Ryan Kirby Joins Aztec Baseball as Assistant Coach
Kirby previously led USD players to the WCC tournament championship in the 2021-22 season.
San Diego State baseball head coach Mark Martinez has announced the hiring of Ryan Kirby as an assistant coach who will work extensively with the hitters, fielders, and catchers on the Aztec staff.
A native of Livermore, California, Kirby was a three-year standout at the University of San Diego from 2014-16, before rejoining the Torero program as a volunteer coach for the 2022 campaign.
"We're very excited to welcome Ryan to our Aztec family," Martinez said. "After an exhaustive search, Ryan separated himself in the hiring process through his passion and energy for developing young people on and off the field. His ideals and values are a perfect match for the standards and expectations of San Diego State baseball."
During his lone season on the USD staff, Kirby coached first base and worked with hitters and infielders, helping guide the Toreros to an overall record of 37-20 and a West Coast Conference tournament championship. With its title, USD clinched a berth in the NCAA Corvallis Regional, where it posted a signature 3-2 victory over perennial powerhouse Vanderbilt.
Collectively, Kirby mentored the WCC's top offense in 2021, as the Toreros led the conference in numerous categories, including batting average (.286), slugging percentage (.437), on-base percentage (.384), home runs (57), RBIs (359) and runs scored (390). This hefty production at the plate was also coupled with an elite defense, as USD ranked 13th nationally with a WCC-best .980 fielding percentage.
Under, Kirby's tutelage, catcher Caleb Ricketts became the 10th Torero competitor in program history to garner WCC Player of the Year accolades, while infielders Chase Meidroth and Kevin Sim received first-team all-conference recognition.
USD's historic campaign culminated with two of Kirby's pupils getting picked in the 2022 MLB Draft, as Meidroth was chosen in the fourth round by the Boston Red Sox (129th overall), while Ricketts was snapped up by the Philadelphia Phillies in the seventh round (212th overall).
As a collegiate player with the Toreros, Kirby hit .301 with 10 home runs, 16 doubles and 58 RBIs in 115 games over three seasons, helping USD capture the 2015 WCC championship. He also collected the Toreros' Most Inspirational Player award as a senior following the 2016 campaign.
After college, Kirby was selected in the 12th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by San Francisco, compiling a .241 batting average, 30 home runs, 72 doubles and 180 RBIs in 308 minor-league games as a first baseman and outfield with the Giants organization.
Kirby collected Northwest League Most Valuable Player honors as a member of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in 2017 after recording a slash line of .285/.368/.431 with eight homers, 15 doubles and a league-leading 64 RBIs to go with 51 runs scored and 10 stolen bases in 65 games. Additionally, he was a midseason All-Star that year and was named Northwest League Player of the Week after going 5-for-5 with five RBIs against Everett on July 6, 2017.
Following his stint in the minors, Kirby returned to USD and completed his bachelor of science degree in May 2020.
