Contact Ryan:
Email - rklosterman@athletics.ucf.edu
Phone - 407-823-4320
Twitter: @Coach_Klosty
Ryan Klosterman is in his eighth season as a UCF assistant coach and his third season under UCF head coach Greg Lovelady. Klosterman serves as the Knights' hitting coach and recruiting coordinator.
In his first year under Lovelady, Klosterman took the Knights' offense to higher levels, finishing the year with .278 batting average, more than 20 points above the mark from 2016. UCF climbed up to 66th in the country in scoring with 6.3 runs per game and finished eighth in the country in stolen bases with a total of 106.
Rookie first baseman Rylan Thomas garnered Freshman All-American honors (College Baseball News, Perfect Game, Baseball America, DI Baseball) in 2017.
In 2018, the Knights launched 42 home runs, led by Rylan Thomas' 13. Thomas set the single-season program record with a 47-game on-base, and set The American single-season and career on-base streak at 55 games.
Thomas finished the year ranked in the top-five in The American with a .343 batting average (4th), 13 homers (5th), a .447 on-base percentage (5th), 55 RBI (4th), and 6 sacrifice flies (4th).
Combined with Tyler Osik's team-high 56 RBI, the Knights had two 50-RBI players for the first time since 2011.
Klosterman also played a vital role when the Knights were on the base paths. UCF stole 109 bases in 2018, marking its first back-to-back seasons of 100-plus steals in a decade. Ray Alejo and Matthew Mika topped the league with 34 and 27 steals, respectively.
During his first four campaigns as an assistant coach at UCF, Klosterman was in charge of the Knights’ infielders and team defense. In 2016, his final year under former head coach Terry Rooney, he served as associate head coach adding the roles of recruiting coordinator, and hitting coach to his duties.
The UCF defense turned 59 double plays in 2016, which ranked 16th nationally and fourth in program history. Junior slugger Matt Diorio thrived under Klosterman's guidance and was selected in the 16th round of the MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. A total of 17 players have been drafted, 3 of which have made it to the Major Leagues while 4 others have been named All Americans during Klosterman's career at UCF.
Klosterman helped mentor American Athletic Conference First Team members Dylan Moore, Erik Barber and Tommy Williams. The Knights led the nation in a number of offensive categories through the first half of the 2015 season as the program rose to a program-best No. 6 national ranking by Baseball America.
The Knights had a strong defense in 2014 that combined to post a .970 fielding pct. Moore (.990) and James Vasquez led the UCF infield, defensively. Both were named to The American All-Conference Second Team. Moore committed just three errors in 58 games, while tallying 101 putouts and 186 assists.
Vasquez shined defensively under Klosterman’s tutelage in 2013 as he held a team-best .987 fielding percentage in 58 starts. Overall, the Knights recorded a .968 fielding percentage and turned 41 double plays. Tird baseman Chris Taladay was selected C-USA Player of the Year after hitting .342 on with 43 RBIs.
Infielders D.J. Hicks, Travis Shreve, Darnell Sweeney and Chris Taladay all had strong 2012 campaigns with the help of Klosterman. The Knights registered a .972 fielding percentage, the second-highest mark at UCF since 2001. Working with Hicks during his first full year at first base, Klosterman’s guidance saw the All-C-USA First Teamer commit just two errors in 62 games while notching 537 putouts and 31 assists.
Robust 2012 campaigns led both Hicks and Sweeney, members of the Coral Gables All-Regional Team, to professional careers after their junior seasons. Manning shortstop in all but one game that year, Sweeney was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 13th round while Hicks was drafted by Minnesota in the 17th.
Prior to his coaching days in Orlando, Klosterman was picked by the Toronto Blue Jays in the fifth round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft. He spent eight years until coming to UCF playing professional baseball, most recently at the Triple-A level for the New Orleans Zephyrs of the Florida Marlins Organization.
Klosterman was a standout infielder at South Lake High School before going on to a successful collegiate career as an infielder at both Clemson and Vanderbilt from 2001-04.
In his junior season with the Commodores, Klosterman was named to the All-SEC First Team as a shortstop, while also being voted as the team’s Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year. In addition to his success on the field, Klosterman was also honored with a spot on the 2004 Verizon Academic All-District IV Second Team and was a member of the Dean/s List and the Student-Athlete Honor Roll.
That same year, Klosterman helped lead the Commodores to the NCAA Super Regional in Austin after batting .346 with 91 hits, 72 runs scored and eight triples. Klosterman’s eight triples remain a Vanderbilt single-season record.
Klosterman graduated from Vanderbilt in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in human and organizational development with an emphasis in leadership and organizational effectiveness.
He is married to the former Kaitlyn Arpin. The couple wed in September 2013 and currently reside in Orlando, Fla. with their daughter Kinsley Ann.