Dan Rutan is a Grove City, Ohio native and begins his second year as the pitching coach at Dakota State University. His primary duties are day-to-day operations and development of the pitching staff, recruitment of pitchers and catchers, game day preparation, eligibility center, camp/showcase coordinator, summer collegiate league placement, and various program operations.
Prior to becoming the pitching coach at Dakota State, Rutan served as the Director of Pitching Development for two-years at Oakland University (Mich.), an NCAA Division I school competing in the Horizon League.
In Rutan’s two-years at Oakland, he assisted the team to the two best seasons in program history in the NCAA Division I era. In 2022, Oakland set a program record for wins in a season with 31, followed by 29 wins in 2023. Rutan and the pitching staff had noteworthy wins against the University of Michigan, Wichita State University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Kansas, Wright State University, and Northern Kentucky University. During Rutan’s time on the coaching staff in 2022 and 2023 lead by head coach, Jordan Banfield, Oakland narrowly missed receiving the Horizon League’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
In 2023, Rutan was instrumental in the development of junior pitcher, Brandon Decker, and sophomore pitcher, Hunter Pidek. Decker received 1st Team All-Horizon and Horizon League Reliever-of-the-Year honors, and Pidek was selected 2nd Team All-Horizon as a starting pitcher.
Rutan’s first year as the Director of Pitching Development at Oakland was 2021-2022. Not only did the team break most of the school records that year, but Rutan also assisted with the development of pitcher, Jake Wosinski, who signed with the Minnesota Twins.
The focus of Rutan’s pitching development is on individualized programming using current practices, technology, and data analysis. He is Driveline foundation of pitching and pitch design certified, and knowledgeable in other innovative methods. Rutan blends that experience to give pitchers the best plan to get results.
After a successful playing career at Grove City High School in Grove City, Ohio, Rutan played collegiately at Oakland University from 2018-21 as an NCAA Division I pitcher. He was a captain for the 2020-21 season and was a four-year Horizon League Honor Roll selection. He also served as the baseball representative on the Oakland University Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and Gold Program.
Rutan graduated from Oakland with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing with a minor in Business Analytics and a Master in Business Administration.
