The College of St. Scholastica

Kevin Ritsche begins his second season with the St. Scholastica baseball program in 2021. Ritsche was hired as the baseball program’s fourth Head Coach in August of 2019.

Ritsche came over from Winston-Salem State University (N.C.) where he was the Head Baseball Coach from 2010-19.
 
Ritsche, who had also been a professor at Winston-Salem State since 2005, was hired in 2010 to resurrect the WSSU baseball program after a 37-year hiatus. He did so quickly, recording 319 wins in nine seasons, including at least 30-wins all nine years. Ritsche's teams won six conference championships and made six NCAA Division II Tournament appearances. In 2017, WSSU finished runner-up in the NCAA Atlantic Regional. He was a five-time Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Coach of the Year.
 
The Superior, Wisconsin native played under the late John Baggs at St. Scholastica from 2001-04 and also played with former head Coach Corey Kemp during the 2001 season. In 2004, Ritsche was named an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American and a First Team All-UMAC choice as a catcher.
 
He then spent the fall of 2004 on Coach Baggs' staff while earning his Master's Degree from St. Scholastica in Exercise Physiology. Ritsche would go on to earn his Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro in 2014.
 
Ritsche's teams at Winston-Salem State consistently boasted over 3.0 grade-point-averages and two of his teams earned the best GPA in the CIAA.
 
He coached 16 players that went on to play professionally, including a pair of Major League Baseball Draft Picks. He had 19 players earn All-Region accolades and three players named All-Americans.
 
"I look forward to working hands-on with our student-athletes and putting them in the very best position to perform and compete on the national level," said Ritsche. "A big emphasis will be on helping our student-athletes understand that there is no better investment to make than in themselves and The College of St. Scholastica. I want to make them aware of the mental and physical toughness required to compete at a high level, while educating and mentoring them to become the very best versions of themselves along the way."