FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) – UCF head coach Terry Rooney announced Friday that central Florida native Ryan Klosterman will join the UCF baseball coaching staff for the 2011-12 season. Klosterman will be in charge of the Knights’ infielders and team defense and will also assist with offense and recruiting.
“I am extremely excited to have Ryan Klosterman join our staff at UCF. His background is not only a huge asset for our program, but has prepared him to become an outstanding coach,” Rooney said. “He has experienced playing at the highest level of college baseball, along with the last eight years in professional baseball. His passion for the game will instantly be instilled in our infielders and our program.”
Picked by the Toronto Blue Jays in the fifth round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft, Klosterman spent the last eight years playing professional baseball, most recently at the Triple-A level for the New Orleans Zephyrs of the Florida Marlins Organization.
“It’s good to be home. I’m very excited and grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of the UCF baseball program,” Klosterman said. “I’m very impressed with coach Rooney and the direction in which this program is going. I grew up playing high school ball in this area and my immediate family still lives in Montverde. When I was playing professionally, I spent most of my offseasons in Nashville and I was only able to check in with the family a little bit. So this also is a great opportunity to be closer to them and watch my nephew grow up as well.”
Klosterman was a standout infielder at South Lake High School before going on to a successful collegiate career as an infielder at both Clemson and Vanderbilt from 2001-04.
In his junior season with the Commodores, Klosterman was named to the All-Southeast Conference First Team as a shortstop, while also being voted as the team’s Most Valuable Player and Defensive Player of the Year. In addition to his success on the field, Klosterman was also honored with a spot on the 2004 Verizon Academic All-District IV Second Team and was a member of the Dean’s List and the Student-Athlete Honor Roll.
That same year, Klosterman helped lead the Commodores to the NCAA Super Regional in Austin after batting .346 with 91 hits, 72 runs scored and eight triples. Klosterman’s eight triples remain a Vanderbilt single-season record.
Klosterman graduated from Vanderbilt in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in human and organizational development with an emphasis in leadership and organizational effectiveness.
