The 13
th head coach in Rutgers baseball history,
Steve Owens enters his seventh year leading the Scarlet Knights in 2026 after being hired on June 26, 2019. An 11-time conference coach of the year who has mentored 27 All-Americans and 57 professional players, Owens owns 32 winning seasons as a head coach. The New York native ranks No. 5 among active Division I coaches in wins (1,075) and No. 20 in winning percentage (.639) with 22 30-win seasons, six 40-win seasons and 13 NCAA Tournament appearances.
On April 4, 2023 against Hofstra, Owens recorded his 1,000th career victory, at the time becoming just the ninth active Division I coach at the time to reach that milestone.
Owens led Rutgers to 105 wins from 2022-24, which marked the most in a three-year span since 2001-03, including back-to-back 30-win seasons in 2022-23, the first for RU since 2004-05.
In building Rutgers with an emphasis on toughness, commitment and development, Owens has already broken the program record for wins in a season, advanced to the Big Ten Tournament championship game, changed the perception of Rutgers baseball and reinvigorated the spirit of the program. In a 2020 vote of 90 head coaches from around the nation, Owens was selected as the most underrated head coach in college baseball in a
Baseball America poll.
Owens, who has been a collegiate head coach since 1992 with 1,684 games under his belt entering 2025, has picked up 75 victories in postseason play. In addition, Owens has mentored 14 Freshman All-America picks, 43 All-Region nods and four Academic All-Americans as a head coach.
“Steve has a remarkable record of achievement,” Director of Athletics Pat Hobbs said upon the hire. “His level of sustained success is among the nation’s best. He now brings that formula to Rutgers and the Big Ten. Steve’s great at developing student-athletes and putting them on a path to success, both on and off the field. We have a rich history and Steve will write the next great chapter for Rutgers baseball. I’m delighted to welcome him, his wife Catharine and his family to our family.”
“I would first like to thank Director of Athletics Pat Hobbs, Ryan Pisarri and the other members of the search committee for selecting me as the newest leader of the baseball program,” Owens said in 2019. “I am honored to have the opportunity to work in a program with such rich history and tradition. I believe my vision for the program is consistent with the department’s strategic priorities of student-athlete excellence, cultural excellence and sustaining long-term excellence. I am looking forward to meeting the players and recruits, and starting to build the relationship and trust necessary to succeed. We will have talented athletes who will work hard, compete to win and play with Jersey toughness and grit. Our immediate goal is to establish ourselves as a consistent contender in the Big Ten. In addition, we aspire to be a top team in our region of the country, consistently develop professional players and work toward postseason opportunities.”
- No. 5 among active Div. I coaches in wins (1,046) and No. 22 in winning percentage (.644)
- 74-51 postseason record
- 31 winning seasons
- 22 30-win seasons
- 6 40-win seasons
- 20 regular season titles
- 13 NCAA tournaments
- 25 NCAA All-Americans
- 11 conference coach of the year honors
- 7 ABCA NCAA Regional Coach of the Year honors
- 3 New England Coach of the Year honors
- 57 Professional players
In 2024, Owens continued his winning ways at Rutgers, securing his third straight winning season with the Scarlet Knights at 28-25, a feat that had not been accomplished since 2005-07. Under Owens' tutelage, junior shortstop Josh Kuroda-Grauer was named Big Ten Player of the Year, the first time since Rutgers joined the conference in 2015 that a player received a major award from the Big Ten. After hitting .298 as a sophomore, Kuroda-Grauer broke out to lead the country with 95 hits, lead the Big Ten with a .428 average, added five home runs, 19 doubles, 45 RBI and 24 stolen bases. Kuroda-Grauer was also named All-Big Ten First Team, a Brooks Wallace Award semifinalist (top shortstop in country), a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist (top amateur player in country) and a Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist (national player of the year). Owens also oversaw the development of senior pitcher Justin Sinibaldi, who was named All-Big Ten Third Team after emerging as the team's ace and pitching to a 3.47 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and striking out 65 batters in 83.0 innings on the mound.
The 2023 campaign saw Owens lead Rutgers to its second consecutive 30-win season with a record of 33-23 and a 14-10 in the Big Ten, good for a fifth-place finish and second straight appearance in the Big Ten Tournament. Third baseman Chris Brito etched his name in Rutgers history, setting program records with his 46 career home runs and 200 career RBIs. He is also the only player in program history to reach 200 career RBIs and recorded his 200th career hit. Outfielder Ryan Lasko also collected his 200th career hit, becoming the 20th Scarlet Knight to reach the mark. Lasko and Brito became the first players in program history with three connective seasons of double-digit home runs. The Big Ten postseason awards gave the program a pair of firsts, as Lasko became the first player to be named All-Big Ten First Team twice and pitcher Christian Coppola became the first freshman at Rutgers to be named All-Big Ten First Team.
In 2022, just his third season overall and first full season, Owens led the Scarlet Knights to one of the best campaigns in program history. The team set new records for regular season wins (41) and overall wins (44). RU finished in second place in the Big Ten regular season race and qualified for the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since joining the conference. The Scarlet Knights won their first three games to advance to the championship game.
Rutgers would lead the country in road wins by a Power 5 team (22). doubles (147), runs (565) and offense (9.6 runs/game). RU led the Big Ten in batting average (.320), doubles (147), doubles/game (2.49), fielding percentage (.980), hits (701), runs (565) and offense (9.6 runs/game).
Under Owens' leadership, the 2022 team also shattered a number of program records. Rutgers set new marks with 44 wins, 565 runs scored, 147 doubles, 96 home runs, 519 RBIs, 1,172 total bases, 534 pitching strikeouts. Chris Brito set the single-season RBI record with 74, Nathan Florence set the single season strikeout with 90 and Ryan Lasko tied the single-season doubles record with 24.
A record number of individuals received individual honors as well. Eight Scarlet Knights were named All-Big Ten, with Danny DiGeorgio, Ryan Lasko and Dale Stanavich becoming the first All-Big Ten First Team honorees for Rutgers. Ryan Lasko (Second), Nick Cimillo (Third) and Danny DiGeorgio (Third) were named All-Americans and for the first time in program history, Rutgers had three All-Americans in the same season.
Playing a 44-game schedule all within the Big Ten in 2021 amidst a pandemic, the Scarlet Knights earned their best placement (eighth) and winning percentage (.477) in Big Ten play since joining the conference. That included winning six series, a 7-5 mark against NCAA Regional qualifiers and at least one victory over each team in the league. In addition, RU led the conference in road wins (13) after the program previously went 11-47 combined the prior five seasons in the Big Ten.
The campaign was highlighted by a five-game winning streak over ranked Michigan and Nebraska, all on the road. Rutgers was the only team in the Big Ten to win a series over league champion Nebraska. Through 24 games, a standard Big Ten season, RU set Big Ten team season records in wins (12), runs (141), homers (35), total bases (356), slugging percentage (.430), on-base percentage (.353), strikeouts recorded (196), least walks allowed (72), batting average against (.254) and saves (7).
Ryan Lasko garnered Freshman All-America status from
Collegiate Baseball to become the first Scarlet Knight to earn an All-America accolade in the Big Ten era. The outfielder also claimed three Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors among the seven weekly awards picked up as a team to match the number the previous six years combined. That included six freshman of the week honors for the most by a Big Ten team since 2013.
Lasko (11) and Chris Brito (10), an All-Big Ten Third Team selection, were the first Rutgers teammates to reach double-digit homers in a season since 2010. Overall, the Scarlet Knights clubbed 48 long balls to rank sixth-most in a season in program history. The offense also put up 15 runs in a game three times, including a team Big Ten record 16 at Minnesota.
On the mound, the staff combined for three shutouts, with two on the road. The 14 saves picked up ranked third in the school record book, while the 328 strikeouts placed 10
th and 150 walks were eighth-least. Harry Rutkowski accelerated into the Rutgers top-10 in career innings pitched, starts and strikeouts, as Ben Wereski led the Big Ten with a 0.99 WHIP, only 1.3 walks allowed per nine innings and ranked second with a 5.09:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Rutkowski (Toronto Blue Jays), Wereski (Lincoln Saltdogs) and Brent Teller (Lancaster Barnstormers) all went from the weekend rotation to professional baseball.
Academically, four student-athletes merited Big Ten Distinguished Scholar status and 12 earned Academic All-Big Ten. The baseball program was also recognized within the athletic department as the men’s team with the most improved GPA.
Owens completed his first season as the Scarlet Knights' skipper in 2020, a campaign cut short by a pandemic. RU went toe-to-toe with No. 3 Miami on Opening Day, a 2-1 ballgame, before sweeping North Florida on the road during the second weekend. It was the first three-game sweep for the program in February since 2012, as the offense added 15 in the home-opening win over Wagner to make it 52 runs over a four-game stretch, a best since 2010. In addition, Rutgers picked up a win over Washington State in Arizona, the team's first victory ever over a PAC-12 opponent. Owens used the months in quarantine to reshape the roster for 2021 and beyond through virtual recruiting.
In January 2020, Owens organized the first annual Leadoff Banquet in January at The Rutgers Club. The event featured over 100 players, alumni, donors and supporters of the program in attendance. Also in the offseason, Owens oversaw the completion of the new-look Bainton Field, which has fresh Field Turf, fairer outfield dimensions and upgrades to the dugouts.
Owens took over the Bryant program for the 2011 season and earned 327 wins at the helm, an average of 36.3 victories per year, the most victories among Northeast programs during that span. The Bulldogs went 192-59 (.765) in NEC play with eight-straight regular-season crowns and three tournament titles, being the No. 1 seed all seven trips to the conference tournament.
The program, which became eligible for NCAA postseason competition in 2013 after its transition to Division I in 2009, made a splash with an upset over Arkansas at the 2013 Manhattan (Kan.) Regional. That season was sparked by a 19-game winning streak, the longest in the nation. The team returned to the NCAA Tournament the following season with an appearance at the 2014 Baton Rouge (La.) Regional. In 2016, Bryant won a school-record 47 games, emerged in the national rankings as high as No. 15, had the highest winning percentage in the nation (.797) and became the first NEC school to earn a No. 2 seed at the NCAA Tournament with a trip to the Charlottesville (Va.) Regional.
Owens earned five NEC Coach of the Year awards (2012, ‘13, ‘14, ’16, ‘19) and claimed ABCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year honors in 2013 and 2014. Additionally, 64 players garnered all-conference honors and 13 collected All-America honors in his nine seasons piloting the Rhode Island school. Owens also successfully recruited the NEC Rookie of the Year seven times and produced 18 MLB Draft picks over the last seven seasons. Most recently, 2017 ninth-round pick James Karinchak reached the big leagues in 2019 with the Cleveland Indians and emerged as one of the top relievers in the American League in 2020.
Rounding out his tenure in Smithfield in 2019, Owens led Bryant to a 40-win season, winning 12-of-14 weekend series and pacing the nation with 23 road wins during the regular season. Propelled by the bats, the Bulldogs set school and NEC records for home runs (81), hits (679), RBIs (455) and runs scored (487). The 8.1 runs per game ranked ninth nationally, placing seventh in batting average (.311), 13th in home runs per game (1.35) and 15th in on-base percentage (.398). Bryant also set school and NEC records for strikeouts with 501 on the mound. The Bulldogs had eight earn All-NEC honors and 10 more garner All-New England honors, while Chris Wright and Steve Theetge, a 2019 Gold Glove winner, both picked up All-America distinction. Owens also saw three members of his class of 2020 recruiting class selected in the first 22 rounds of the MLB Draft.
Prior to coming to Bryant, Owens spent 11 seasons (2000-10) as the head coach at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y. He led the Dolphins to 11-straight winning seasons and three NCAA tournament berths. He guided Le Moyne to back-to-back NCAA Regionals at Arkansas (2003) and North Carolina State (2004), and then took the Dolphins to the Texas A&M Regional in 2007. Over his tenure, Owens was named the MAAC Coach of the Year twice, (2004, ’06) and was also bestowed the ABCA/Diamond Northeast Region Coach of the Year in 2003. Owens reached an even more impressive milestone during the 2007 season as he became one of the youngest coaches in the country to reach the 500-win plateau. He finished his Dolphins career with an impressive 342-217 record, as the program amassed 32 All-MAAC selections.
A native of Sauquoit, New York, Owens started his head coaching career at Division III Cortland State. Over eight seasons (1992-99) in the dugout, Owens led the Red Dragons to six 30-win seasons, seven NCAA regional tournaments and four trips to the Division III College World Series. He guided the 1997 and 1998 teams to third-place finishes at the national tournament, finishing a game short of a shot at a national championship. Owens went 245-82-1 in his eight seasons with Cortland State and was named the New York Regional Coach of the Year and the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Coach of the Year four times each.
Owens is a 1987 graduate of St. Lawrence University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in sport and leisure studies. Playing baseball and football at St. Lawrence, he was named a two-time MVP in baseball playing at both third base and shortstop. He finished his career with a .349 batting average, including .454 as a senior, and stole 73 bases in 80 attempts. In football, he led the team in rushing his junior and senior seasons, scoring 18 career touchdowns, and was named offensive MVP as well as Outstanding Senior Athlete. He has been inducted into the St. Lawrence Athletic Hall of Fame (Fall 2010), the Cortland State Hall of Fame (Fall 2017) and the Greater Utica Hall of Fame (June 2019).
Drafted by the Chicago Cubs as a third baseman, Owens spent two seasons with the organization, including stints in Geneva (New York-Penn League champions) and with the Charleston (W.Va.) Cubs in the South Atlantic League.
Following his playing days, Owens began his coaching career as a graduate assistant in football and baseball at Ithaca College, where he received a Master of Science degree in 1991.
Owens, born July 4, 1965, and his wife, Catharine, have three children, Jack, Sam and Jane.
