in player development, carrying out movement assessments and worked closely with the strength and conditioning coaches and athletic training staff members to maximize the development of the pitching staff.
 
Before his time at Lafayette College, Ricci served as a graduate assistant coach here at George Mason for the 2019 and 2020 seasons.  During those two seasons, he was the strength and conditioning coach for the pitching staff.
 
Ricci gained a summer of recruiting experience in 2019 and assisted then-pitching coach Shawn Camp in the development of the pitching staff.  In those two seasons he assisted in coaching two pitchers that ended up signing professional contracts: Jared DiCesare (17th Round Draft Pick - Toronto Blue Jays) and Brian Marconi (Free Agent Sign - Philadelphia Phillies).  
 
Prior to starting his coaching career, Ricci signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks in June of 2018 and pitched one season in their organization.  He appeared in five games for the Hillsboro Hops (Short Season A - Hillsboro, OR) with a 3.52 ERA and made 10 appearances for the AZL D-Backs (Rookie Ball - Scottsdale, AZ) with a 1.80 ERA.
 
Ricci is a George Mason Baseball alum having played for the program from 2015-2018.  Over the course of his junior and senior seasons, he had a combined 2.55 ERA over 56.1 innings pitched and was a member of the 2018 team that played in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship Game against Saint Louis. 
 
Ricci ranks fourth in school history in appearances (70).  In 2018, he set a program single-season record for BB/9 with 0.79.  He graduated from George Mason with a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology as well as a master’s degree in Sports Management.
 
Ricci is originally from Greencastle, Pa., where he attended Greencastle-Antrim High School.