Twitter: @JeffDitch
The IUP baseball program’s all-time winningest coach, Jeff Ditch will be entering his 11th season at the helm of the program in the spring of 2016.
In his 10 years with the Crimson Hawks, Ditch has eight 20-win seasons, including a program record 36 victories in 2008. He has guided teams to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament three times, highlighted by a runner-up finish in 2011. The Crimson Hawks also won the PSAC Western Division regular season title in 2010.
Ditch is the only coach in program history to reach the career 200-win plateau, boasting 233 victories since taking over in 2006. He passed legendary coach Arch Moore (182 wins) as IUP’s all-time wins leader with a 12-2 victory at home over Clarion on April 13, 2013.
Ditch has coached five players at IUP who have been selected in the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft. The latest, and most impressive, addition to that list was Ryan Uhl. The first baseman was picked by the Seattle Mariners in the seventh round (215th overall) in the 2015 MLB Draft in June. The All-American was one of eight finalists for the 2015 Tino Martinez Award – The Division II Player of the Year – and broke IUP and PSAC single season records with 29 home runs. Uhl led Division II in home runs, home runs per game (0.66), runs batted in per game (1.68) and slugging percentage (1.085). He finished in the top 15 statistically in three other offensive categories and was arguably the best position player in Division II.
Uhl was one of two All-Americans for the Crimson Hawks in 2015. In addition to his All-American nods by three different outlets, outfielder Austin Mock was named honorable mention by NCBWA. IUP was one of just three schools in the PSAC with multiple All-American selections in 2015.
The duo of Uhl and Mock formed the best hitting combination in the Atlantic Region as they combined for 45 home runs and 124 runs batted in as the Crimson Hawks finished the season with a 22-21-1 overall record. They helped the 2015 team set program single season records for home runs (65) and slugging percentage (.529), while the 317 runs, 306 runs batted in, and 701 total bases were all third most in IUP history.
During his 10-year run at IUP, Ditch has coached 34 All-PSAC West selections - including one Athlete of the Year - 16 All-Atlantic Region performers, and three All-Americans. He’s also coached five players who have been selected in the MLB Draft, including Ryan Uhl (Seattle Mariners) in the seventh round in 2015 and Paul Bingham (San Diego Padres) in the 20th round in 2010.
Other IUP players selected have been: Dylan Tice (St. Louis Cardinals), who played for Ditch from 2012-14 before transferring closer to his hometown, was drafted in the 36th round in 2015; Zac LaNeve (Florida Marlins), who was originally drafted out of high school in 2011 and transferred to IUP for the 2015 season; and Jordan DeLuca (Pittsburgh Pirates), who was also drafted out of high school in 2011 and played for the Crimson Hawks from 2012-14.
Bingham (2010), Uhl and Austin Mock (2015) were all named All-Americans in their respective senior seasons, while Bingham was the PSAC West Athlete of the Year and Uhl was one of eight finalists for the Tino Martinez Award as the Division II Player of the Year.
In addition to his players' success in college ball, several Crimson Hawks have distinguished themselves in NCAA-sanctioned collegiate summer league. In the summer of 2010, former players Robbie Zinsmeister of the Quakertown Blazers in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League and Stephen Cooke of the Winchester Royals in the Valley Baseball League competed in their league's respective all-star games.
In the classroom, the players on the 2015 roster combined to post a cumulative grade point average of 2.97, and during Ditch's 10 years as head coach, the baseball team has accounted for 268 Dean's List honors, 120 PSAC Scholar-Athlete awards and two PSAC Top 10 awards. Ryan Mostyn and Jake Rougeaux were chosen the IUP Male Scholar-Athletes of the Year in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
More information about the baseball team's academic program and community involvement can be found at www.winwithclass.com.
After rebuilding the program in his first two seasons, Ditch directed the Crimson Hawks to a pair of 30-win campaigns in a four-year span. IUP improved from 10 wins in his first season in 2006 to 20 the following year and a leap to a school-record 36 wins against 19 losses in 2008 when IUP returned to the PSAC postseason for the first time in 10 years.
The 26-win improvement between 2006 and 2008 was the best in all of Division I and II baseball during that time, besting Division I programs Canisius (24), Duke (22) and Louisiana Monroe (19) while Bryant (25) was second to IUP. The 2008 team was ranked as high as fourth in the region and No. 24 in the nation.
Colby Betz was IUP's first participant in the Cape Cod Summer League as a member of the Hyannis Mets in 2008, and Bingham played for the Winchester Royals in the Virginia Valley League in 2008 and the Cotuit Kettleers in the Cape Cod Summer League in 2009.
In 2010, the Crimson Hawks won the PSAC West title with a school-record 18 division victories and earned two wins at the conference tournament. IUP finished with a record of 31-24 and was ranked No. 6 in the Atlantic Region by the NCBWA.
The team broke 27 school records, had nine players named to the All-PSAC West team and featured Bingham, a first team All-American who became IUP's first MLB draft selection in seven years when the shortstop was chosen by the San Diego Padres in the 20th round in June 2010.
In 2011, Ditch guided the Crimson Hawks to the championship game of the PSAC tournament for the first time since 1990. The appearance in the PSAC tournament was the second in a row and third in the past four years.
Ditch came to IUP after serving as an assistant coach for 11 seasons, including 10 on the Division I level. He had stints at Penn State, Cincinnati and West Virginia before spending the 2005 season at junior college power Young Harris.
In 2005, Ditch helped lead Young Harris College to a final record of 51-11, the Georgia Junior College Athletic Association and National Junior College Athletic Association Region XVII titles and a No. 2 ranking in the final NJCAA poll. Twelve of 13 players on the 2005 Young Harris squad went gone on to sign with Division I schools.
In addition to position on the staff at Young Harris, Ditch spent the summer of 2004 as an assistant coach under legendary former University of North Carolina head coach Mike Roberts with the Cotuit Kettleers of the prestigious Cape Cod League. He was with the Kettleers for a second season when he was tabbed to direct the IUP baseball program.
Prior to taking the position at Young Harris, Ditch was on the staff at West Virginia for one year (2004), working with the Mountaineer hitters and infielders. Ditch began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at St. Cloud State (1993-94) before beginning a long run on the Division I level.
He moved on to Penn State and spent the 1995-98 campaigns as the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator with the Nittany Lions, and with Ditch on the staff Penn State won the Big Ten title in 1996. During his tenure as hitting instructor, Penn State established new Big Ten records for total bases (529) and home runs (60) in conference games during the 1998 season. Mike Campo and Shawn Fagan both earned All-America accolades and set school records under Ditch's tutelage.
When Ditch arrived at Penn State, the school record for home runs in a season was 49, but that mark fell when the Nittany Lions smashed 72 in 1997 and 91 the following year. He also assisted in the development of pitcher Nate Bump, a first round draft choice who reached the majors with the Florida Marlins and was a member of their 2003 world championship team.
Ditch moved on to Cincinnati for the 1999-03 seasons, serving as recruiting coordinator while working with Bearcat pitchers. Cincinnati won 30 or more games three straight seasons for the first time in school history, while the pitching staff put up impressive numbers each year, including a school-record 400 strikeouts in 1999.
In 2000, when Cincinnati was the runner-up to Houston in Conference USA, the Bearcats allowed opponents to hit just .274 while setting school marks with 35 wins and 16 saves. The Cincinnati coaching staff was honored as the Ohio Staff of the Year that season by the Buckeye Scouting Report. In 2001, the Bearcats won 16 games in Conference USA and finished third while the 2002 squad posted the school's lowest team ERA in seven years. The 2003 pitching staff allowed only 2.93 walks per game, a mark that was the lowest in the 40-year history of the Cincinnati program.
Under Ditch's watchful eye, Curtus Moak developed into an All-America closer for the Bearcats and was drafted in the 25th round by the Cincinnati Reds. BJ Borsa was a Reds farmhand while former Bearcats Tony Maynard and Kyle Markle were recognized by Collegiate Baseball as Freshman All-Americans.
While coaching at Cincinnati, Ditch recruited and signed the highest draft pick (sixth round) in school history. Later, former Bearcat great Kevin Youkilis was an eighth round selection by the Boston Red Sox and played on their 2004 and 2007 championship teams. Through the identification of student-athletes who would be successful in the classroom as well as the baseball field, Ditch's four incoming recruiting classes at Cincinnati averaged a 3.23 grade point average, a 22 on the ACT and over 1,000 on the SAT.
In 23 years as an assistant or head coach at St. Cloud State, Penn State, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Young Harris and IUP, Ditch has coached 35 All-Big Ten players, 34 All-PSAC picks, 25 All-Conference USA selections, and four players who were named to the All-Big East squad.
Ditch has coached an astounding total of 117 players who have been selected in the MLB Draft between 1994 and 2015, with 13 of those players reaching the Major League level. He’s also coached three players who have played for the USA National team and another who has represented the United State in the Olympics.
Ditch is a native of Wahpeton, N.D. He earned his bachelor's degree as a double major in math and physical education and a minor in athletic coaching at Valley City State in 1989. Before entering the college ranks, Ditch was a high school math teacher for three years. He also has experience in the Northwoods Collegiate Summer League, spending the summer of 1997 as head coach of the St. Cloud River Bats, and was an American Legion head coach for nine seasons.
Updated on 7/2/15
