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John Rypel

 John Rypel completed his second full season as the Head Baseball Coach at Nebraska Wesleyan in 2022 ultimately leading the program to its best season in over a decade.  The Prairie Wolves finished the campaign with 20 victories (the most since 2012) and qualified for their first postseason tournament appearance since 2013. Additionally, The 20 wins were a school record as an NCAA DIII Institution.  At seasons end, Nebraska Wesleyan finished 3rd in the American Rivers Conference standings despite being picked 8th in the Preseason poll.
 
NWU hitters had the best season in program history in 2022, establishing school records for home runs (42), doubles (101), and extra base hits (152).  Leading the A-R-C in home runs and extra base hit’s at year’s end.  In two seasons, NWU has had seven All-Conference Selections and one All-Region selection.  In addition to the on field success, the program finished the 2021-2022 academic year with a 3.34 Team GPA.
 
Rypel_2021In 2021, the Prairie Wolves finished the campaign 12-28 improving on their 2019 win total the year prior to Coach Rypel’s arrival.  Nebraska Wesleyan hitters finished the campaign with 106 Extra Base Hits and had an A-R-C ranking (prior to the Conference Tournament) of 4th in runs scored, 4th in OBP, and 2nd in Doubles.  The Prairie Wolves led the conference in Home Runs (25), Walks (152), and Runners Caught Stealing (28). NWU had three players named All-ARC with two first-team selections. Additionally, Derek Kolbush was named to the D3Baseball.com All-Region team which was the first All-Region selection for Nebraska Wesleyan since moving to NCAA Division III.  The 2021 roster also finished the year with a 3.2 Team GPA.  

Coach Rypel’s first season in 2020 was cut short by the COVID-19 Global Health Pandemic.  He led the Prairie Wolves to a 6-7-1 mark before the cancelation of the season.  Despite the shortened campaign the program showed glimpses of exciting things to come. NWU ended the season ranked in the top 20 of NCAA Division III  in two different offensive categories.  The Prairie Wolves were 15th in the nation in stolen bases with 36.  By comparison, Nebraska Wesleyan only had 39 stolen bases the entire 2019 season, and the 2020 total topped the entire season total of 2017 and 2016.  The other category that the Prairie Wolves thrived in was doubles where they ranked 18th with 36 doubles.  The program also finished the academic year with a 3.28 Team GPA.

Coach Rypel arrived at Nebraska Wesleyan after spending the 2019 season at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (NCAA DI) working under coaching legends Brian Shoop and Ron Polk.  The Blazers finished the season with a 27-29 record while competing in eight games against SEC opponents.  UAB posted victories over three NCAA Tournament qualifiers in Auburn, Florida Atlantic, and Southern Miss. As the Director of Baseball Operations for the Blazers, Coach Rypel coordinated all travel aspects for the program and assisted with various on the field coaching tasks. 
 
Prior to UAB, Coach Rypel was the Head Baseball Coach at Calvin College (NCAA DIII) in Grand Rapids, Michigam.  He amassed 74 wins during his tenure, leading the Knights to three berths in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament, including a trip to the finals in 2015.

At Calvin, Rypel coached 14 All-MIAA players, two Mideast All-Region performers, and one player signed on in professional baseball after graduation. The program established records for hits in a season, fielding percentage and doubles. Calvin hitters had the most hits in a four year span in program history.

The 2015 Calvin team finished second in school history in batting average with a .320 mark. The squad finished fourth in MIAA history in conference batting average (.342) and fifth all-time in hits (274).  John currently has 138 coaching victories and recorded win #100 on March 22nd, 2017.

Prior to Calvin College, Rypel spent four seasons as the head coach at Gordon College (NCAA DIII) in Massachusetts. He led the Scots to new heights as he won 58 games in four seasons, while breaking 23 school records, including team ERA, batting average and hits in a season. In his fourth and final season, Rypel led Gordon to a program-best 19 victories and its first winning season in two decades. The Scots also matched their highest conference program, placing fifth in the 2014 Commonwealth Coast Conference standings. 

At Gordon, Rypel coached 14 All-Conference players and one ABCA All-Regions player. The Scots placed 14 student-athletes on the CCC All-Academic team and his 2012Rypel Jason English team was presented the CCC Sportsmanship Award. While at Gordon, Rypel also spent two summers as the head coach of the Marauders in the Myrtle Beach Collegiate Baseball League. 

Rypel arrived at Gordon after spending four years as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Maryville College in Tennessee. During his tenure the pitching staff set seven school records en route to two Great South Conference Championships. Rypel coached five all-conference pitchers, two All-South Region selections and one ABCA Division III All-American. The Maryville pitching staff had a stellar year in 2010 when it finished 31st in the country with a 4.25 ERA. Rypel's final recruiting class for the Scots produced the school's first player to be selected in the MLB amateur draft when the Los Angeles Dodgers selected Nick Dean in the 32nd round. 

Rypel began his coaching career in 2006 as he served as the pitching coach at Morristown East High School where he helped the Hurricanes to their first conference championship in six seasons. 

Rypel's playing days included stints at Cuyahoga Community College, King College and Shawnee State University. His summer baseball included successful seasons as a member of the Strongsville Americans in the Cuyahoga AAA Wood-Bat Summer League and the Vermillion franchise of the Erie Shore League. Eventually he earned his undergraduate degree from Carson Newman College. He also holds a master's degree in sports science.

John has been married 14 years to the former Rachel Mills of Knoxville, Tenneessee The couple has two children: Bryce and Adelynn.

Coach Rypel at NWU
2020: 6-7-1 (Season Canceled Due To COVID-19) 
2021: 12-28 (10-22 A-R-C) | A-R-C Play-In Game
2022: 20-21 (13-11 A-R-C) | 3rd in the A-R-C and A-R-C Tournament Appearance
3 Seasons At NWU: 38-56 (23-33 A-R-C) | Two Postseason Appearances