Bio

Ryan Goodwin is in his ninth year as head baseball coach for the Wildcats, entering the 2023-24 season, and has totaled 169 wins in his time at the helm.

During his tenure, the Wildcats have had 19 all-conference selections and a Heart Gold Glove honoree. Goodwin led the Wildcats to a conference tournament title in 2019, marking the program's first championship in 20 years and third overall.

In 2023, Goodwin and the Wildcats posted their second straight winning season after going 29-23 and won the first two games of the Heart Conference Tournament to advance to the semifinals before bowing out.

With an overall record of 28-26, the 2022 team marked Baker’s first winning season since 2007 and had a pair of first team all-conference players in Brian Hawkins and John Raybourn. The Wildcats earned the fifth seed in the conference tournament and defeated Grand View in an elimination game before being knocked out in the next round.

With the 2020 postseason being canceled due to Covid, the Wildcats continued their conference tournament tear in 2021 as they won their first two games as the No. 8 seed – including an upset of No. 2 Clarke – to extend their Heart Tournament winning streak to seven games before falling in the consolation bracket.

In 2019, Goodwin led Baker to its first Heart of America Conference Tournament Championship since 1998 after winning all of five games of its tournament run as the No. 8 seed. With the Heart title, the Wildcats earned a trip to the NAIA Tournament and competed in the Williamsburg Bracket of the NAIA Opening Round in Williamsburg, Ky. The Wildcats boasted three all-conference selections in 2019, highlighted by Cooper Karlin’s first-team nod.

In 2018, Baker posted a 20-33 overall mark and 11-20 record in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. BU featured two Heart of America Athletic Conference All-Conference performers, as Kenny Delaquila and Brian Wircenske were each named to the 2018 Heart Honorable Mention All-Conference team. After the 2018 season, two Wildcats signed professional baseball contracts with the Trinidad Triggers of the Pecos League, as Matt Stuart and Jack Mayes signed the with the squad out of Trinidad, Colorado.

Goodwin completed his second season for the Wildcats in 2017 with four of his athletes earning the prestigous NAIA Scholar-Athlete award and outfielder Damon Nolan being named a Heart of America Athletic Conference Honorable Mention All-Conference performer.

In his first season he led the 'Cats to just their second appearance in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament since 1999. Baker went 24-31 overall, along with a 16-16 record in Heart play and advanced to the semifinals of the Heart conference tournament in Joplin, Missouri. The Wildcats also posted three Heart of America Athletic Conference All-Conference performers and three Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

Goodwin came to Baker after serving as the head coach at Wiley College in Marshall, Texas for two seasons. In his first season at Wiley in 2014, Goodwin helped improve the Wildcats’ win total by 15 games and led Wiley to its first appearance in the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament since 2011. Wiley also garnered six Red River All-Conference players in 2014, including one First Team All-Conference performer and five Second Team selections.

Coach Goodwin has local ties to the Baldwin City area, as he graduated from Lawrence High School.

He has also coached at nearly every collegiate level, serving as the assistant baseball coach at NCAA Division I Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi from 2010-11. He served as the pitching coach and shared recruiting coordinating duties while at Jackson State.

Goodwin bookended his time at Jackson State as the assistant baseball coach at NCAA Division II Washburn University and in 2012 helped lead the Ichabods to its best record in 12 years.

He also served as the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Neosho County Community College from 2004-07. Neosho won a school record 44 games in 2006 while having Goodwin on staff and won the KJCCC Eastern Division Championship.

Goodwin played baseball at Highland Community College before a successful pitching career at the University of South Dakota where he still holds the career saves record and helped set the teams school record for team wins in 1999 with 27.