Szefc Announces Baseball Staff Changes
7/8/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Maryland baseball head coach John Szefc announced the promotion of Rob Vaughn to associate head coach and the addition of Ryan Fecteau as assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Friday afternoon.
Vaughn is entering his fifth season at Maryland and has been a part of the most successful stretch in school history, leading an offense that has helped Maryland win 142 games and advance to consecutive NCAA Super Regionals in 2014 and 2015.
“This will be my seventh consecutive year working with Rob and there is an extreme level of comfort in his coaching ability,” Szefc said. “Rob will continue his duties working with our hitters, running our offense and coaching third base. This promotion is incredibly well-deserved and Rob will continue to be vitally important to this program.”
A native of Humble, Texas, Vaughn produced All-Americans Brandon Lowe and Kevin Martir in 2015, Maryland's first position players to receive the honor since 2002. Vaughn's player development has also paid off with immediate effect as the Terps have seen four position players earn freshman All-American status over the past three seasons, including 2016 honorees Nick Dunn and Marty Costes.
Vaughn has coached 24 players who have been drafted or signed professional contracts in his six years as a coach. Lowe became the highest drafted Maryland position player in 13 years when he was selected in the third round of the 2015 draft.
Fecteau comes to Maryland after a successful six-year stint at Bryant where he helped the Bulldogs win 226 games and achieve three berths in the NCAA Tournament. In 2016, Bryant won 47 contests, the most regular season wins of any team in the country, and earned a No. 2 seed in the Charlottesville Regional, the highest seed in school and Northeast Conference history.
“Ryan has done a fantastic job working with [head coach] Steve Owens at Bryant,” Szefc said. “He has clearly has a lot of success developing and managing the pitching staff. He and Steve have built Bryant into a national level program and he's developed many professional pitchers in his time there. Ryan is a very good fit with our coaching staff, our players and our incoming recruits.”
The Bulldogs have dominated the NEC to the tune of five consecutive regular season titles and three 40-win seasons. Fecteau has led his staff to the best ERA in the NEC four of the past five seasons and top-25 national marks in 2012 (3.05, 17th), 2013 (2.73, 10th), 2014 (2.84, 21st) and 2016 (3.22, 22nd). In 2013, Bryant became the first team in NEC history to post a sub-3.00 team ERA.
Known for their strike throwing ability, Fecteau's groups have led the NEC in WHIP in each of the past five seasons and K/9 in four of the last five seasons.
Fecteau's ability to develop pitchers at Bryant has been top notch, with seven Bulldog hurlers drafted since his arrival, including fourth-round selection Kevin McAvoy in 2014, the highest drafted player in school history.
His most recent success came in the form of right-hander James Karinchak, who followed up a freshman All-American season in 2015 with the best season by a pitcher in Bryant history in 2016. Karinchak earned All-American honors after setting program records in single season wins (12) and strikeouts (112).
Bryant has boasted the NEC Pitcher of the Year in four of the last five seasons and has seen ten pitchers earn 16 all-conference honors over Fecteau's tenure. Five of Fecteau's products have received ABCA All-Region plaudits.
“I want to thank Coach Owens and everybody at Bryant for a great six years. I'm really excited for the opportunity,” Fecteau said. “I think it's a place that's had a lot of success over the past few seasons and there is a really good foundation. I have always dreamt of coaching at this level and I'm thankful for the opportunity that Coach Szefc has provided.”
Fecteau's previous coaching stops include St. Lawrence, USC Upstate and Southern Utah University. As a player, Fecteau starred at Saint Anselm and finished his career as the program leader in wins (20), innings pitched (312.0) and strikeouts (254).
The Gilmanton, New Hampshire native earned his bachelor's degree in business from Saint Anselm in 2005 and a master's degree in education from Saint Lawrence in 2007. Fecteau and his wife, Catherine, have a son, Kellan.
What They Are Saying About Ryan Fecteau
Steve Owens – Head Coach – Bryant"I congratulate Ryan on his new appointment at Maryland and wish him and his family the best of luck going forward. He is a class act professionally and will fit in well with Coach Szefc and the Maryland baseball staff. I am very confident he will continue to positively impact the players that he works with and produce consistent results year after year."
Matt Fincher – Head Coach – USC Upstate
“This is a really good hire for Maryland. Ryan is a great human being and I enjoyed my relationship with him through the years. He's an outstanding pitching coach and is a guy that's constantly trying to learn and evolve. He's very easy to work with. I think the players will absolutely love him and enjoy working with him. He is a guy that can assist them in developing to the best of their abilities. I think this is a great opportunity for Ryan and Maryland. Everybody involved will be happy about this.”
“Maryland did a tremendous job finding a guy who will be an asset to the program for years to come. I've known Ryan for over ten years, and he has a great passion and feel for the game. He's a skilled communicator and has a keen eye for evaluating talent. He values developing relationships with players and has a lot of respect and communicate well with them. He does a really good job.”
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