Ryan Hurba
Camp Director
Ryan Hurba enters his seventh season as hitting coach and recruiting coordinator for the Bearcats in 2012. As the offensive accolades continue to mount for the Bearcats, so too does Hurba’s reputation as an elite recruiter and instructor.
En route to the team’s record-breaking 2010 season, Hurba’s hitters produced a school-record .332 team batting average – the second straight record-breaking season in that category. That mark was tops in the America East and ranked 26th (out of 292) in the nation. In addition, BU ranked 44th in the country in runs per game, putting up more than 8 tallies per game. The Bearcats had three of the top four hitters in the conference and five of the top 10, highlighted by Player of the Year Corey Taylor. Six hitters earned all-conference recognition, giving Hurba and BU 22 all-conference hitters in the last five years. In addition, BU has produced two America East Players of the Year (Brendan Hitchcock, 2007, Corey Taylor, 2010)and two more Rookies of the Year (Peter Bregartner, 2008, Dave Ciocchi, 2009) in that span. Freshman third baseman Mike Thompson also earned Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American laurels in 2010, the second Bearcat hitter to earn national distinction in the last two years (Dave Ciocchi in 2009).
Two Hurba disciples made it to the professional ranks in 2010 – center fielder Henry Dunn and second baseman Jim Calderone. Dunn was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the Major League Draft and Calderone signed a contract with Windy City in the Class A Frontier League.
Under Hurba’s tutelage, BU broke dozens of offensive team records in its 2009 championship season. The Bearcats set new marks for team batting average (.320), hits (548), runs (357), RBI (321) and triples (18). The team average of .320 was 26 points higher than the record set by the 2005 squad and a dramatic one-year improvement of 38 points.
Hurba came to Binghamton from Division II powerhouse Mount Olive College (N.C.) (2008 Division II National Champions), where he served as an assistant for two years. While at Mount Olive he coached four All-Americans and four future professional players. Three of those players signed as free agents, while one was an MLB draft pick.
Hurba has also served as an assistant at Brevard Community College. There Hurba worked with head coach Ernie Rosseau, a former minor league hitting coordinator with the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets. Their Brevard team advanced to the Florida State Junior College tournament, finishing fourth in the state. Hurba coached five Brevard players who were drafted by MLB teams.
Prior to heading into college coaching Hurba spent four years as the head coach at the oldest overnight baseball camp in the country, the Sho-Me Baseball Camp (Branson, MO). There he oversaw the entire on field summer program as well as their satellite camps in the off season.
As an undergraduate player, he earned All-America honors at Oswego State in 1996. Hurba was a three-time all-region selection, three-time all conference selection and two-time ECAC all-star. In 2001, he was inducted into Oswego’s Baseball Hall of Fame.
He has also served as an associate scout with the Milwaukee Brewers and was head coach and league director of the Dunwoody Senior Baseball Developmental League in Georgia.
Ryan resides in Endwell, NY with his wife Carrie, their daughter Kaylee & son TJ.
Dustin Johnson
Pitching Coach
Dustin Johnson joins the Bearcats’ program for his first year in 2012.
Johnson spent the last two seasons at Bloomsburg University, helping guide the Division II Huskies to the program’s first postseason playoff berth in 14 seasons last spring. With Johnson as the team’s pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, Bloomsburg posted its highest win total (23) in nine seasons. Under his tutelage, the Huskies pitching staff lowered its team earned run average by nearly three runs per game in the last two seasons. The 2011 squad held down a 4.89 team ERA, the lowest figure in nine years. Additionally, the 2010 staff set the highest strikeout mark in eight seasons (258).
He coached seven all-conference players in 2011, including a pitcher that was selected as Freshman of the Year in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). Johnson’s first recruiting class of pitchers went 14-5 with a 4.18 ERA in 2011.
A former standout on the mound, Johnson played three years at Bloomsburg (2006-08) after transferring from Volunteer State in Tennessee. He was the ace of the staff in 2006 and 2007, leading the team in wins, strikeouts, inning pitched and complete games during that two-year span.
He graduated in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and earned his master’s degree in instructional technology in 2010 from Bloomsburg.