Ryan Roche Hired as Missoula Impact Baseball Club Manager
By Dave Smith
Ryan Roche has been named Manager of the Missoula Impact Baseball Club. Roche will lead the club’s in-game coaching and support Colton Little, Director of Baseball Operations, in executing all aspects of baseball skill development for the organization.
“I’ve been impressed with Ryan’s baseball IQ and the vision he has for the athletes,” said Little. “He understands what it takes to reach the next level. It’s exciting that his knowledge and experience will elevate this organization even more.”
Roche was a prep standout at Chatsworth Charter High School in southern California, one of the Nation’s premier high school baseball programs. Chatsworth was a perennial powerhouse in the early 2000s, including a 35-0 campaign and #1 national ranking by USA Today and Baseball America in 2004. Chatsworth’s storied baseball program produced dozens of professional baseball players, including Mike Moustakas, a 13-year MLB veteran who starred for the Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers and now plays for the Los Angelas Angels, and Matt Dominguez who spent five years with the Houston Astros, Florida Marlins, and Toronto Blue Jays.
During his junior season in 2016, Roche went 9-1 with an 0.86 ERA and was named First-Team All-West Valley League and conference Pitcher of the Year. Roche led Chatsworth to a Los Angelas Section City title clash with powerhouse El Camino Real and was the starting pitcher in the championship game at Dodger Stadium. Roche was recruited heavily out of high school and committed to Montana State University–Billings as a pitcher and utility player on a baseball scholarship. In 2018, as a redshirt freshman, Roche set a MSU-Billings school record with six hits in a game and went on to have a stellar campaign, hitting .347 for the season. Injuries ultimately shortened Roche’s college playing career, but his understanding of the game was shaped by some of the best baseball coaches in the West. Roche learned extensively from long-time Chatsworth head coach Tom Meusborn, who recently replaced former MLB player Jerry Roster as head coach at Sierra Canyon, one of the Nation’s premier athletic high schools, and former MSU-Billings head coach Aaron Sutton, who has since moved on to coach the Minnesota Twins High-A affiliate and the Boise Hawks in the Pioneer League.
Roche brings a wealth of baseball knowledge to Missoula Impact from playing high school and college baseball at a high level. Roche is particularly valuable as a pitching and defensive coach because he has played every position, including serving as a two-way pitcher and position player at the NCAA D-2 level in college. He is currently leading Impact’s Thursday night defense-and-pitching focused winter facility sessions. Missoula Impact’s coaching staff will be rounded out by highly skilled volunteer assistants, Austin Erler and Austin Pray, who played at Pacific Lutheran College and Colorado State University, respectively, and potentially one more assistant coach.