Head Coach Ryan Bown is entering his sixth season leading the Penn State Harrisburg baseball program.  Under his leadership, the Nittany Lions have gained much respect in the very competitive Capital Athletic Conference (CAC).  Last season (2017), freshman Bret Williams earned 2nd Team CAC honors for his outstanding rookie season.  In 2016, the Nittany Lions advanced to the CAC play-offs for the first time since joining the conference in 2014.  They won their first game in the post-season by upsetting the top seeded Frostburg State.  Mark Artley (starting pitcher) was a 1st Team CAC recipient, while Brendan Riotto (relief pitcher) was named to the 2nd Team.  

In 2013, Bown inherited a squad that combined to win 14 games the previous two seasons combined and finished last in the North East Athletic Conference (NEAC).  The Nittany Lions won a school-record 26 games that season, including 16 in a row.  The season ended with the program’s only NEAC Championship and an appearance in the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Tournament.

Prior to arriving at Penn State Harrisburg, Bown spent two years at Hershey High School.  In 2012, the Trojans won their first ever Mid-Penn Conference championship and finished the season with a 22-2 record.

Bown’s first collegiate job was at Shippensburg University from 2008-2010 as the team’s head assistant coach.  In 2008, Shippensburg won the PSAC West, Atlantic Regional Championship, and made an appearance in the Division II World Series.  Two players from that team were also drafted.

Bown is a 2004 graduate of Ursinus College.  In his senior year, he was an All-Conference Pitcher and made the Academic All-Conference Team.  He also holds the title of Strength and Conditioning Coach for all sports at Penn State Harrisburg and has his Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certificate.  Bownresides in Palmyra with his wife Rachel and two sons, Braydon and Nolan.