July 11, 2016

Royer named head baseball coach

GROVE CITY, Pa. -- After guiding the Grove City College baseball team to a program-record 27 victories as interim head coach in 2016, Matt Royer has been named the College's head baseball coach.

Royer took over the Wolverine baseball program in January and led the squad to a 27-17 overall record this spring, including a 15-9 mark in Presidents' Athletic Conference play. Grove City capped the season by winning the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Southwest title May 20 at Penn State Behrend.

Royer's collegiate coaching career began in 1989 at Harper (Ill.) College. In 1990, he took over as head baseball coach at Division III Wheaton (Ill.) College and coached the team for three seasons.

Royer then built Kutztown (Pa.) University into an NCAA Division II powerhouse in 10 years as coach from 1993 to 2002. He led the Bears to the 2001 and 2002 Division II World Series after winning the North Atlantic Region crown in each season. He earned North Atlantic Coach of the Year honors in 2001 and 2002 as well as four Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division Coach of the Year awards. Kutztown captured three division titles and two PSAC championships during Royer's tenure and inducted him its Hall of Fame in 2010.

From 2003 to 2007, Royer worked as head coach at his alma mater, Liberty University. The Flames earned runner-up honors in the Big South Conference three times during his five-year tenure. Royer led Liberty to three 30-win seasons, including a program-best 39 victories in 2006. Eight of his players at Liberty were selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Royer owns a 497-383 record as a head coach at four-year colleges.

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