Ryan Schmidt became Hutchinson Community College’s 10th Baseball head coach on July 10, 2012.

A strict believer in the fundamentals of the game, Schmidt works tirelessly at teaching those fundamentals to his players.

Schmidt is 354-192 in 10 seasons at Hutchinson, which includes four Jayhawk West championships, two Jayhawk West Coach of the Year awards, seven NJCAA All-Americans, four conference MVPs and two Pitchers of the Year and two players who earned National Player or Pitcher of the Year awards.

Schmidt is now Blue Dragon Baseball’s all-time coaching wins’ leader, surpassing John Burgi in the 2021 season.

Schmidt has produced 58 All-KJCCC players, 22 All-Region VI Players and 74 total players to four-year programs, including 52 to Division I. Schmidt has also produced nine Dragon players to be drafted or sign undrafted free-agent contracts into professional baseball.

With 15 seasons as a junior college head coach, Schmidt, is 461-363.

The 2022 Blue Dragons finished 38-23 overall and tied for fourth in the ultra-tough Jayhawk West. Ben McLaughlin was a second-team All-American as well as an NJCAA Gold Glove selection. The Blue Dragons had seven players earn all-conference honors and two earn all-Region VI honors.

The 2021 season saw a fourth Jayhawk West championship won by the Blue Dragons, who had to overcome a multitude of injuries to the pitching staff. The Blue Dragons posted a 37-17 overall record and won the West with a 23-9 mark. Third baseman Austin Callahan was named an honorable mention NJCAA All-American. Six players were named all-Jayhawk West with Callahan, designated hitter Ben McLaughlin and closer Tyler Delong named first-team All-Jayhawk West. The 2021 Blue Dragons also set a single-season record with 101 home runs.

The 2020 season got off to a promising start with 13 wins in the first 15 games. Hutch had its season halted with a 14-7 record because of the Coronavirus pandemic in early March.

The 2019 Blue Dragons finished as Jayhawk West co-championships and a 44-21 overall record. At one point, the Blue Dragons were only 9-7 on March 7. The Dragons finished the season 35-14 from that point to capture. The Dragons advanced all the way to the Central District Tournament championship game for the first time since 2010. Freshman designated hitter Zane Schmidt was the Jayhawk West Player of the Year as well as a first-team NJCAA All-American.

The 2018 Blue Dragons posted a 39-22 overall record and tied for third in the Jayhawk West. With high expectations of a No. 7 national preseason ranking, the Blue Dragons struggled early and was 7-8 on March 8 and finished the season going 31-14 the rest of the game. The Blue Dragons needed three games to dispatch of Coffeyville in the opening round of the Region VI Tournament and wound up third in the Central District Tournament.

The 2017 Blue Dragons will go down as one of the best teams in program history going 47-13 – that tied the team record for wins in a season. The 2017 Blue Dragons won the Jayhawk West championship and climbed as high in the national rankings as the Blue Dragons have ever been at No. 3.

The 2017 Blue Dragons placed seven players on the all-conference team, five on the first team. The 2017 Blue Dragons set program records for home runs (92), runs scored (559), total hits (674), doubles (136), triples (36) and total bases (1,138).

Infielder Michael Helman was named the 2017 NJCAA National Player of the Year as well as the Jayhawk West Most Valuable Player. Helman owned 11 career or single-season records after the 2017 season where he became the 2017 Jayhawk West Most Valuable Player and 2017 NJCAA Player of the Year. Helman became the first Jayhawk Conference player in history to reach 200 career hits.

After a trying first season with the Blue Dragons in 2013, the 2014 season saw Hutchinson baseball return to the top of the Jayhawk West under Schmidt’s guidance.

Schmidt led a group of players in 2014 that included a Jayhawk West and NJCAA National Pitcher of the Year, the Jayhawk West Offensive Player of the Year, seven All-Jayhawk West players and two All-Region VI selections. Schmidt was also named the 2014 Jayhawk West Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.

The 2014 Blue Dragons went 43-17, winning the Jayhawk West for the first time since 2012 and winning the league outright since 2006 with a 23-9 record. At one point, the Blue Dragons were ranked as high as No. 8 in the NJCAA.

Unfortunately the postseason didn’t go as well as injuries slowly depleted the pitching staff’s depth. After sweeping Allen in the Region VI Sub-Regionals at Hobart-Detter Field, the Blue Dragons went 1-2 at the Central District (Region VI) Tournament in Wichita.

Kyle Simonds earned both Jayhawk West and NJCAA Pitcher of the Year honors posting a team-record 13-0 record in 13 starts with a 2.20 earned-run average. Second baseman Jake Schlepenbach was the 2014 Jayhawk West Offensive Player of the Year with a .388 batting average, nine home runs, 30 extra-base hits and 57 RBIs. A few weeks after the season, outfielder Matt Jones was drafted in the 25th round of the MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In 2015, the Blue Dragons were 33-22. Pitcher Max Simpson was the 2015 Jayhawk West Pitcher of the Year.

The 2016 Blue Dragons racked up a 39-20 record and finished third in the Jayhawk West. The 2016 Blue Dragons re-wrote the offensive record book. Outfielder Caden Doga and shortshop Shane Cooper were honorable mention All-Americans and second baseman Michael Helman won the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove.

The 2013 Blue Dragons had their moments, but still finished 22-30 and were swept by Coffeyville in the Region VI Sub-Regionals.

Schmidt came to HCC after five seasons at Pratt Community College where he recorded a 107-171 record.

Schmidt had to rebuild the Beaver baseball program upon his arrival, consistently building both talent level and facilities each year. In addition to growing success on the field, Schmidt’s teams continually improved in the classroom as well. In his last season with the Beavers, Pratt baseball’s aggregate GPA was 3.10.

In his final season at Pratt in 2012, Schmidt led Pratt to a fourth-place finish in the Jayhawk West and then stunned top-seeded Johnson County to win the Overland Park sub-regional. The Beavers dropped a pair of one-run games in the Region VI/Central District championship at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in Wichita. The Beavers finished the 2012 season with a 33-26 record, tying the program record for wins.

Schmidt was named the 2012 Jayhawk West Coach of the Year and the upgrade in talent was evident with one first-team NJCAA All-American, two All-Region VI selections and six all-Jayhawk West players, including the Jayhawk West Player of the Year.

Before Pratt, Schmidt served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Barton Community College from 2004 to 2007. He was an assistant coach and intern for the entire athletic department at Fort Hays State University from 2002 to 2004.

A graduate of Valley Center High School, Schmidt started his collegiate playing career at Barton County, earning first-team All-Jayhawk West honors in 1998. He then transferred to the University of Kansas where he was a team captain in 2000, academic all-Big XII second team in 2000 and a Jayhawk Scholar in 1999 and 2000.

Schmidt earned his degree in secondary education from Kansas in 2000 and earned his master’s in Administration of Sport from Wichita State University in 2003.

Schmidt and his wife Melissa have six children – Owen (16), Josiah (15), Ellie (12), Abel (10), Dominic (8) and Augie (2).