Ryan Kirby enters his first season with the Stanford baseball program in 2024, joining the Cardinal as Director of Player Development.
Kirby comes to The Farm after spending the 2023 season as an assistant coach at San Diego State. While on staff with the Aztecs, Kirby helped lead the program to its first Mountain West regular-season conference championship since 2004. He also mentored a pair of draft picks from the 2023 MLB Draft - No. 65 overall pick Cole Carrigg and 14th-round selection and 2023 Mountain West Pitcher of the Year TJ Fondtain.
A native of Livermore, Calif., Kirby was a three-year standout at the University of San Diego from 2014-16, before rejoining the Torero program as a volunteer coach for the 2022 campaign.
During his lone season on the USD staff, Kirby coached first base and worked with hitters and infielders, helping guide the Toreros to an overall record of 37-20 and a West Coast Conference tournament championship. With its title, USD clinched a berth in the NCAA Corvallis Regional, where it posted a signature 3-2 victory over perennial powerhouse Vanderbilt.
Collectively, Kirby mentored the WCC's top offense in 2022, as the Toreros led the conference in numerous categories, including batting average (.286), slugging percentage (.437), on-base percentage (.384), home runs (57), RBIs (359) and runs scored (390). This hefty production at the plate was also coupled with an elite defense, as USD ranked 13th nationally with a WCC-best .980 fielding percentage.
Under Kirby's tutelage, catcher Caleb Ricketts became the 10th Torero player in program history to garner WCC Player of the Year accolades, while infielders Chase Meidroth and Kevin Sim received first-team all-conference recognition.
USD's historic campaign culminated with two of Kirby's pupils getting picked in the 2022 MLB Draft, as Meidroth was chosen in the fourth round by the Boston Red Sox (129th overall), while Ricketts was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the seventh round (212th overall).
As a collegiate player with the Toreros, Kirby hit .301 with 10 home runs, 16 doubles and 58 RBIs in 115 games over three seasons, helping USD capture the 2015 WCC championship. He also collected the Toreros' Most Inspirational Player award as a senior following the 2016 campaign.
After college, Kirby was selected in the 12th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by San Francisco, compiling a .241 batting average, 30 home runs, 72 doubles and 180 RBIs in 308 minor-league games as a first baseman and outfielder with the Giants organization.
Kirby collected Northwest League Most Valuable Player honors as a member of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in 2017 after recording a slash line of .285/.368/.431 with eight homers, 15 doubles and a league-leading 64 RBIs to go with 51 runs scored and 10 stolen bases in 65 games. Additionally, he was a midseason All-Star that year and was named Northwest League Player of the Week after going 5-for-5 with five RBIs against Everett on July 6, 2017.
Following his stint in the minors, Kirby returned to USD and completed his bachelor of science degree in May 2020.
He and his wife, Megan, have a daughter, Madelyn. Megan was an All-WCC selection and two-time Team MVP as a pitcher at San Diego.
Kirby comes to The Farm after spending the 2023 season as an assistant coach at San Diego State. While on staff with the Aztecs, Kirby helped lead the program to its first Mountain West regular-season conference championship since 2004. He also mentored a pair of draft picks from the 2023 MLB Draft - No. 65 overall pick Cole Carrigg and 14th-round selection and 2023 Mountain West Pitcher of the Year TJ Fondtain.
A native of Livermore, Calif., Kirby was a three-year standout at the University of San Diego from 2014-16, before rejoining the Torero program as a volunteer coach for the 2022 campaign.
During his lone season on the USD staff, Kirby coached first base and worked with hitters and infielders, helping guide the Toreros to an overall record of 37-20 and a West Coast Conference tournament championship. With its title, USD clinched a berth in the NCAA Corvallis Regional, where it posted a signature 3-2 victory over perennial powerhouse Vanderbilt.
Collectively, Kirby mentored the WCC's top offense in 2022, as the Toreros led the conference in numerous categories, including batting average (.286), slugging percentage (.437), on-base percentage (.384), home runs (57), RBIs (359) and runs scored (390). This hefty production at the plate was also coupled with an elite defense, as USD ranked 13th nationally with a WCC-best .980 fielding percentage.
Under Kirby's tutelage, catcher Caleb Ricketts became the 10th Torero player in program history to garner WCC Player of the Year accolades, while infielders Chase Meidroth and Kevin Sim received first-team all-conference recognition.
USD's historic campaign culminated with two of Kirby's pupils getting picked in the 2022 MLB Draft, as Meidroth was chosen in the fourth round by the Boston Red Sox (129th overall), while Ricketts was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the seventh round (212th overall).
As a collegiate player with the Toreros, Kirby hit .301 with 10 home runs, 16 doubles and 58 RBIs in 115 games over three seasons, helping USD capture the 2015 WCC championship. He also collected the Toreros' Most Inspirational Player award as a senior following the 2016 campaign.
After college, Kirby was selected in the 12th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by San Francisco, compiling a .241 batting average, 30 home runs, 72 doubles and 180 RBIs in 308 minor-league games as a first baseman and outfielder with the Giants organization.
Kirby collected Northwest League Most Valuable Player honors as a member of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in 2017 after recording a slash line of .285/.368/.431 with eight homers, 15 doubles and a league-leading 64 RBIs to go with 51 runs scored and 10 stolen bases in 65 games. Additionally, he was a midseason All-Star that year and was named Northwest League Player of the Week after going 5-for-5 with five RBIs against Everett on July 6, 2017.
Following his stint in the minors, Kirby returned to USD and completed his bachelor of science degree in May 2020.
He and his wife, Megan, have a daughter, Madelyn. Megan was an All-WCC selection and two-time Team MVP as a pitcher at San Diego.