Franklin & Marshall Director of Athletics and Recreation Patricia S.W. Epps has announced the hiring of Ryan Horning as the new Diplomat head baseball coach. Horning takes over the reins of the program after serving five years as an assistant coach at F&M.
"I know coach Horning will continue to foster the F&M tradition of excellence in the future," Epps said.
Horning becomes the 47th coach in the history of the program, replacing Adam Taylor, who resigned his position after the 2013 season following five years at the helm. The Diplomats posted a record of 101-95-2 during Taylor's tenure and advanced to the Centennial Conference (CC) playoffs three times, claiming the fourth CC title in program history this past spring.
The Diplomats posted a record of 23-21 in 2013 and captured their first CC title since 2006, advancing to the NCAA Regional Tournament for the fourth time in school history.
Horning has been firmly entrenched in all aspects of the program during his time as an assistant, serving as the defensive coach for both infielders and outfielders while also leading recruiting efforts and off-season camp operations. The Diplomats have consistently proven to be one of the top fielding teams in the CC under Horning's guidance, ranking among the top four in the conference in fielding percentage in each of his seasons as an assistant and breaking the single-season record for turned double plays last spring.
"I'm honored and excited to be the next head baseball coach at F&M and I look forward to continuing the program's rich history of excellence," said Horning. "We have a special group of players here at F&M and I look forward to building off our championship run of 2013."
A 2004 graduate of St. Lawrence University, Horning joined the staff at F&M 2009 after coaching stints at Cornell University, St. John Fisher College and Longwood University. After one year at Division I Longwood, he served as an assistant at St. John Fisher, where he helped guide the Cardinals to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2007. From there, Horning moved back to the Division I level to Cornell for one year.
Horning was also a coach for the Watertown Wizards of the New York Collegiate Baseball League for two summers in 2007 and 2008, including one season as head coach, and served as head coach of the Albany Dutchmen of the NYCBL in 2009. Additionally, he guided the Syracuse 16-year-old All-Start Team to the Babe Ruth World Series Championship in 2004, making him the youngest coach to achieve the feat. He led his Syracuse squad to the Babe Ruth World Series in two of his three years as the head coach.