Loyola New Orleans baseball head coach Jeremy Kennedy announced a new addition to his staff on Oct. 11, 2022, with Ryan Hanson joining the Wolf Pack as an assistant coach.
"I'm excited to have Ryan on board as our new hitting coach and recruiting coordinator," Kennedy said. "Ryan brings a wealth of knowledge and experience as both a player and coach, having made stops at every level of college baseball. He is an extremely positive coach, one that guys will enjoy working with. I think he is going to make a very positive impact on the program as we strive to take the next step with our first trip to Lewiston."
Hanson brings seven years of collegiate coaching experience to the Wolf Pack program, serving as a hitting coach, catching coach, infield coach, and recruiting coordinator at his prior stops. Before joining the Wolf Pack, Hanson was an assistant coach with the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks, which is a summer collegiate team a part of the Alaska Baseball League.
"It is an honor and privilege to have the opportunity to join the Loyola University Wolf Pack and work with Coach Kennedy," Hanson said. "He and his program have been, and continue to do great things on and off the field. I am looking forward to contributing to a successful baseball program reaching its goals of playing for a College World Series Championship."
Prior to his baseball career, Hanson played quarterback at Los Alamitos High School, passing for 3,100 yards and 31 touchdowns, earning Sunset League MVP, Orange County Offensive Player of the Year, and National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete. For his play, Hanson received a scholarship to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to play Division I football. At UNLV, Hanson played quarterback and long snapper for the legendary University of Southern California and Los Angeles Rams coach John Robinson. In addition, Hanson helped the team win the Las Vegas Bowl Championship in 2000. Hanson was also named Academic All-Mountain West Conference during his time at UNLV. Before transferring, Hanson played catcher for the UNLV baseball team.
Making a decision to just concentrate on baseball, Hanson played at Orange Coast College for legendary baseball coach John Altobelli. At Orange Coast, Hanson earned All-Orange Empire Conference honors and a baseball scholarship to the University of San Francisco. Hanson found success at USF, hitting .329 from the plate and being named to the All-West Coast Conference team. He was also nominated for the Johnny Bench Award for his play behind the plate. In his senior season, Hanson dealt with the challenge of a season-ending injury. As he worked towards his return to the field, Hanson spent time as the hitting and catching coach for John Altobelli at Orange Coast College in 2005. During his time in that role, Hanson helped the team get to the California Junior College State Final Tournament.
After making a return from his injury, Hanson played two seasons at the professional level for Edmonton in the Northern League and for Florence and Southern Illinois in the Frontier League.
After two years of professional play, Hanson achieved his Master's Degree in Coaching and Athletic Administration at Concordia University Irvine in 2010. During that time, Hanson was a graduate assistant, helping the team by being in charge of catchers and first base coach. Then, Hanson worked at Iowa Wesleyan College as a hitting coach, where he coached the team to achieve an overall batting average of .314. Hanson's work at IWC helped the team win its first league and tournament championship. After a successful season, Hanson joined Division I Murray State as a first base and catching coach. After his season at Murray State, Hanson coached at San Francisco State University as an infield and hitting coach in 2013. He was able to help and recruit many players that earned All-Conference honors.
In recent years, Hanson has found success in coaching collegiate summer baseball. In 2011, Hanson worked for the Anchorage Bucs of the Alaskan Baseball League as a hitting, first, and third base coach. Then, Hanson became the Head Coach of the Dubuque Hawks of the River Valley League in Iowa. That summer, he led the Hawks to a first-place finish. In 2012, Hanson returned to work under coach John Altobelli at the Brewster Whitecaps in the Cape Cod League in Massachusetts. In the Cape Cod League, Hanson had the opportunity to coach the best players in college baseball. It was during this time that Hanson coached current-New York Yankees outfielder and American League home run record holder Aaron Judge, as well as New York Mets infielder and 2022 National League Batting Champion, Jeff McNeil. In 2012, Hanson was able to help many of his Whitecaps players achieve their dreams of playing professional baseball.
