Ryan Mau recently completed his fifth season at VMI (2010), having spent his first year as the Keydets' Associate Head Coach. During his tenure in Lexington, Mau has helped the Keydets to their first-ever national ranking, their highest-ever ranking (#26 in 2010), developed four pitchers that have been selected in the MLB Draft and served as recruiting coordinator for classes that have received national recognition each of the past two years.
On the field, the Keydets have enjoyed great success on the mound during Mau’s tenure. The 2008 staff ranked among the top five in the nation in fewest walks allowed, while three of the past four seasons have resulted in the best ERA stats the program has posted in over 30 years. The 2010 season saw the staff's 441 strikeouts tie for the most in school history, while the team's rate of 8.26 K/9 was the third-best in VMI annals. The squad's 5.43 ERA was also the ninth-best in the aluminum bat era.
Mau has been instrumental in the success of several Keydet hurlers that have received numerous accolades. The 2007 season alone saw Trey Barham, Michael Bowman and Kevin Crum named to the Roger Clemens Award Watch List, given annually to the nation’s top pitcher, while Crum was also included on the Watch Lists for both the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award Dick Howser Award, the first times that Keydets were named to any such lists. He has also mentored four All-Conference pitchers and a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American.
The Lake Mary, Fla. native has a proven track record of developing hurlers into pro prospects. Last season, Travis Smink became the fourth Keydet pitcher under Mau to be drafted, as he was selected in the 31st round by Houston. In 2008, a pair of Keydet pitchers were selected when Michael Bowman was taken in the ninth round by Milwaukee and Trey Barham was drafted in the 25th round by Oakland. A year previous, Corey Bachman was drafted by the Chicago Cubs. In addition, Mau had a pair of players that he coached at Charleston Southern University break into the major leagues in 2008, as R.J. Swindle and Bobby Parnell made their major league debuts for the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets, respectively.
Before coming to the Institute, Mau spent two seasons at Marist College, helping the Red Foxes to the 2005 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Regular Season and Tournament Championships. Marist then participated in the Baton Rouge Regional, where they fell to LSU and Northwestern State, despite holding leads late in each contest. While at Marist, Mau coached both the MAAC Pitcher of the Year and Relief Pitcher of the Year.
Prior to his stint in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Mau spent one season at Big South foe Charleston Southern, where he lowered the staff ERA by two runs from the previous year and had a pitcher named Big South Player of the Year. Mau also coached the South Carolina Diamond Devils AAU team for two seasons, compiling a 34-17-2 mark and 370 strikeouts while working with 19 future collegiate pitchers, 15 of whom went on to play in Division I.
A standout pitcher for the College of Charleston from 1998-2001, Mau still ranks among the Cougars’ best in career victories, games started, ERA, strikeouts and innings pitched. He also established the Cougars’ single-season mark for winning percentage (1.000) while posting a 1.79 ERA, the second-lowest single-season total in school history. Following his collegiate career, he signed as a free agent with the Florida Marlins and pitched for two seasons in the Marlins organization. He also split another season with the Kenosha Mammoths and the Southeastern Cloverleafs.
Mau is a 2001 graduate of the College of Charleston with a degree in communication, as well as an alum of Lake Mary High School. He married the former Leslie Burnett in October 2003, while their daughter, Grace, was born in April 2005 and their son, Gabriel, was born in February 2009.
Ikenberry on Mau- “Ryan has been with me for five years now, and he understands the expectation level of this program. He continues to do a standout job with our pitchers in developing them to not only succeed at VMI, but in also helping many of them transition to professional baseball.”
