By Jake Eisenberg 

Ryan Fecteau will be the new assistant coach/recruiting coordinator for the Terrapins, a press release announced Friday.

Fecteau, who previously held the same position at Bryant University, replaces the departing Jimmy Belanger, who left the program to join the coaching staff at the University of Kentucky last week. Fecteau served as the Assistant Coach and Pitching Coach for the Bulldogs for the past six seasons, helping Bryant to six-straight Northeast Conference titles.

“Ryan has done a fantastic job working with [head coach] Steve Owens at Bryant,” Szefc said in a press release. “He has clearly had a lot of success developing and managing the pitching staff. He and Steve have built Bryant into a national level program and he’s developed many professional pitchers in his time there. Ryan is a very good fit with our coaching staff, our players and our incoming recruits.”

In 2016, Bryant led the NEC with a 3.09 ERA and 420 strikeouts—almost 100 more than the next-best team (Fairleigh Dickenson, 343). Under Fecteau’s tutelage, right-hander James Karinchak emerged as one of the top arms in the nation, posting a 12-3 record with a 2.00 ERA en route to being named the NEC Pitcher of the Year. In Fecteau’s six seasons, a Bulldogs pitcher was named the NEC Pitcher of the Year four times.

“I want to thank Coach Owens and everybody at Bryant for a great six years. I’m really excited for the opportunity,” Fecteau said in a press release. “I think it’s a place that’s had a lot of success over the past few seasons and there is a really good foundation. I have always dreamt of coaching at this level and I’m thankful for the opportunity that Coach Szefc has provided.”

Under Fecteau, Bryant was the only mid-major in the country to finished top-25 in the nation in ERA for three consecutive years from 2012-14.

The native of Gilmanton, New Hampshire, replaces former Associate Head Coach and Pitching Coach Jimmy Belanger, who left the Maryland program last week to become the pitching coach at the University o4f Kentucky. Belanger’s four seasons as the Terps pitching coach saw 10 pitchers get drafted by professional teams.

Fecteau will also assume the role of recruiting coordinator—a position previously held by hitting coach Rob Vaughn. Vaughn, who is entering his fifth season as a member of the Terps’ coaching staff, has been promoted to Associate Head Coach.