Head Coach Ryan Kulik (6th season)
High School: Cherokee High School
College: Rowan University (2014)
Major: Health and Exercise Science
A member of the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame, Ryan Kulik heads into his sixth season as the Rutgers-Camden head coach, extending a stellar career in the sport which has included playing success from the scholastic, collegiate and professional levels to success as both a collegiate assistant and head coach.
Kulik was inducted into the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame on November 25, 2023, honoring a career that achieved success as an All-State player at Cherokee High School, an All-American and two-time New Jersey Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year at Rowan University and a professional pitcher in the St. Louis Cardinals and Colorado Rockies organizations.
Kulik led the Scarlet Raptors to a fine season in 2024, where the team posted a 26-15 record overall and an 11-7 mark in the NJAC. The 26 wins were the most for Rutgers-Camden since a 27-win season in 2018, which also was the last time the Scarlet Raptors owned a better NJAC record (12-6).
The 2024 season included a 6-1 record on the Raptors’ spring break trip, the best mark since the 2002 team went 10-0 in Florida. The year ended with the Scarlet Raptors getting the honor of hosting the NJAC Baseball Tournament. Along the way, Rutgers-Camden witnessed program history on numerous occasions, including second baseman Danny Vazquez setting program records for career assists and double plays, while left fielder Jacob Watson broke the single-season and career records for stolen bases.
Both Rutgers-Camden catchers earned All-NJAC honors, with Evan Carbone capturing NJAC First Team recognition and Julian Gonzalez being named NJAC Honorable Mention. The Scarlet Raptors also featured 12 All-NJAC Academic honorees.
Following his playing career, Kulik became a highly-successful assistant coach at Rowan before being named the Scarlet Raptors’ head coach in 2020. His tenure at Rutgers-Camden started just in time for Covid-19 to end the season prematurely, spoiling the Scarlet Raptors’ stellar 5-1 start. He earned his first victory as a head coach with a 20-3 win over Immaculata in the nightcap of a season-opening doubleheader on February 23, 2020.
In addition to the pandemic, Kulik’s program endured the absence of a home field until 2022, when Rutgers-Camden finally started play at their new Camden Athletic Complex, along the Delaware River. After three long years with a variety of setbacks, ranging from field and pandemic issues to the lack of spring break southern trips, the program started its journey back to normal. With the addition of the Camden Athletic Complex, Kulik had a home field to call his own for the first time in his Rutgers-Camden coaching career. The Scarlet Raptors also played a 40-game schedule for the first time, after being limited to only 33 total games during Kulik’s first two seasons.
Over his four full seasons with the Scarlet Raptors, Kulik's teams have featured seven All-NJAC players, while 42 Scarlet Raptors have earned NJAC Academic recognition. The conference didn't name honorees during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
Ryan Kulik’s Rutgers-Camden record
One of the top pitchers in NJAC history, Kulik fashioned a stellar career at Rowan from 2005-08, posting a 29-10 record and a 2.81 ERA. He closed his career as a First Team All-American while posting a 10-2 record with a 1.72 ERA, a stingy 5.83 hits per nine innings and single-season program marks for strikeouts (144) and strikeouts per nine innings (13.7). A two-time NJAC Pitcher of the Year and NJAC First Team selection, the southpaw also compiled Rowan pitching records for most strikeouts in a game (15 against Alvernia on March 10, 2008) and career (337), most career innings (330) and most games started (49).
Kulik earned three New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association All-State honors and a pair of ECAC Metro All-Star selections at Rowan, in addition to two American Baseball Coaches Association Mid-Atlantic All-Region nods.
Kulik was selected in the eighth round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft (245th overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals. He played professional baseball for seven seasons, reaching Triple-A ball with the Cardinals and Rockies organizations. He also was the Texas League Pitcher of the Week in 2010.
Following his professional career, Kulik spent six seasons as an assistant coach at Rowan, helping the Profs produce one of the top pitching staffs in the NJAC. During the 2019 season, his staff led all Division III teams nationally in strikeouts (454) and strikeouts per nine innings (10.2). It also led the NJAC and finished 10th nationally in WHIP with a 1.23 mark. During his last three seasons, Kulik's pitching staff ranked in the Div. III national Top 5 in numerous categories. Six Rowan pitchers signed professional contracts during his tenure.
During his scholastic career at Cherokee High School, Kulik earned All-State and All-South Jersey honors, while also setting the Chiefs’ program record with 17 strikeouts in a game.
Kulik received his bachelor’s degree in health and exercise science from Rowan in 2014.
