Princeton University announced that Ryan Forrest has been appointed the 17th head coach of its baseball program, taking over from Scott Bradley, who concluded a 28‑year tenure without a renewal. The move signals a shift in direction for a program that has not posted a winning season since 2023 and has struggled to string together consecutive victories in recent years.
Forrest arrives with an extensive résumé that includes stints as an assistant and pitching coach at Boston College, where he lowered the team’s earned run average from 5.96 in 2025 to 4.94 the following year, and a tenure at the Air Force Academy that produced a single‑season strikeout record of 455 and a program‑best 4.83 ERA in Mountain West competition. He also mentored MLB draft prospect Paul Skenes during his time at the academy.
A culture of doing things right
The new coach emphasizes a culture built on discipline, trust, and a defined style of play. His philosophy centers on getting the fundamentals right, fostering cohesion among pitchers, and creating an environment where players feel accountable to each other and to the program’s standards.
Princeton’s recent Ivy League pitching ranking placed the team seventh out of eight, while offensive and defensive metrics hovered near the bottom of the conference. Forrest’s task will be to translate his pitching expertise into broader success, aiming to reverse a downward trend that has persisted since the early 2000s.
The Tigers will open their schedule in February 2027, marking the first chance to see Forrest’s system in action. Early games will serve as a barometer for whether the new coaching staff can instill the trust and competitive edge that the program has lacked for over two decades.