Wayne State University Men's Baseball

Kelley, who was named head coach in September of 2008, enters his ninth year at the helm of the Wayne State University baseball program in 2017.  The ninth head coach in the 76-year history of WSU baseball, Kelleys .588 (246-172-1) winning percentage is the best among coaches in program history.  This will be his 15th season with the Warriors after serving as an assistant coach for six years including three as WSUs pitching coach. Kelley coached his 400th game at Wayne State in 2016 and led the Warriors to their ninth straight GLIAC Tournament.  WSU finished 28-24 overall and 19-13 in the league.  WSU continued to protect its home field, going 14-7 in Detroit.  The 2016 season produced one of the better offenses in the league and in program history.  WSU notched the most doubles (127) and extra-base hits (167) and the second-most total bases (752), while scoring 329 runs, ranking eighth all-time in program history.  In addition, Wayne State drove in 296 RBI, which is the fifth-most in school history.  The Green & Gold also ranked 12th nationally in doubles and seventh in doubles per game (2.44).  On the mound, WSU led the league in ERA at 4.41.  Six Warriors collected postseason league honors as Josh Arndt was awarded the Troy Berry Award, Alex Kinch, Brad Baldwin and Griffin Harms were First Team honorees and JT Conti and Ryan Mergener were named to the Honorable Mention Team.  Mergener was also named to the GLIAC All-Tournament Team.  Harms and Kinch earned D2CCA All-Region honors.  Kinch also was a Midwest Region Gold Glove nominee.  Harms collected ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-Region accolades. In 2015, WSU qualified for the GLIAC Tournament for the 11th time in the last 12 years.  At the conference postseason tournament, the Warriors won back-to-back elimination games over Malone (5/8) and Ohio Dominican (5/9) to advance to a semifinal meeting against Ashland.  Kelley led his roster to a 9-5 record at home.  Four Warriors collected league honors as Christian Bilkovic won the inaugural Troy Berry Award, Jeff Sorenson was selected to the All-GLIAC Second Team, while Jared Tobey and Bradley Baldwin were named to the All-GLIAC Honorable Mention Team.  Nate Manis and Kyle Zimmerman were named to the All-GLIAC Tournament Team.  Zimmerman was also named to the Daktronics All-Midwest Region Team as a utility player. Kelley won his 200th game at Wayne State on March 16, 2015, with a 10-1 win over Minnesota Dultuh. In 2014, Wayne State reached the 30-win plateau for the eighth time in school history in 2014 and the sixth time in a seven year span.  The 34 regular-season victories in 2014 was a school record and the 10-game winning streak earlier in the campaign was also a school best.  The Warriors finished 15-1 at home, which is the best winning percentage in program history and matched the second most wins all-time at home. Kelley led the Warriors to the most wins in a season in program history (36), second-best winning percentage and its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in five years.  The Warriors knocked off #18 Drury, 1-0, to begin the regional tournament.  Six Warriors earned All-GLIAC honors including Jeremy Carrell, Alex Kinch and Kyle Zimmerman being named to the All-GLIAC First Team.  Four student-athletes were named Daktronics All-Midwest Region including Eric Cunningham being a First Team selection.  Zimmerman was a NCBWA All-Midwest Region Gold Glove recipient while Carrell and Zimmerman were CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team selections. The Warriors collected 468 hits in 2014, which ranks eighth all-time and hit 95 doubles, which is tied for fourth all-time.  The pitching staff posted the seventh best ERA in program history (3.52) in the third-most innings pitched (406.0).  Defensively, WSU notched one of their better seasons - finishing with a .966 fielding percentage, which is tied for second all-time. In 2013, Wayne State won 30+ games for the fourth consecutive season and Coach Kelley aided in the development of a senior class that won 134 games over its four seasons.  Brad Guenther was named GLIAC Player of the Year, which was the first such honor for a Warrior since 2005.  WSU had four All-GLIAC First Team selections (Guenther, Alex Pierse, Kenny Davis and Kasey Koster).  Guenther was also a Tino Martinez Award semifinalist, which is given to the top DII baseball player in the country.  In addition, Pierse, Guenther and Koster all collected NCBWA, Daktronics and ABCA/Rawlings All-Midwest Region honors. Coach Kelley has led WSUs community outreach program.  Josh Arndt will receive the Michigan Campus Compact Commitment to Service Award in April 2016 for his work in Uganda.  His team and student-athlete, Christian Bilkovic, was honored on June 20, 2013, by The Childrens Center of Detroit for its commitment to bettering the surrounding region. Nominees in this category must be a community or civic group that demonstrates exceptional organizational initiative, member participation and commitment through volunteerism and service during the last fiscal year.  The Salvation Army also recognized the Warrior baseball program with the Doing the Most Good Award on Oct. 23, 2013.  In the last seven seasons, WSU baseball has accumulated over 8,409 community service hours, including weekly visits to The Childrens Center and working with the Detroit Tigers Youth Foundation.  In 2009, student-athlete Caleb Dalman received the distinguished WSU Service Leader Award. Wayne State won 34 games in 2012 and qualified for the NCAA Regional for the third straight year.  In 2011, the Warriors set a ten school record for wins (35) and advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Midwest Regional for the second time in program history.   Kelley was chosen as the 2010 GLIAC Coach of the Year as his squad won 32 games and earned the GLIAC regular-season and tournament championships.  In 2009, Kelley guided the team to 25 victories, as he broke his predecessor Jay Alexanders record for most wins by a first-year head coach in program history. Since Kelley was named head coach, Wayne State has established nine new offensive team records and produced five top-10 pitching records.  His success at Wayne State also earned him an invitation to coach at the Team USA 2011 Tournament of Stars in Cary, N.C., where he assisted in evaluating and selecting members of the 18U National Team which went on to win Gold at the Pan American Games. I look forward to Ryan building on our successes in baseball, noted WSU Director of Athletics Rob Fournier following Kelleys promotion.  The committee considered some outstanding candidates and there is no doubt that our program has risen in stature. In the end, Ryans familiarity with our system, his strong work habits and active role in building our program the last six years, was a significant factor.  I look forward to working with him to move our baseball team into an elite echelon. After earning a bachelor of science degree from the University of Michigan, Kelley graduated with his masters from Wayne State University in sports administration. In the summer of 2004, Kelley became a community director within the WSU Office of Housing & Residential Life, a position he held until taking over as the athletic departments academic coordinator in February 2006.  A responsibility he held for two years until his promotion to head baseball coach. Originally from Northville, Kelley was a four-year pitcher at Michigan (1996-1999).  He would help the Wolverines win the 1997 Big Ten Championship and the 1999 Big Ten Tournament Championship.  Following the 1997 season, Kelley was a pitcher in the Alaskan Central Collegiate baseball league for the Mat-Su Minors. Kelley played high school ball at Dearborn Divine Child where he earned all-state and honorable mention preseason All-America honors. He also completed a graduate assistant position with the Detroit Lions and has worked in Wayne States sports information department.  In addition, he completed a graduate assistantship with Stanford Universitys athletic department. I am very honored and humbled to be named the head baseball coach at Wayne State University, said Kelley in 2008.  I would like to thank Rob and the search committee for their efforts during this selection process.  In addition, I would like to thank our former head coach Jay Alexander for giving me the opportunity to join the baseball staff six seasons ago.  I look forward to continuing to build on the successful momentum that Coach Alexander initiated. In his six seasons as an assistant coach at WSU, the Warriors compiled a 161-148 record (.521 winning percentage), won two GLIAC regular-season titles, made four GLIAC tournament appearances, and advanced to the NCAA Regional twice. The 2008 squad set the WSU record for wins (34, since broken twice), while coming within one win of advancing to the NCAA Division II Championship round. Over his entire career at Wayne State, the baseball program has received 159 Academic All-GLIAC selections, 78 All-GLIAC awards and 42 All-Region honors. In 2008, Anthony Bass and Adam Kaminski became the first WSU baseball All-Americans in 30 years, and three years later Michael Wiseman followed suit as an All-American.  In 2012, Andrew Ciennik was named to the CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-America First Team, the first WSU baseball student-athlete to receive Academic All-America honors since 1995.  In addition, seven players under Kelleys watch have signed professional contracts with Major League Baseball organizations - Brad Guenther (Los Angeles Angels, 2013), Brett Shankin (Seattle Mariners, 2011), Ryan LaPensee (Arizona Diamondbacks, 2010), Justin Mazur (Kansas City Royals, 2010), Bass (San Diego Padres, 2008), Steve Squires (Chicago White Sox, 2005), and Randy Surratt (Chicago White Sox, 2004). Kelley and his wife Devon reside in Plymouth, Mich. with their daughters Kayline and Grayson. Kelleys wife Devon played softball and graduated from The University of Detroit Mercy. Coach Kelleys mother, Virginia was the first woman in the state of Michigan to compete as a Harness Horse Jockey. Coach Kelley has ran the Detroit Marathon on three occasions. The first effort in 2002 was with his Grandfather Bill Kelley who was 75 at the time, then with his wife Devon, and later with WSU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Frank Jeney. His father-in-law, Dennis Brisky was an NCAA football student-athlete and graduated from The University of Buffalo, where he played defense under legendary coach Buddy Ryan. # - NCAA Tournament Participant * - GLIAC Tournament Participant ^ - Regular-Season Return to Staff Ryan Kelley Head Coach Twitter: @coachkelleywsu (Updated June 8, 2016) Ryan Kelley, who was named head coach in September of 2008, enters his ninth year at the helm of the Wayne State University baseball program in 2017.  The ninth head coach in the 76-year history of WSU baseball, Kelleys .588 (246-172-1) winning percentage is the best among coaches in program history.  This will be his 15th season with the Warriors after serving as an assistant coach for six years including three as WSUs pitching coach. Kelley coached his 400th game at Wayne State in 2016 and led the Warriors to their ninth straight GLIAC Tournament.  WSU finished 28-24 overall and 19-13 in the league.  WSU continued to protect its home field, going 14-7 in Detroit.  The 2016 season produced one of the better offenses in the league and in program history.  WSU notched the most doubles (127) and extra-base hits (167) and the second-most total bases (752), while scoring 329 runs, ranking eighth all-time in program history.  In addition, Wayne State drove in 296 RBI, which is the fifth-most in school history.  The Green & Gold also ranked 12th nationally in doubles and seventh in doubles per game (2.44).  On the mound, WSU led the league in ERA at 4.41.  Six Warriors collected postseason league honors as Josh Arndt was awarded the Troy Berry Award, Alex Kinch, Brad Baldwin and Griffin Harms were First Team honorees and JT Conti and Ryan Mergener were named to the Honorable Mention Team.  Mergener was also named to the GLIAC All-Tournament Team.  Harms and Kinch earned D2CCA All-Region honors.  Kinch also was a Midwest Region Gold Glove nominee.  Harms collected ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-Region accolades. In 2015, WSU qualified for the GLIAC Tournament for the 11th time in the last 12 years.  At the conference postseason tournament, the Warriors won back-to-back elimination games over Malone (5/8) and Ohio Dominican (5/9) to advance to a semifinal meeting against Ashland.  Kelley led his roster to a 9-5 record at home.  Four Warriors collected league honors as Christian Bilkovic won the inaugural Troy Berry Award, Jeff Sorenson was selected to the All-GLIAC Second Team, while Jared Tobey and Bradley Baldwin were named to the All-GLIAC Honorable Mention Team.  Nate Manis and Kyle Zimmerman were named to the All-GLIAC Tournament Team.  Zimmerman was also named to the Daktronics All-Midwest Region Team as a utility player. Kelley won his 200th game at Wayne State on March 16, 2015, with a 10-1 win over Minnesota Dultuh. In 2014, Wayne State reached the 30-win plateau for the eighth time in school history in 2014 and the sixth time in a seven year span.  The 34 regular-season victories in 2014 was a school record and the 10-game winning streak earlier in the campaign was also a school best.  The Warriors finished 15-1 at home, which is the best winning percentage in program history and matched the second most wins all-time at home. Kelley led the Warriors to the most wins in a season in program history (36), second-best winning percentage and its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in five years.  The Warriors knocked off #18 Drury, 1-0, to begin the regional tournament.  Six Warriors earned All-GLIAC honors including Jeremy Carrell, Alex Kinch and Kyle Zimmerman being named to the All-GLIAC First Team.  Four student-athletes were named Daktronics All-Midwest Region including Eric Cunningham being a First Team selection.  Zimmerman was a NCBWA All-Midwest Region Gold Glove recipient while Carrell and Zimmerman were CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team selections. The Warriors collected 468 hits in 2014, which ranks eighth all-time and hit 95 doubles, which is tied for fourth all-time.  The pitching staff posted the seventh best ERA in program history (3.52) in the third-most innings pitched (406.0).  Defensively, WSU notched one of their better seasons - finishing with a .966 fielding percentage, which is tied for second all-time. In 2013, Wayne State won 30+ games for the fourth consecutive season and Coach Kelley aided in the development of a senior class that won 134 games over its four seasons.  Brad Guenther was named GLIAC Player of the Year, which was the first such honor for a Warrior since 2005.  WSU had four All-GLIAC First Team selections (Guenther, Alex Pierse, Kenny Davis and Kasey Koster).  Guenther was also a Tino Martinez Award semifinalist, which is given to the top DII baseball player in the country.  In addition, Pierse, Guenther and Koster all collected NCBWA, Daktronics and ABCA/Rawlings All-Midwest Region honors. Coach Kelley has led WSUs community outreach program.  Josh Arndt will receive the Michigan Campus Compact Commitment to Service Award in April 2016 for his work in Uganda.  His team and student-athlete, Christian Bilkovic, was honored on June 20, 2013, by The Childrens Center of Detroit for its commitment to bettering the surrounding region. Nominees in this category must be a community or civic group that demonstrates exceptional organizational initiative, member participation and commitment through volunteerism and service during the last fiscal year.  The Salvation Army also recognized the Warrior baseball program with the Doing the Most Good Award on Oct. 23, 2013.  In the last seven seasons, WSU baseball has accumulated over 8,409 community service hours, including weekly visits to The Childrens Center and working with the Detroit Tigers Youth Foundation.  In 2009, student-athlete Caleb Dalman received the distinguished WSU Service Leader Award. Wayne State won 34 games in 2012 and qualified for the NCAA Regional for the third straight year.  In 2011, the Warriors set a ten school record for wins (35) and advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Midwest Regional for the second time in program history.   Kelley was chosen as the 2010 GLIAC Coach of the Year as his squad won 32 games and earned the GLIAC regular-season and tournament championships.  In 2009, Kelley guided the team to 25 victories, as he broke his predecessor Jay Alexanders record for most wins by a first-year head coach in program history. Since Kelley was named head coach, Wayne State has established nine new offensive team records and produced five top-10 pitching records.  His success at Wayne State also earned him an invitation to coach at the Team USA 2011 Tournament of Stars in Cary, N.C., where he assisted in evaluating and selecting members of the 18U National Team which went on to win Gold at the Pan American Games. I look forward to Ryan building on our successes in baseball, noted WSU Director of Athletics Rob Fournier following Kelleys promotion.  The committee considered some outstanding candidates and there is no doubt that our program has risen in stature. In the end, Ryans familiarity with our system, his strong work habits and active role in building our program the last six years, was a significant factor.  I look forward to working with him to move our baseball team into an elite echelon. After earning a bachelor of science degree from the University of Michigan, Kelley graduated with his masters from Wayne State University in sports administration. In the summer of 2004, Kelley became a community director within the WSU Office of Housing & Residential Life, a position he held until taking over as the athletic departments academic coordinator in February 2006.  A responsibility he held for two years until his promotion to head baseball coach. Originally from Northville, Kelley was a four-year pitcher at Michigan (1996-1999).  He would help the Wolverines win the 1997 Big Ten Championship and the 1999 Big Ten Tournament Championship.  Following the 1997 season, Kelley was a pitcher in the Alaskan Central Collegiate baseball league for the Mat-Su Minors. Kelley played high school ball at Dearborn Divine Child where he earned all-state and honorable mention preseason All-America honors. He also completed a graduate assistant position with the Detroit Lions and has worked in Wayne States sports information department.  In addition, he completed a graduate assistantship with Stanford Universitys athletic department. I am very honored and humbled to be named the head baseball coach at Wayne State University, said Kelley in 2008.  I would like to thank Rob and the search committee for their efforts during this selection process.  In addition, I would like to thank our former head coach Jay Alexander for giving me the opportunity to join the baseball staff six seasons ago.  I look forward to continuing to build on the successful momentum that Coach Alexander initiated. In his six seasons as an assistant coach at WSU, the Warriors compiled a 161-148 record (.521 winning percentage), won two GLIAC regular-season titles, made four GLIAC tournament appearances, and advanced to the NCAA Regional twice. The 2008 squad set the WSU record for wins (34, since broken twice), while coming within one win of advancing to the NCAA Division II Championship round. Over his entire career at Wayne State, the baseball program has received 159 Academic All-GLIAC selections, 78 All-GLIAC awards and 42 All-Region honors. In 2008, Anthony Bass and Adam Kaminski became the first WSU baseball All-Americans in 30 years, and three years later Michael Wiseman followed suit as an All-American.  In 2012, Andrew Ciennik was named to the CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-America First Team, the first WSU baseball student-athlete to receive Academic All-America honors since 1995.  In addition, seven players under Kelleys watch have signed professional contracts with Major League Baseball organizations - Brad Guenther (Los Angeles Angels, 2013), Brett Shankin (Seattle Mariners, 2011), Ryan LaPensee (Arizona Diamondbacks, 2010), Justin Mazur (Kansas City Royals, 2010), Bass (San Diego Padres, 2008), Steve Squires (Chicago White Sox, 2005), and Randy Surratt (Chicago White Sox, 2004). Kelley and his wife Devon reside in Plymouth, Mich. with their daughters Kayline and Grayson. Kelleys wife Devon played softball and graduated from The University of Detroit Mercy. Coach Kelleys mother, Virginia was the first woman in the state of Michigan to compete as a Harness Horse Jockey. Coach Kelley has ran the Detroit Marathon on three occasions. The first effort in 2002 was with his Grandfather Bill Kelley who was 75 at the time, then with his wife Devon, and later with WSU Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Frank Jeney. His father-in-law, Dennis Brisky was an NCAA football student-athlete and graduated from The University of Buffalo, where he played defense under legendary coach Buddy Ryan. # - NCAA Tournament Participant * - GLIAC Tournament Participant ^ - Regular-Season Return to Staff RYAN KELLEY'S COACHING RECORD

Hepner is entering his fourth season in 2017 with Wayne State after joining the WSU baseball staff in August of 2013 as an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator. He had spent the previous five seasons at Eastern Michigan working with former Warrior head coach Jay Alexander. "I'm really excited about the great opportunity Coach Kelley and the Wayne State athletic administration has given me," said Hepner. "I am looking forward to helping continue the Warriors baseball program's excellence on and off the field." As the hitting coach, Hepner aided in WSU's strong offensive production in 2016.  The Warriors pounded out a program record 127 doubles and 167 extra base hits, while collecting the second-most total bases in school history (752).  In addition, WSU drove in 296 RBI, which ranks fifth and scored 329 runs, which ranks eighth in program history. He helped the Warriors clinch a berth in the GLIAC Tournament in 2014, while the 34 regular-season victories were a program record.  The 10-game winning streak in 2014 is also a program record. The Warriors finished 15-1 at home, which is the best winning percentage in program history and matched the second most wins all-time at home in program history.  The Warriors finished with the most wins in a season in program history (36), the second-best winning percentage and its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in five years. The Warriors finished with the most wins in a season in program history (36), second-best winning percentage and its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance in five years. The Warriors knocked off #18 Drury to begin the regional tournament with a 1-0 victory before falling to eventual national champion Southern Indiana in the third round of the NCAA Regional. Six Warriors were voted to the All-GLIAC teams including Jeremy Carrell, Alex Kinch and Kyle Zimmerman being named to the All-GLIAC First Team. Four student-athletes were selected to the Daktronics All-Midwest Region squads including Eric Cunningham being a First Team selection. Kyle Zimmerman was an NCBWA All-Midwest Region Gold Glover while Carrell and Zimmerman were CoSIDA Academic All-District team selections. Hepner took over as hitting coach at Eastern Michigan for the 2012 season, when the team hit .268 collectively and drew a MAC-high 278 walks. Under Hepner's guidance, Ben Magsig led the MAC in on-base percentage (.478) and walks (53). Magsig's walk total was the most for a single season in EMU history. Brent Ohrman also finished his final season in an EMU uniform with a .344 batting average and more than 20 stolen bases for a second straight year. Ohrman along with Bo Kinder received First Team Capital One Academic All-District nods. Ohrman also earned MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week accolades and received MAC West Player of the Week honors along with Magsig. Four of Hepner's hitters, Ohrman, Kinder, Tucker Rubino and Sam Ott, also hauled in Academic All-MAC nominations. In addition, Hepner aided in the development of All-MAC Second Team catcher Adam Sonabend. Sonabend was also named to the 2013 Johnny Bench Award Watch List In his first season with EMU, Hepner helped the EMU pitching staff develop into one of the top staffs in the MAC. Hepner led EMU to claim three MAC Pitcher of the Week awards during the regular season, while helping pitcher Corey Chaffins earn Second Team All-MAC accolades after coming off Tommy John surgery in 2008. In 2010, the EMU pitching staff had one of its best seasons, as the staff combined for six complete games and two shutouts, including an 11-inning complete game shutout by Kendall Lewis, who would go on to earn four national player of the week awards and First Team All-MAC accolades. Hepner also helped develop several EMU freshmen into solid contributors in their first season, including Steve Weber, who earned MAC West Pitcher of the Week honors. In all, the freshmen pitching class combined for eight wins and 10 saves in 2010.  As a whole, the 2010 Eastern Michigan pitching staff recorded 387 strikeouts the most by any team in school history. The previous record was held by the 1975 EMU baseball team that finished fifth at the College World Series. Hepner spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Michigan. A three-year letterman at the University of Dayton, Hepner served as an assistant coach for the Southern Ohio Copperheads in the Great Lakes Collegiate Summer League in the summer of 2006 before heading to UM. Noted for his defense, Hepner made more than 150 starts at catcher while earning his three letters at Dayton (2003-05) and helped lead the Flyers to a school record 36 wins as a senior in 2005. Hepner, who led the Atlantic 10 Conference in pickoffs twice, started his college career playing first base and catching at Edmonds Community College in the state of Washington. He transferred to Dayton after his team captured the NWACC championship during his freshman campaign. After graduating from Dayton he played in the Frontier League for the Richmond Roosters in 2005. A native of Woodinville, Wash., Hepner played football and baseball graduating from Woodinville High School in 2001. He graduated from Dayton with a degree in sports management in 2006, and served as a student assistant coach for one season.