Denison University Men's Baseball

Ryne Romick enters his 10th season as the assistant baseball coach at Denison University in 2026 and his fifth season as Associate Head Coach. Romick has enjoyed two stints under head coach Mike Deegan. In what would be the most historic year in Big Red baseball history, as the 2025 season saw new heights reached. The team finished with a 41-7 record and 14-1 conference record with a trip to the NCAA Division III World Series for the first time in program history. The Big Red finished with an .854 winning percentage, the fourth-highest in the country. Romick helped guide the Big Red to an NCAC Regular Season Championship for the fifth-straight season and a NCAC Tournament Championship for the sixth-straight season as well (excluding COVID). The Big Red defeated Wooster in the championship game 10-5 to earn an automatic berth and host the NCAA Regional Tournament. Denison would dominate in regionals, going a perfect 3-0 outscoring their opponents 31-8 for their second consecutive NCAA Regional title. The team would then host the Super Regionals against Belhaven University for a best-of-three series, where the Big Red would continue their onslaught in a 2-0 sweep. Denison outscored Belhaven 31-4 in those two games to advance to the NCAA Division III World Series for the first time in program history. In the World Series, Denison would face off against Rowan University in a high-scoring affair, winning 12-10 to advance in the double elimination style bracket. The team would lose to eventual champion Wisconsin-Whitewater 11-4, and lose their elimination game in a rematch with Rowan, 6-1. Erik Sundgren was named a ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-American, while Nick Falter was named ABCA/Rawlings and D3baseball.com Second Team All-American. Eric Colaco was named to ABCA/Rawlings Third Team All-America, and Sam Larson was named D3baseball.com Second Team All-America. In addition, Falter was named ABCA/Rawlings Region 7 Pitcher of the Year, and Sundgren was Position Player of the Year. Colaco and Falter were named NCAC Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, and 12 earned All-NCAC team distinction. The 2024 season was a historic one for the Big Red. Denison finished with a school record 42 wins and its first-ever appearance in the Division III Baseball Super Regionals. Denison finished with the second-best winning percentage in D-III baseball. The Big Red won at a .840 clip during the 2024 season. The 42 wins were the fourth most in Division III. The Denison staff helped the Big Red earn a share of the NCAC conference regular season title and secured its spot in the NCAA Tournament by earning the NCAC's automatic berth following a pair of wins over Wittenberg on May 12. The Big Red finished off its fifth-straight tournament title with a 17-7 win over the Tigers. The following weekend, Denison secured its first NCAA Regional title following a perfect 3-0 mark at Big Red Field. Denison combined to outscore its opponents 54-8 over the three-game stretch. D3baseball.com awarded Eric Colaco with its highest honor as D3baseball.com Player of the year. In addition, Colaco earned First Team honors from both D3baseball and the ABCA. Noah Leib and Will Rettig joined Colaco as All-Americans. The NCAC honored the Denison staff as its Coaching Staff of the Year in 2024. The Big Red finished their 2023 season 36-10 overall, earning the second most wins in a single season in program history for the second year in a row and advancing to the regional championship game for the third year in a row. This marked the fifth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and the second straight year hosting regionals for Denison. The Big Red also captured the North Coast Athletic Conference Regular-Season Championship for the third straight year and won the NCAC Tournament Championship for the fourth straight season. Denison could not be stopped in its quest to finish a perfect 16-0 in NCAC action. It was the first undefeated conference season in the NCAC since the College of Wooster in 2007, and was the first 16-0 season in conference history. Then with its 7-2 victory over second-seeded Wittenberg University to wins its fourth consecutive NCAC Tournament crown, Denison joined the 2000 Ohio Wesleyan University baseball team as the only NCAC teams with an undefeated regular season and an undefeated tournament run. Romick helped coach senior starting pitcher Charlie Fleming to the second NCAC Pitcher of the Year award of his career (2021, 2023). Fleming was also the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Region 7 Pitcher of the Year and was named a Second-Team All-American by the ABCA. By the end of the season, Fleming recorded a new program record of 92 strikeouts, which broke the previous single-season record of 90 strikeouts set by Drew Shamrock in 2004. As a senior, Fleming earned three NCAC Pitcher of the Week awards, two nods to the D3baseball.com Team of the Week, and became the program's first NCBWA (National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association) National Pitcher of the Week selection in 18 years after throwing the third no-hitter in program history and the first since 2005 during Denison 14-0 win over Waynesburg University (May 6). Fleming was also named to the NCAC All-Tournament Team after earning the win in the championship game over Wittenberg. In addition to Fleming, sophomore Nick Falter was named first-team all-conference while junior George Viebrock was named to the third-team. Falter was also named Second-Team All-Region by the D3baseball.com and Third-Team All-Region by the ABCA while Viebrock was named the Most Valuable Player of the NCAC Tournament after pitching all three games and picking up a pair of saves. For the year, the Big Red pitching staff finished the season with a 4.69 ERA, a 1.43 WHIP, 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings and an opponents' batting average of .267. Denison finished its 2022 season 35-11, which at the time was the second most wins in program history, while also hosting an NCAA Regional for the first time in program history. The season also marked Denison's fourth consecutive NCAA Regional berth. Romick coached senior pitcher and NCAC Tournament MVP Kenny Lippman, who following Denison's run in the regional tournament, was named a D3baseball.com First-Team All-American and became the third D3baseball.com All-American produced by the Big Red program. Both of Lippman's complete games on the year came during the postseason, starting with an 8-1 win over Wooster in the NCAC Tournament Championship game in which he allowed just four hits, one run and one walk while striking out a program record 14 Wooster batters. That broke Denison's previous single-game strikeout record of 13 set by Drew Shamrock on April 9, 2004, vs. Wabash. Then during the second round of the Granville Regional against No. 7 nationally-ranked and defending NCAA Division III National Champion Salisbury University, Lippman struck out 13 hitters and went the distance for a complete game shutout in a 2-0 victory that sent the Big Red to the regional championship for the second year in a row.  Romick coached three All-NCAC pitchers in 2022, including Lippman (First-Team), Trey Holland (Second-Team) and Taylor Perrett (Second-Team) while Lippman was named All-Region by both D3baseball.com and the ABCA and Holland was Third-Team All-Region by D3baseball.com. Coach Romick's pitching staff finished the season with a 3.56 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, an average of 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings and a .258 opponents' batting average. In 2021, Romick coached the NCAC Pitcher of the Year Charlie Fleming and two All-NCAC West players in Fleming and Taylor Perrett. Fleming also earned All-Mideast Region honors in 2021. The Big Red made it's third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. His pitching staff had a 4.43 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, averaged 8.5 K/9 with opposing teams hitting .273.  Denison wrapped up its record-breaking 2019 season with a 39-9 record. The Big Red won a school-record 17-straight games while capturing the program's first-ever NCAC Tournament Championship. The team advanced to the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament for the second time in school history, capturing its first postseason victory against La Roche. Under Romick's watchful eye, the pitching staff posted a team ERA of 3.73 while holding the opposition to a .253 batting average.  Prior to his return to Granville, Romick spent the 2018 season as a volunteer assistant for the Ohio University baseball program. During his lone season in Athens, the Bobcats tallied 21 wins and recorded a 4.45 team earned run average, good for third-best in the Mid-American Conference. Before his time at OU, Romick worked as the pitching coach at the University of Dayton from 2014-2017. While at Dayton, he helped the Flyers post the program's best numbers in earned run average, walks and batting average against since 2011. He joined Dayton following his first stretch with the Big Red, where he was the top assistant and volunteer prior to that. During his first turn at DU, Romick helped the team to the NCAC West Division title in back-to-back seasons, compiling an overall record of 46-37. In his first year at Denison, Romick led a talented pitching staff that had the second-best ERA in the league with a 3.63 team ERA, a two-run drop from the year before. The Big Red were also amongst the conference leaders in ERA, strikeouts, and opponents' batting average. Romick went into coaching after a standout pitching career at Akron from 2006-09. In his sophomore campaign, he anchored the bullpen with 22 appearances, 29 strikeouts, and four saves in 34 innings of work. He continued that success in his junior season with 23 strikeouts in 29 innings. Romick capped off his career by earning Akron's Pitcher of the Year honors after giving up just 21 hits in 28 1/3 innings on the mound. He led the team with a 3.45 ERA while adding three saves and a .208 opponent batting average. Romick received his bachelor of science degree in biology from Akron before completing his master's of education from Ohio Valley in West Virginia. As a graduate assistant with OVU, he helped the pitching staff drop its ERA by two-plus runs in his two years with the program. A native of Hannibal, Ohio, Romick attended River High School, earning All-Ohio honors in baseball and basketball.

Mike Deegan returns for his 14th season as the Head Baseball Coach at Denison University in 2026. He was also named Assistant Director of Athletics in August 2023 and was promoted to Associate Professor of Physical Education in the summer of 2023. In his time in Granville, Ohio, Deegan has established Denison baseball as one of the top programs in the mideast region and a contender on the national stage. Excluding the shortened 2020 season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Deegan has led the Big Red to seven-straight NCAA Regional Tournament appearances, and most recently the program’s first Super Regional Championship and first World Series appearance. This began with a breakthrough 2018 season that saw the Big Red set a new program record for wins (32) at the time while advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. Deegan was named the North Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for the second time in his career and senior center fielder Tanner Johnson was named the NCAC Player of the Year. In 13 seasons at Denison, Deegan has guided his teams to five NCAC regular-season titles, six NCAC Tournament titles, a trip to NCAA Division III World Series, and 11 appearances in the NCAC Championship Tournament while posting a .709 winning percentage (378-155) which is tops in the 125+ year history of Denison baseball. In 2019, Deegan became the program's career leader in victories.  In what would be the most historic year in Big Red baseball history, the 2025 season saw new heights reached. The team finished with a 41-7 record and 14-1 conference record with a trip to the NCAA Division III World Series for the first time in program history. The Big Red finished with an .854 winning percentage, the fourth-highest in the country. Deegan helped guide the Big Red to an NCAC Regular Season Championship for the fifth-straight season and a NCAC Tournament Championship for the sixth-straight season as well (excluding COVID). The Big Red defeated Wooster in the championship game 10-5 to earn an automatic berth and host the NCAA Regional Tournament. Denison would dominate in regionals, going a perfect 3-0 outscoring their opponents 31-8 for their second consecutive NCAA Regional title. The team would then host the Super Regionals against Belhaven University for a best-of-three series, where the Big Red would continue their onslaught in a 2-0 sweep. Denison outscored Belhaven 31-4 in those two games to advance to the NCAA Division III World Series for the first time in program history. In the World Series, Denison would face off against Rowan University in a high-scoring affair, winning 12-10 to advance in the double elimination style bracket. The team would lose to eventual champion Wisconsin-Whitewater 11-4, and lose their elimination game in a rematch with Rowan, 6-1. Erik Sundgren was named a ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-American, while Nick Falter was named ABCA/Rawlings and D3baseball.com Second Team All-American. Eric Colaco was named to ABCA/Rawlings Third Team All-America, and Sam Larson was named D3baseball.com Second Team All-America. In addition, Falter was named ABCA/Rawlings Region 7 Pitcher of the Year, and Sundgren was Position Player of the Year. Colaco and Falter were named NCAC Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, and 12 earned All-NCAC team distinction. Coach Deegan won the ABCA/ATEC Region 7 Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season after propelling his team to a World Series appearance. The 2024 season was a historic one for the Big Red. Deegan helped guide Denison to a school record 42 wins and its first-ever appearance in the Division III Baseball Super Regionals. Denison finished with the second-best winning percentage in D-III baseball. The Big Red won at a .840 clip during the 2024 season. The 42 wins were the fourth most in Division III. Deegan helped the Big Red earn a share of the NCAC conference regular season title and secured its spot in the NCAA Tournament by earning the NCAC's automatic berth following a pair of wins over Wittenberg on May 12. The Big Red finished off its fifth-straight tournament title with a 17-7 win over the Tigers. The following weekend, Deegan helped Denison secure its first NCAA Regional title following a perfect 3-0 mark at Big Red Field. Denison combined to outscore its opponents 54-8 over the three-game stretch. Following the end of the season, Denison had three student-athletes earn All-America baseball honors. D3baseball.com awarded Eric Colaco with its highest honor as D3baseball.com Player of the year. In addition, Colaco earned First Team honors from both D3baseball and the ABCA. Noah Leib and Will Rettig joined Colaco as All-Americans. The NCAC honored the Denison staff as its Coaching Staff of the Year in 2024. Additionally, Deegan was selected as ABCA/ATEC Regional Coach of the Year. The Big Red finished their 2023 season 36-10 overall, earning the second most wins in a single season in program history for the second year in a row and advancing to the regional championship game for the third year in a row. This marked the fifth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and the second straight year hosting regionals for Denison. The Big Red also captured the NCAC Regular-Season Championship for the third straight year and won the NCAC Tournament Championship for the fourth straight season. Denison could not be stopped in its quest to finish a perfect 16-0 in NCAC action. It was the first undefeated conference season in the NCAC since the College of Wooster in 2007, and was the first 16-0 season in conference history. Then with its 7-2 victory over second-seeded Wittenberg University to wins its fourth consecutive NCAC Tournament crown, Denison joined the 2000 Ohio Wesleyan University baseball team as the only NCAC teams with an undefeated regular season and an undefeated tournament run. Senior starting pitcher Charlie Fleming was named the NCAC Pitcher of the Year for the second time in his career (2021, 2023), was the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Region 7 Pitcher of the Year, and was named as a Second-Team All-American by the ABCA. Sophomore center fielder Eric Colaco, meanwhile, was named the NCAC Player of the Year, was a First-Team All-Region selection by both the ABCA and D3baseball.com, and earned Third-Team All-American honors from the ABCA to go along with a nod to the fifth-team by D3baseball.com. Fleming and Colaco are the first pair of Big Red baseball players to be named an All-American in the same season since Drew Shamrock and Adam Mandel in 2004. Denison finished its 2022 season 35-11, which at the time was the second most wins in program history, while also hosting an NCAA Regional for the first time in program history. The season also marked Denison's fourth consecutive NCAA Regional berth. During the second round of the Granville Regional against No. 7 nationally-ranked and defending NCAA Division III National Champion Salisbury University, the Big Red earned a 2-0 shutout victory that sent them to the regional championship for the second year in a row. Following Denison's run in the regional tournament, senior pitcher and NCAC Tournament MVP Kenny Lippman was named a D3baseball.com First-Team All-American, becoming the third D3baseball.com All-American produced by the Big Red program at the time. After leading the Big Red to a new program record for conference wins (16-2), a second straight NCAC regular-season championship and their third straight NCAC Tournament Championship with an 8-1 victory over Wooster in the title game, Deegan was named the NCAC Coach of the Year for the third time in the last four seasons and for the fourth time in his career overall. In 2021, Deegan led his team to a 27-13 record, their fourth NCAC West Title, their first NCAC Championship, and a run in the NCAA Regional Tournament that saw the Big Red fall in the NCAA Regional Championship game to No. 1 Washington University in St. Louis. He was named NCAC Coach of the Year for the third time in his career. In the shortened 2020 season, the Big Red were 5-4 before ending the season in mid-March. In 2019, Denison shattered the records set the previous season by going 39-9 and advancing to their second straight NCAA Regional. The Big Red won a school-record 17-straight games while capturing the program's first-ever NCAC Tournament Championship. The team advanced to the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament for the second time in school history, capturing its first postseason victory against La Roche. Junior first baseman Will Krushena was named to the ABCA Division III All-American Team. The successes of Denison baseball has been a gradual climb that culminated with the NCAA South Region berth in 2018 in Holly Springs, North Carolina. DU completed the 2018 season with a 32-12 record. Six players were named to the all-conference team and DU swept the conference awards with Johnson taking Player of the Year accolades and Perley Provost earning Pitcher of the Year. Provost, Johnson, Sam Frazen and Mikey Rivera earned all-region honors and Johnson became Denison's sixth ABCA All-American. In 2017, the Big Red were ranked nationally for the majority of the season, marking a return to the top-25 for the first time since 2004. The Big Red finished the season with a record of 29-12, marking the third-highest win total in program history at the time. On March 22, 2017, Deegan earned career victory No. 100 by defeating his alma mater, Marietta, 6-2, in Marietta, Ohio. The success of the 2017 season came on the heels of a 27-14 campaign in 2016 that saw Denison earn a regional ranking throughout the season en route to winning their third NCAC West Division title in Coach Deegan's first four seasons. In his first two seasons with the Big Red, Deegan guided his squads to back-to-back NCAC West Division championships and consecutive 20+ win seasons. In 2014, Deegan was named the NCAC Coach of the Year after posting a 14-5 record in conference play. In 2013, Deegan guided his squad to a 25-16 record and a division championship. Denison's 25 victories marked the third-most in a single season in school history at the time. Denison landed three players on the All-NCAC first-team list and nine players overall were honored in the league's post-season awards.  Prior to coming to Denison, Deegan spent nine seasons on the Marietta coaching staff, helping guide the Pioneers to three NCAA Division III national championships (2006, 2011, 2012), six NCAA regional berths, and four Division III championship appearances. In 2012, the Pioneers captured the program's sixth national championship in school history after posting a 48-8 record. This season's national championship campaign came after a record-setting 2011 season which saw Marietta go 47-4, and once again, win the national championship.  In nine seasons with Deegan on staff, Marietta won 30 or more games eight times, and they posted an overall record of 326-111 (.745). Deegan served as the recruiting coordinator at Marietta and was the team's hitting instructor. In 2012 the Pioneers hit .331 as a team with a .414 on-base percentage. Marietta outscored its opponents 419-152 last season. In addition to his responsibilities with the baseball program, he served as a special assistant to the athletics director and was the Marietta Student-Athlete Advisory Committee advisor. Deegan spent 2007 serving as the head coach of the Southern Ohio Copperheads of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League. That season Deegan led the Copperheads to the most wins in franchise history (25), and the best postseason finish in franchise history. He was named the GLSCL Manager of the Year at the conclusion of the season. A 2001 graduate of Marietta, Deegan was a two-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference first-team selection in 1999 and 2001. He was a major contributor on four OAC Championship teams, two NCAA Mideast Regional championships, and two NCAA Division III Championship appearances. In his senior season, he started all 58 games, hit .393 with 46 RBI, seven home runs, and a team-high 17 doubles. That season the Pioneers advanced to the national championship game. Prior to his graduation, he was awarded the Way-Weigelt Award, which goes to the top senior male student-athlete at Marietta. The award is based on scholarship, leadership, character, and sportsmanship. Deegan received his bachelor's in management, and in 2006 he earned his master's degree in education from Marietta. Deegan was inducted into the Marietta Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018 and the Pennsylvania Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019. Deegan and his wife, Lowrie have four children and reside in Granville. What they're saying about Mike Deegan... "As sorry as we are to see Coach Deegan leave Marietta, we are equally proud. Coach Deegan has been an essential part of our success over the last nine years and we feel confident his successes will continue at Denison. Mike is one of the best young coaches in the country and the Big Red are fortunate to have him leading their program." - - - Marietta Head Baseball Coach, Brian Brewer "I think a lot of Mike Deegan as a person, mentor, teacher, and coach. He is a person of character and represents values that supersede winning baseball games. He has made a tremendous impact helping Coach Brewer maintain a championship culture at Marietta over the last few years. We who know him are appreciative of Denison for giving him this wonderful opportunity to coach and teach baseball at a tremendous academic university." - - - Vanderbilt Head Baseball Coach, Tim Corbin Deegan at Denison Year Season at DU Overall Record Conference Finish/Accolades 2013 1st 25-16 1st NCAC West 2014 2nd 21-21 1st NCAC West NCAC Coach of the Year 2015 3rd 19-18 3rd NCAC West 2016 4th 27-14 1st NCAC West 2017 5th 29-12 2nd NCAC West 2018 6th 32-12 2nd NCAC NCAC Coach of the Year Advanced to NCAA Regional Tournament 2019 7th 39-9 2nd NCAC NCAC Tournament Champions Advanced to NCAA Regional Tournament 2020 8th 5-4* *Season Shortened due to COVID-19 2021 9th 27-13 1st NCAC West NCAC Regular-Season/Tournament Champions (*Combined Championship due to COVID-19) NCAC Coach of the Year Advanced to NCAA Regional Tournament Championship 2022 10th 35-11 1st NCAC (NCAC Regular-Season Champions) NCAC Tournament Champions NCAC Coach of the Year Hosted NCAA Regional Tournament Championship 2023 11th 36-10 1st NCAC (NCAC Regular-Season Champions) NCAC Tournament Champions Hosted NCAA Regional Tournament Championship 2024 12th 42-8 1st NCAC (NCAC Regular Season Co-Champions) NCAC Tournament Champions NCAA Regional Champions Hosted NCAA Regional Tournament Championship, NCAA Super Regional  2025   13th 41-7 1st NCAC (NCAC Regular Season Champions) NCAC Tournament Champions NCAA Regional Champions NCAA Super-Regional Champions Made programs first NCAA College World Series appearance, 1-2 record Overall 378-155 (.709 pct.) FourTime NCAC Coach of the Year Five NCAC Regular-Season Championships Six NCAC Tournament Championships Seven NCAA Division III Regional Tournament Appearances Two NCAA Division III Super Regional Tournament Appearance  One NCAA Division III College World Series Appearance