SU adds former Buffalo volunteer assistant Evan Ruechel to coaching staff

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Syracuse has hired Evan Ruechel as an assistant coach for the 2021 season, the team announced Wednesday. Ruechel will join third-year head coach Shannon Doepking’s staff, along with second-year assistant coach Michael Steuerwald, starting Aug. 24.

“It was very clear that (Ruechel) is a student of the game and a coach that will do whatever he needs to do to make sure our players get better,” Doepking said in a press release.

Ruechel worked as an assistant coach at Buffalo during the shortened 2020 season. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach at UNC Wilmington, helping lead the Seahawks to a 26-28 record. 

The Oconto, Wisconsin native played baseball at the collegiate level for four years before coaching softball at Indiana Wesleyan in 2017. 

“I am excited for the opportunity to join a talented and experienced staff at Syracuse University,” Ruechel said in the release. “It is a great school, in a competitive conference and I am very thankful for the opportunity Coach Doepking has given me.” 

Ruechel specializes in developing hitters, something that was important during the search, Doepking said. The Orange are adding 10 players in the upcoming season, including seven incoming freshmen and three transfers. 

Former hitting coach Vanessa Shippy officially left the Orange on Monday, when Oklahoma State, her alma mater, announced that she would be a volunteer assistant coach for 2021. Shippy holds 12 school records and was the first OSU athlete to be named a NCAA Woman of the Year finalist.