Coaching Staff
Mike Stawski
Mike Stawski enters his 3rd year as Head Coach of the Spalding University Baseball Team. During his current tenure, the Spalding University Golden Eagles have an overall record of 50-33, after posting a 32-75 record in the previous three years before Stawski’s arrival. This past season the team posted a 30-13 record overall and a 20-4 record in the Saint Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference which placed the team 2nd in the league. The team also advanced to the Small College World Series, their first ever appearance, where they took 4th overall. As a result of the team’s success, Stawski was named the 2011 SLIAC Coach of the Year.
For the three years previous to arriving at Spalding, Stawski was the Head Assistant and Pitching coach at Webster University in St. Louis, MO. There, the team amassed 3 Conference Championships and 2 Tournament Championships along with a bid to the Central Region Championship game. While at Webster, the team compiled a 90-44 overall record with an astounding 63-6 mark in SLIAC Conference play. Coach Stawski’s pitching staff achieved incredible numbers leading the conference in 12 categories in each of his last two seasons. Those categories included E.R.A., strikeouts, and hits allowed. He had the privilege to coach numerous All-conference and All-Region Players, along with 3 Players of the Year, and 3 All-Americans. Last summer one of Stawski’s former pitchers signed a pro contract to play in Georgia.
Previous to his time at Webster, Stawski coached for one year in Wellsville, NY for the Alleghany Country Nitros of the New York Collegiate Baseball League as their Head Assistant and Pitching Coach. Under Coach Stawski, the Nitros finished second in the league in E.R.A. and led the league in shutouts. Also the team won their first ever divisional championship as well as their first birth into the NYCBL Championship series.
The Chicago, IL native and son of Mike and Marianne Stawski enjoyed a successful collegiate career where he attended St. Joseph’s College. There, Stawski was a starting pitcher and was named an All-Conference selection in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Stawski was fortunate enough to win a conference championship while at St. Joseph’s and helped lead the team to a #1 seed in the North Central Region in 2005. Stawski also played for the Alleghany County Nitros where he currently holds one Nitro record and one New York State record. He was named Player of the Year in 2005.
Stawski graduated from St. Joseph’s College in 2006 with a degree in Business Management and will finish his Master’s Degree in Business at Webster University in the Winter of 2011.
Coach Stawski, his wife Melissa, and their son Michael reside in Jeffersonville, IN.
Ryan Shockley
Head Assistant/Hitting Coach
Ryan Shockley enters his 3rd season as Head Assistant Coach for the Spalding University Baseball team. Shockley, the primary hitting coach saw his group lead many SLIAC categories including slugging pct., on base pct., doubles, and triples. The Golden Eagles were also 15th in the nation in stolen bases with 114.
Previous to his time at Spalding, Shockley was an assistant coach at Florissant Valley Community College in St. Louis, MO in charge of hitting, infielders and baserunning. There, the team led the conference in stolen bases and advanced to the Region 16 championship game.
Shockley, a native of O Fallon, MO, had a very successful baseball career at Lindenwood University. There, he was a starting middle infielder all four seasons and was named First Team All-Conference and First Team All-Region his senior year. Shockley was part of 2 Heart of America Conference Championships, a Region V Championship, a Mid-South Super Regional Championship, and an NAIA World Series berth. He led his team to a final ranking of 5th in the country in 2007. To this day, Shockley is the career hits leader at Lindenwood.
Coach Shockley played for the Alleghany County Nitros under Coach Stawski in the summer of 2006 where he helped lead the team to their first ever Championship Series appearance. He also played for the Outerbanks Daredevils of the Coastal Plain league in the summer of 2007. Shockley graduated from Lindenwood University in 2007 and will continue his Masters of Education at Spalding University.
Ryan is also currently the Sports Information Director at Spalding University.
JC Ramatowski
Catching/Hitting Coach
Coach Ramatowski is entering his second year with the program. Last year Coach “Ram” came in and took over duties as the primary catching coach; he also assists with the hitting. Under his guidance, the Spalding catchers led the league in runners caught stolen and attempts against. Coach Ramatowski has transformed the catching position into a formidable defensive threat at Spalding University. Coach Ram is also the lead in the strength and conditioning program. He advises, trains, and coordinates all workout regiments for the entire team.
Ramatowskii enjoyed an illustrious career at Division I Wright St. and then went on to play at Lindenwood University where he was teammates with Coach Shockley. Coach Ramatowski brings an expertise to the position of catching that is second to none. His passion and dedication to the game has been a tremendous asset to the players.
The Jefferson City, MO native currently resides in Louisville, KY and is a Personal Trainer at Louisville Athletic Club.
Zev Bernard
Outfield/Hitting Coach
Zev Bernard is from Los Angeles, CA and enters his third season on the Spalding staff. Coach Bernard serves as the primary outfield coach and helps Coach Shockley with the hitters. Zev spent 2008 & 2009 as a member of the Spalding baseball team serving as Catcher/DH and team captain. In his two year career, Coach Bernard started 79 out of 80 games and was a difference maker at the plate hitting 21 career doubles.
Once his college playing days ended, Coach Bernard worked as a hitting/fielding/catching instructor at Champions’ Baseball Academy in Louisville, Ky. Also during this time Zev was the assistant head baseball coach for the Louisville Saints 18U team, serving as the primary catching coach. Before playing at Spalding, Coach organized and ran baseball camps for two years for the City of Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Department. During this time he played baseball for Glendale Community College where he received the Leadership Award and led his team in batting average.
Sean Downing
Assistant Pitching Coach
Coach Downing enters his second year as the assistant pitching coach for the Golden Eagles. Coach Downing assists Coach Stawski with the day to day pitching duties. Downing has been coaching baseball since he was 18 when he helped start up the Kentucky Hitmen, one of the premier 18u travel teams in the Midwest. While with the Hitmen, Coach Downing was in charge of both pitching and hitting and assisted with the corner infielders.
Coach Downing is a native of Louisville, KY and has his degree in business administration from the University of Louisville.
