John Rypel enters his fifth season as the head baseball coach at Gordon in the fall of 2014. In his first four seasons at the helm, the Fighting Scots won 58 games and broke 23 school records including team ERA, team batting average, and hits in a season. Gordon Baseball is coming off the best season in program history in 2014 as they amassed a school record 19 victories. The Scots also posted the highest conference finish in program history to tie Coach Rypel’s 2012 club. The 2014 Gordon College Baseball team advanced to day three of the CCC Tournament and pulled off a first round upset over the #2 seed in Roger Williams.
After inheriting a team of just 19 players in the fall of 2010, Rypel has signed over 55 players in less than four academic years and expanded the roster each season. He has coached 13 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) All-Conference players and one ABCA All-Region player. The Scots have also placed 14 student-athletes on the All-Academic team under Rypel's watch and his 2012 team was presented the CCC Sportsmanship Award. Rypel earned his first collegiate head coaching victory on March 17, 2011 with a 1-0 victory over Dickinson College (Pa.) and has spent two summers as the head coach of the Marauders in the Myrtle Beach Collegiate Baseball League.
Rypel arrived at Gordon after spending four years as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Maryville College in Tennessee. During his tenure with Maryville, a member of the Great South Athletic Conference (GSAC), the pitching staff set seven school records en route to two Great South Conference Championships. John coached five All-Conference pitchers, two All-South Region selections, and one ABCA All-American. The Maryville College pitching staff had a banner year in 2010 when they finished 31st in the country with a 4.25 ERA. John’s biggest impact on the program came in the area of recruiting. In four years with the program, Coach Rypel recruited 10 all-conference selections and had two players named the Great South Conference “Freshman of the Year.”
After beginning his coaching career as the pitching coach at Morristown East High School in the spring of 2006, Rypel spent four years as Maryville’s head junior varsity coach and the college’s Assistant Sports Information Director. While working at Morristown East, he helped lead the Hurricanes to their first conference championship in six seasons.
John’s playing days included stints at Cuyahoga Community College, King College, and Shawnee State University. His summer baseball included successful seasons as a member of the Strongsville Americans in the Cuyahoga AAA Wood-Bat Summer League and the Vermillon franchise of the Erie Shore League. Eventually earning his undergraduate degree from Carson Newman College, Rypel then went on to obtain a master’s in sports science from the United States Sports Academy.
John is married to the former Rachel Mills of Knoxville, Tenn. The couple and their children, Bryce and Adelynn, currently reside in Beverly, Mass. The Rypel family attends church at Christ The Redeemer in Danvers.
Rypel’s Gordon College Career
Year Record
2011 8-28
2012 15-26 CCC Tournament
2013 16-20 Tied for Single Season Wins Record
2014 19-17 CCC Tournament and Single Season Wins Record
