Ryan Wheeler was hired as the Penn State baseball program's director of program development/alumni relations in August 2023.

In 2024, Penn State went 29-24 overall and 12-12 in Big Ten play. Penn State posted its first winning record in the regular season since 2016 (28-27) and maintained a .500 or better mark from the entire season for the first time since 2011 (32-22). The Blue and White notched its best record in Big Ten play since going 12-12 in 2016. The Nittany Lions finished with a Top-100 RPI for the first time since 2007.

Penn State reached the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game for the first time since 2000 and won three-straight games to open the Big Ten Tournament for the first time in program history.

The Nittany Lions’ tremendous Big Ten Tournament run, as the eighth seed, included wins over Illinois (8-4) and Michigan (9-5 and 7-6) before falling to No. 2 seed Nebraska, 2-1, in the championship game.

In the regular season, Penn State earned Big Ten sweeps over Maryland and Northwestern, a series win over Rutgers and victories against Michigan, Indiana, Michigan State and Minnesota. PSU was 6-2 in Big Ten series openers.

Non-conference play included series wins over Stanford, Davidson, Harvard and UMass Lowell, while also earning two wins over Army and one over Monmouth on opening weekend and a win over Georgetown. Midweek wins included Pitt and FDU.

Wheeler spent the last nine seasons on the Saint Joseph’s staff, including the last five years as the Hawks’ associate head coach. He also served as Saint Joseph’s recruiting coordinator.

During his time with Saint Joseph’s, the Hawks have appeared in four Atlantic 10 tournaments, won 20 or more games in each full season and won the program’s first-ever Atlantic-10 regular season title in 2023.

Wheeler was recognized by his peers as the top recruiting coordinator in the Atlantic 10, according to a survey by D1Baseball.com.

Four Saint Joseph’s players have been selected in the MLB Draft during Wheeler’s tenure: catcher Deon Stafford (5th round, Pittsburgh Pirates, 2017), pitcher Tim Brennan (7th round, Texas Rangers, 2018), catcher Andrew Cossetti (11th round, Minnesota Twins, 2022) and outfielder Brett Callahan (13th round, Detroit Tigers, 2023).

Cossetti was named NCBWA District 1 Player of the Year in 2022, while Stafford earned both Atlantic 10 and ECAC Player of the Year honors in 2016. Stafford and Cossetti both set the program’s single-season home run record. Cossetti owns Saint Joseph’s all-time home run mark.

With Wheeler’s guidance, Saint Joseph’s reached three consecutive Atlantic 10 championships in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

In 2023, Saint Joseph’s went 28-24-1, including 17-7 in Atlantic 10 play. The Hawks’ wins included Duke, Maine, VCU (2) and George Mason (2). Nine Hawks were selected All-Atlantic 10. Callahan and Ryan Cesarini were named ABCA/Rawlings East All-Region.

The Hawks finished 24th in the nation and led the Atlantic 10 with a .305 batting average. They also ranked 30th in the nation in runs per game (8.1; 1st), 31st in triples per game (0.32; 1st A-10), 42nd in total triples (17; 1st), 48th in slugging percentage (.496; 2nd) and 50th in on-base percentage (.399; 4th). Callahan ranked 11th in the country, and led the A-10, with six triples. Cesarini paced the Atlantic 10 with a .392 average.

Prior to his time at Saint Joseph’s, Wheeler spent three seasons as head coach at Temple. Wheeler was the 2014 Co-Philadelphia Big 5 Baseball Coach of the Year after leading the Owls to an appearance in its first-ever American Athletic Conference Championship and regular season wins over nationally-ranked Houston and Louisville.

Before Temple, Wheeler spent five years as an assistant coach at the University of Richmond, helping the Spiders to the Atlantic 10 Championship game in 2011.

Wheeler coached the 2006 season as an assistant at Penn.

Wheeler began his coaching career with a nine-year stint at William & Mary. He was on the Tribe’s staff in 2001 when it won its first Colonial Athletic Association title and earned a bid to the NCAA Regionals. William & Mary ranked 10th in the nation in batting average and 14th in runs per game in 2004.

Before coaching at Saint Joseph’s, Wheeler coached over a dozen MLB Draft selections, including MLB infielder Brendan Harris, pitcher Chris Ray and pitcher Bill Bray.

Wheeler played at Penn State from 1991-94. He served as a team captain on the 1994 team. He ranks second in program history with 109 career walks and also sits second all-time with 184 consecutive starts. The shortstop was selected in the 31st round of the 1994 MLB Draft by the California Angels.

Mike Gambino was hired on July 3, 2023 as the 15th head coach in Penn State baseball program history. Gambino takes over the Penn State Baseball program after 13 years at the helm of his alma mater Boston College.

In 13 seasons leading the Eagles, Gambino ranks second in program history in wins (291) while guiding Boston College to a pair of NCAA Regional appearances in 2016 and 2023 and an NCAA Super Regional appearance in 2016. He had five seasons of 25 or more wins and eight seasons with 10 or more ACC wins. BC also appeared in the ACC Championship Tournament four times under Gambino’s tutelage, including berths in three of four years for the first time since Boston College joined the ACC in 2006.

Gambino has a long history of developing Major League Baseball talent with 33 draft picks in his first 12 years at BC. He had three first round picks and six picks in the first five rounds of the MLB Draft in his BC tenure. Three former Boston College players appeared in MLB games in 2023: outfielder Jake Alu (Washington Nationals), pitcher Michael King (New York Yankees) and pitcher Emmet Sheehan (Los Angeles Dodgers). Five of Gambino’s former BC players have reached the major leagues.

He coached five All-American selections and five Freshman All-Americans at Boston College. Gambino guided 16 All-ACC selections, including 2021 ACC Player of the Year Sal Frelick.

In his time at Boston College, Gambino put together five recruiting classes ranked among the nation’s Top 60 by Perfect Game.

In 2023, Gambino guided the Eagles to a 37-20 overall record and 16-14 mark in ACC play. The 37 overall wins tie the program record set by the 2005 squad and the 16 ACC victories are also a highwater mark for the program topping the 14 victories by the 2010 team. Boston College logged 12 ranked wins, including a thrilling 7-6 victory over No. 2 Tennessee in 10 innings, on the way to playing in the Tuscaloosa Regional and reaching the regional final. The Eagles were ranked for 12 weeks in the D1Baseball Poll, reaching as high as ninth. Three of Gambino’s players earned All-ACC accolades, including Chris Flynn claiming second-team All-ACC as a starting pitcher.

Gambino’s pitching staff ranked 26th in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.54) and 26th in walks allowed per nine innings (3.58). Boston College held fifth in the country, and led the ACC, with a .982 fielding percentage.

The 2022 MLB Draft saw four of Gambino’s student-athletes be chosen, led by second baseman Luke Gold, who was selected in the fifth round by the Detroit Tigers. Pitchers Mason Pelio (Reds – 12^th round), Joe Mancini (Astros – 15^th round) and Max Gieg (Angels – 18^th round) were also chosen in the draft.

In 2021, an impressive three players were selected in the first six rounds of the MLB Draft headlined by outfielder Sal Frelick, who was the 15^th overall pick by the Milwaukee Brewers. Shortstop Cody Morissette was picked in the second round by the Miami Marlins and pitcher Emmet Sheehan was selected in the sixth round by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Gambino led BC to a 31-27 record in 2019 and the Eagles reached the ACC semifinals as the 12^th seed with wins over Clemson and top-seeded Louisville. A program-record five Eagles earned All-ACC, led by All-ACC first team pitcher Dan Metzdorf, who was a fifth-round pick for the Chicago White Sox and led the ACC with a 2.30 ERA. Jake Alu (Nationals - 24^th round) and Matt Gill (Reds - 27^th round) were also chosen during the 2019 MLB Draft.

In 2018, outfielder Chris Galland earned All-ACC third team accolades and Collegiate Baseball News Freshman All-America honors. The 2018 MLB Draft had four of Gambino’s players selected with Jake Palomaki (Rays – 18^th round), Jacob Stevens (Diamondbacks - 21^st round), Brian Rapp (Twins - 26^th round) and Dan Metzdorf (Yankees - 38^th round).

In 2017, the Eagles returned to the ACC Championship Tournament for the first time since 2010. BC won 10 of its last 15 ACC games with sweeps over Notre Dame and NC State.

Gambino guided the 2016 Eagles to 35 wins, the most since 2005 and third-highest total in program history. They also tallied 13 ACC wins, the most since 2010, while their six conference series victories set a school record. Gambino led the Eagles to a sweep in the Oxford Regional as the third seed to advance to the program’s first NCAA Super Regional. BC finished the season in the Top 25 of all four major polls for the first time in program history (15^th – D1Baseball, 16^th – Baseball America, NCBWA and 21^st – USA Today/Coaches Poll).

For his efforts, Gambino was named the 2016 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Northeast Region Coach of the Year, a finalist for D1Baseball Coach of the Year and earned a spot on the website’s top-10 coaching performances of the season.

Gambino proteges were selected in the first round of the MLB Draft in back-to-back years for the first time in program history in 2015 and 2016. Chris Shaw was selected 31^st overall by the San Francisco Giants in 2015 and Justin Dunn was taken 19^th overall by the New York Mets in 2016. Overall, five players were drafted in 2016: Dunn, Michael King (12^th round), Jesse Adams (14^th round), Nick Sciortino (19^th round) and Joe Cronin (34^th round).

Gambino was an assistant coach for four seasons at Virginia Tech prior to his move to Boston College. He served as the Hokies' recruiting coordinator and worked with the hitters and infielders. In his four years, he saw 15 players get drafted in the MLB Draft, including nine in 2010.

Gambino also spent two years as a regional scout for the Detroit Tigers and was an assistant coach at Boston College from 2003-05.

Gambino played for the Eagles from 1997-2000, starting 166 games in the middle infield. He posted a career batting average of .313 with 22 doubles, eight home runs, 87 RBIs and 117 runs. His 78 hits in 2000 were a program record that stood until 2011. Gambino’s 52 runs his final year are in the top 10 in BC history.

The Garrison, New York native was a first-team All-Big East, All-New England and All-Northeast region honoree following his senior campaign. He also earned second-team All-New England and Big East Academic Team accolades during his playing career.

Gambino played two seasons in the Boston Red Sox minor league system. He spent the 2000 season with the Augusta Green Jackets before splitting the 2001 season between Augusta and the Lowell Spinners. In 2002, the Red Sox hired Gambino as a special assistant to the Major League staff before heading back to Lowell for a coaching role with the Spinners just prior to the June draft. Following his stint in Lowell, the Red Sox sent Gambino to the MLB Scout Development Program.

Gambino received his bachelor’s degree from Boston College in English and theology. He and his wife, Jill, have two children, Sonny and Callahan.

Nick Puccio was hired in July 2023 as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Penn State baseball program.

Puccio served as hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at Northeastern from 2019-23. He helped Northeastern to three-straight seasons of 30+ wins, including 44 in 2023. The Huskies played in NCAA Regionals in 2021 and 2023, won CAA Titles in 2021 and 2013 and reached the CAA Championship Game in 2022.

During Puccio’s time at Northeastern, the Huskies had 21 All-CAA selections, 14 All-New England players, one CAA Player of the Year and three All-Americans. Northeastern had 10 players drafted or signed by MLB teams, including eight Top-20 round picks.

As recruiting coordinator, Puccio brought in four Top 100 classes, including the 53rd-ranked class in 2021.

Puccio's offense set or tied six individual offensive records and eight team marks in 2023. The Huskies had a program-best 44 wins thanks to an offensive explosion that saw a new record in runs scored at 459, due in part to 106 homers. Individually, the Huskies saw new season-best records from Danny Crossen, who reached base in 60 consecutive games and had a program-record 84 hits, Mike Sirota, who scored a program-best 73 runs in 2023, and Cam Maldonado, who broke the individual rookie home run mark with 13 long balls on the year. Puccio helped coach five all-CAA hitters, three All-Region bats, two All-American selections in 2023, with Mike Sirota making the ABCA/Rawlings Third Team, and Cam Maldonado making the Collegiate Baseball Freshman team.

In 2023, won games against Duke, UConn and Maryland. The Huskies led the CAA in hits (614), home runs (106), home runs per game (1.77), on-base percentage (.395), runs (459), runs per game (7.6), slugging percentage (.510), stolen bases (133), stolen bases per game (2.22), ERA (3.75), hits allowed per nine innings (8.46), shutouts (7), WHIP (.733) and fielding percentage (.977). Northeastern ranked third in the country in ERA, sixth in shutouts, seventh in walks allowed per nine innings (3.14), eighth in stolen bases, ninth in stolen bases per game and WHIP, 20th in home runs per game, 21st in home runs and 27th in slugging percentage and strikeout-to-walk ratio.

The 2022 season saw another strong base-running season for the Huskies, who finished Top 20 in the country in stolen bases with 107. Outfielder Mike Sirota finished the season with CAA All-Rookie honors. The Huskies went 31-29-1, including a sweep at No. 8 NC State, a win at No. 18 Clemson and a win at No. 8 UConn. The Huskies reached the CAA Championship game.

In his third season with Northeastern in 2021, Puccio helped the Huskies to a CAA-best batting average of .295, which was ranked 31st in the nation. The Northeastern offense led the squad to its first-ever CAA Championship. Jared Dupere was named CAA Player of the Year with a .343 average, 21 homers and 50 RBI. Dupere went on to be named ABCA/Rawlings All-East first-team member and was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 13th round. Outfielder Ben Malgeri was taken by the Detroit Tigers in the 18th round. Max Viera was a CAA rookie team honoree and a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American. Northeastern recorded 118 steals, good for fourth in the nation.

Puccio guided Ian Fair to a CAA batting title in 2019 with a .357 average as the Huskies finished third in the CAA in team batting average.

Puccio arrived at Northeastern after serving as the head coach at Nichols College. Puccio led a four-year transformation of the baseball program, elevating the Bison from their six-win, 2014 campaign to consecutive 20-win seasons during 2016 and 2017. Under his direction, Nichols enjoyed a record-breaking 2016 season, setting the school’s best all-time mark for single-season victories (24) while reaching the program’s first-ever ECAC Division III New England tournament.

During his five-year tenure at Nichols, Puccio produced 19 all-conference selections, three All-New England honorees and two professional players.

Before coaching the Bison, Puccio was the assistant coach at Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., where he helped guide the Lyons to a pair of NCAA Division III tournament appearances (2012, 2013), including a trip to the 2012 College World Series championship game. While serving on Wheaton’s staff, Puccio helped develop 13 All-New England honorees, 13 All-NEWMAC selections and one All-America selection.

Between collegiate campaigns, Puccio spent the 2013 summer as hitting coach for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the CCBL, where he instructed 14 MLB Draft picks, including two first-round selections.

Puccio's coaching career began at Southeastern Iowa Community College in 2011. He served as the Blackhawks’ hitting coach, catching coach and recruiting coordinator.

Puccio graduated from Dean College in 2007 with his associate of arts degree in education and received his bachelor's of science degree in interdisciplinary studies from Fitchburg State in 2010, playing baseball at both schools.

Puccio and his wife, Samantha, have two sons, Chase and Clayton.

Will Jauss was hired in July 2023 as an assistant coach with the Penn State baseball program.

Jauss served as director of pitching technology at Boston College in 2022 and 2023. At Boston College, Jauss operated, analyzed and implemented Trackman and Rapsodo data. He developed scouting reports and implemented infield and outfield shifts. During games, Jauss worked as the bullpen coach.

In 2023, BC’s pitching staff ranked 26th in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.54) and 26th in walks allowed per nine innings (3.58). Nine BC pitchers made at least 16 appearances and seven pitchers had at least 34 strikeouts. Chris Flynn earned second-team All-ACC honors.

In 2022, Boston College had three pitchers selected in the MLB Draft, including Mason Pelio (12th round, Cincinnati Reds), Joey Mancini (15th round, Houston Astros) and Max Gieg (18th round, Los Angeles Angels). Thirteen pitchers made at least 13 appearances and six pitchers struck out at least 30 batters.

Prior to Boston College, Jauss was an assistant coach at Limestone University, serving as pitching coach for two seasons. As pitching coach, he operated, analyzed and implemented Trackman and Flightscope data.

Jauss pitched four seasons at New York University, making 13 appearances as a senior and helping the Violets to a 28-12 record as a junior.

Jauss served as assistant pitching coach for the Wareham Gatemen in the Cape Cod Baseball League in 2018.

Will is the son of Dave Jauss, who has worked in professional baseball for over 35 years. Jauss is currently a senior advisor in the Washington Nationals’ player development system. He has served as bench coach for the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates.