Kennesaw State University Athletics

Career Highlights (as of May 26, 2024)

• 2024: Third season as head coach at Kennesaw State
• Records at KSU:
  • 93-81 (.535) overall record
  • 48-30 (.615) home record
  • Sixth head coach in KSU baseball history
• Fastest KSU DI baseball head coach to 71 wins
• Led Owls to NCAA Hattiesburg Regional in first season
• 2022 Atlantic Sun Conference tournament champion
• 2024 Atlantic Sun Runner-Up
• Kennesaw State athletics Hall of Famer (class of 2004)

Ryan Coe has been the head coach for the Black and Gold for three seasons. He was named the head baseball coach at Kennesaw State University in July of 2021 and became the sixth head coach in KSU history.

In 2024, the Owls tallied a 32-24 record including a seven-game win streak that featured three one-run wins in the ASUN tournament. The Owls defeated No. 10 Clemson 18-1 on Feb. 23, handing the Tigers their worst home loss since 1936. Coe's Owls also took two of three from eventual SEC Regular Season Champion No. 25 Kentucky. Kennesaw State defeated Stetson, FGCU and Central Arkansas en route to the second Atlantic Sun Championship Game berth in his three-year tenure.

KSU baseball continues to ascend nationally as the 2024 off season provided several accolades for the program. D1Baseball ranked the Owls the 85th best program in the country, cracking the organizations "Top 100". Perfect Game also highlighted the Owls as they landed three players in the top 500 prospects incoming D-I prospects. PG ranked the Owls as the 44th best recruiting class in the nation, besting three in-state programs (Georgia State, Georgia Southern and Mercer) and marking the best class in CUSA. 

In his first year leading the Owls, Coe became the only head coach in ASUN Conference history to win the league's tournament in his first season with the team. Coe led Kennesaw State to a 36-28 record and an appearance in the NCAA Regionals for the first time since 2014. The Owls finished conference play with a 19-11 record and were crowned co-champions of the ASUN East Division while setting a new program record for the most conference wins in a single season. 

After suffering losses in their first two games of the conference tournament, Coe and the Owls battled back and won three-straight elimination games to earn the team's first ASUN Tournament Championship in eight years. KSU defeated Liberty 10-6 in the finale and had five players selected to the All-Tournament Team, including the ASUN Tournament MVP, Josh Hatcher. 

At the Hattiesburg Regional, Coe led KSU to its first win in the NCAA tournament since Kennesaw State downed the University of Alabama in the 2014 Tallahassee Regional final. Coe and the Owls earned a tough win over Army West Point, 9-8, with two late runs that completed the comeback. At the conclusion of the tournament, the Owls placed two on the Hattiesburg Regional All-Tournament Team in Hatcher and Tyler Simon.

The duo of Hatcher and Simon paced the high-powered KSU offense that broke multiple single-season program records in 2022. These included most home runs (70), runs batted in (408), total bases (1,035) and runs scored (455) in a season. Coe’s offense also collected a .301 batting average and marked the second time in KSU history the Owls finished over .300 in this category.

In his first year as head coach of the Owls, Coe guided Hatcher to one of the best individual offensive seasons in Kennesaw State history. The outfielder ended the year ranked first in the NCAA in both hits (109) and doubles (26). He was a first-team All-ASUN selection and Collegiate Baseball Third Team All-American.

Coe's second season as head coach featured a young team where 12 underclassmen saw significant playing time. The team was led by ninth-round MLB Draft pick, Blake Wehunt, the team's Friday night starter who was selected by the Boston Red Sox. Wehunt's selection extended Kennesaw State baseball's streak to 15 consecutive years with at least one player drafted (excluding the 2020 COVID shortened draft). 

Immediately upon his arrival, Coe hit the recruiting trail. In his first month as head coach, Coe put together an inaugural class which was recognized by Perfect Game USA as the 57th-ranked class in the country out of 302 Division I baseball teams. Despite a late start in the recruiting cycle, Coe committed some of the nation’s top prospects to Kennesaw State for the 2023 class.

Prior to Kennesaw State, Coe spent nearly 12 years as a scout for the Texas Rangers, joining the MLB team following a 15-year spell as a player and coach at KSU under newly-retired head coach Mike Sansing.  

"Just thinking about Kennesaw State brings back so many good memories," said Coe. "I hate to leave the Rangers. I really enjoyed that part of my career, but I care too much about the KSU baseball program not to pursue the head coaching job. I want to continue the amazing work that Mike Sansing has done, taking the program further and further every year and it's my goal to continue that upward trend." 

Coe first stepped foot on the Kennesaw State campus in 1994, transferring from Tennessee's Cleveland State Community College where he was a second-team All-American. 

The catcher made an impact as soon as he slotted into the lineup, hitting 18 home runs and 79 RBIs with a .369 batting average. At the 1994 NAIA Districts in Columbus, Ga., the slugger from East Ridge, Tenn. walked off a win for Kennesaw State College with a homer in the bottom of the ninth against defending district champions Brewton-Parker; the district win would go down in the history books as KSU's first title ever. 

Coe continued his reputation as a top-notch batter throughout the NAIA postseason, earning a selection into the All-Tournament team as the Owls became the 1994 NAIA Baseball National Champions. For his efforts, Coe was named Kennesaw State's Athlete-of-the-Year. 

Despite having a 1994 to remember, Coe managed to one-up himself in 1995. Coe hit for a .455 batting average in the squad's inaugural year in the NCAA's Division-II, a rate which lives on as the best batting average in KSU's history. Winning the 1995 Peach Belt Athletic Conference Player of the Year, Coe continues to hold the Peach Belt records for career slugging percentage with .732 and consecutive games with a home run with seven. He also holds Kennesaw State's all-time career records in batting average (.411) and slugging percentage, as well as the single-season record for on-base percentage (.545). 

His long list of accolades includes the rare distinction of earning All-American honors at three different levels: junior college in 1993, NAIA in 1994 and NCAA Division II in 1995.

The standout's stunning collegiate career led to his selection by the Houston Astros in the 1995 MLB Amateur Draft. He spent three years with the organization, earning a selection as a 1996 Midwest League All-Star in that time. 

Coe would return to Kennesaw State in Sept. 1997 as an assistant coach under Sansing. In his role, Coe coordinated recruitment, developed catchers and hitters, developed practice plans and ran the in-game offense. 

During his time as a coach, Coe was inducted with pitcher John Kelly as KSU baseball's first inductees into the Kennesaw State University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. Also inducted that year was Coe's wife, former Owls softball standout Cara Dornstauder.

Coe would serve as an assistant coach for Kennesaw State until Nov. 2009, when he was offered a position in the Texas Rangers organization. He would serve as the East Coast crosschecker for the Arlington, Texas outfit, identifying and evaluating prospects from the East Coast and Canada for the MLB draft.  

What others are saying about Ryan Coe…

"I am ecstatic for Ryan, Cara and his daughters. He fits all the criteria to be a great head coach for Kennesaw State: an All-American, a National Championship winner, a former coach here. I'm thrilled that Kennesaw State has chosen someone who has represented and upheld the KSU name extremely well for over a decade. His success as a player, his time spent as a coach and his presence around the highest level of player development in the sport will show the fans why I'm so excited for him to get going." – Mike Sansing, former Kennesaw State baseball coach

"Throughout my 29 years working in collegiate baseball, I have had the great opportunity to meet many outstanding baseball minds - but few as intelligent, dedicated and passionate as Ryan Coe. Ryan is someone who understands how to identify talent, build relationships with players, and develop a sustainable culture. I have no doubt he will lead Kennesaw State to big things for years to come." – Kevin O'Sullivan, head coach of University of Florida baseball

"I've had the opportunity to work with Ryan Coe for over a decade. Kennesaw State got a great one! He is driven, conscientious, value-oriented and ultra-competitive. He will put together a team with similar values and ethics, who love to play, love to win, and are willing to put the necessary work in. Equally important, parents will feel good about trusting him with the continued development of their sons. The Rangers are going to miss him, and wish Ryan and his family all the best." – Jon Daniels, President of Baseball Operations, Texas Rangers


Ryan Coe’s Professional Career