Coach Bob Riker ‘85 Hits 700th Win Milestone on Journey to State FINAL
Warriors Baseball Coach Bob Riker ‘85 reached a remarkable milestone this season, securing his 700th victory as head coach with a 1-0 win against Catholic Central. This milestone, achieved in his remarkable 27th season as head coach and capped by a State Runner-Up finish, marks a highlight of his 35-year career at Brother Rice. It was an incredible season that highlights his enduring dedication as the school’s all-time winningest baseball coach.
Riker’s legacy extends beyond his coaching achievements; he is a proud alumnus, teacher, coach, former Warrior student-athlete, and former director of the Band of Brothers. Riker returned to his alma mater after wrapping up his minor league baseball career with the Tigers in 1990 to offer help to his former coach, Ron Kalczynski. Little did he know, Coach Kal would convince him to join the Warriors coaching staff. The decision to join his former mentor in the dugout was transformative for Riker. He was an assistant coach for eight years, driving back and forth from Ann Arbor before taking over the program in 1998 when Kalczynski stepped down.
Kalczynski’s encouragement had a lasting impact on Riker, and inspired him to give back. He adopted the philosophy that players come to develop and progress to the next level and that winning would follow as a result.
Riker’s approach to coaching emphasizes personal development alongside athletic growth. He tries to connect with the guys daily and talk to them one-on-one to see where they are at in regular life, not just baseball life — making it a priority to let his student-athletes know how important they are to him. He truly makes an impact by showing that he cares about their development as players as well as their development as people. He surrounds himself with a stellar coaching staff that carries the same goal: developing players as people. If you do that, winning will take care of itself. He is most proud of the type of people he has developed in 35 years and seeing more than 100 players achieve their goals of going on to play in college and professionally. Current major league players DJ Lemahieu ‘07, Nick Plummer ‘16, and Karl Kauffmann ‘16 all honed their skills under Coach Riker.
A recent player who has benefited from Riker’s guidance is Chase Van Ameyde, a ‘24 grad currently playing baseball at Notre Dame. Van Ameyde said, “Coach Riker has meant a lot to me as a baseball player and person. He has helped me vastly improve my game on the field. I give him credit for helping me be a higher-IQ player. He has also had a huge impact on me as a person. He has shown me how to treat everyone respectfully, and it doesn’t matter who they are. He has also shown me to always go out on the field and just have fun because, at the end of the day, it’s a game.”
Riker’s reflections on his career emphasize the importance of the relationships built through the sport. “I’ve made an unbelievable number of friends in this game,” he said. “Who you’ve taken the journey with is what you remember. It’s not what you’re doing or where you’re doing it, it’s who you’re doing it with.” For Riker, the journey continues, marked by an outstanding legacy of both personal and professional accomplishments.