Ryan Heinle is back for his sixth season as an assistant coach in the baseball program. In previous years, Heinle has worked all over the diamond.
In 2017-18, he worked with the outfielders and coached first base. During those two seasons, he worked with two NAIA National Gold Glove Award winners, Brandon Sandoval ’17 and Josh Weeks ’18. Sandoval was also a 27th round selection by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2017 MLB draft. In 2019, Heinle took over the infield duties and coached third base during game action. In 2020, Heinle became the Head Pitching Coach and Assistant Recruiting Coordinator. In 2021, Heinle helped lead the Lions to their first Golden State Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships in the program’s history.
As a three-year player for the lions, Heinle appeared in 35 games, starting 21 of them, with an 11-8 record in 138 innings from 2014-16. Heinle went 2-0 in postseason play with wins in the 2015 Santa Clarita Regional Championship game against the University of Northwestern Ohio and a complete-game win in the 2016 Montgomery Alabama Regional semi-final game against Texas A&M Texarkana. Heinle was also a member of the 2015 World Series team that finished 7th in the 59th annual NAIA World Series held in Lewiston, ID.
Prior to joining the Blue and Gold, Heinle spent the 2012-13 seasons at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, CA, coached by 2018 ABCA/Diamond National Coach of the year, Reed Peters. In his two-year span with the Mustangs, Heinle pitched in 14 games holding a 1-3 record. The right-hander logged 27.1 innings with a 3.65 era.
Heinle has an Associate’s Degree from San Joaquin Delta College ’14 and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Vanguard University in 2016. Along with coaching for the Lions, Heinle coaches a local Orange County travel baseball team called Newport Surf. In Heinle’s free time, he enjoys golfing, mountain biking, and collecting baseball memorabilia.
