Ron Torgalski

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Ron Torgalski
Biographical details
Alma materHamilton, Canisius
Playing career
Basketball
1985–1989Hamilton
1989–1991Monstreas Club
Baseball
1986–1987Hamilton
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Basketball
1991–1994Hamilton (assistant)
1995–2000Buffalo (assistant)
Baseball
2001–2006Buffalo (assistant)
2007–2017Buffalo
Head coaching record
Overall182–296
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
MAC Coach of the Year (2013)

Ronald J. Torgalski[1] is an American former college baseball and college basketball coach. He was most recently the head baseball coach for the University at Buffalo.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8] During his nine seasons as coach of the Bulls, he has compiled an overall record of 182–296.

High school[edit]

For much of Torgalski's childhood, his father, Bob, was a coach and athletic director at Saint Francis High School in Athol Springs, New York. Between several different sports and schools, Bob's high school coaching career lasted for over 50 years.[7] Torgalski played baseball, basketball and football at Nichols School in Buffalo. As a baseball player, he was variously named to the All-Catholic team, the All Niagara Frontier League team and Honorable Mention All-WNY. In his single season as a sophomore football player, he was named Honorable Mention All-Catholic.[1]

In 1985, Torgalski and teammate Christian Laettner led Nichols to a New York state basketball title in Class C. Torgalski was named Most Valuable Player of the state tournament and Class C All-State. Torgalski graduated as the leading scorer in Nichols history (with 1,783 points) and was later inducted into the school's athletics hall of fame.[1] In 1985 he was named to the All-WNY team by The Buffalo News alongside Clifford Robinson.[9]

College[edit]

Torgalski went on to play both baseball and basketball in NCAA Division III at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. He majored in psychology and was a member of Delta Upsilon.[1] As a basketball player, Torgalski scored more than 1,000 points and finished his career with the third-most assists of any Division III player in history at that point. He also helped Hamilton to championships in the ECAC Men's Basketball Tournaments in 1986 and 1987. In 1989, he averaged 10.6 assists per game and was named to the All-ECAC first team.[7]

After college, Torgalski played professional basketball in Sweden for two seasons with the Monstreas Club, averaging 22 points and 9 assists per game.[7][10]

Coaching career[edit]

Basketball[edit]

In 1991, Torgalski returned to Hamilton College as an assistant basketball coach.[7] He served on the coaching staff for four seasons and helped Hamilton to a number one national ranking in the final polls in the 1990–91 season and a championship in the 1992 ECAC Men's Basketball Tournament.[10] After the 1993–94 season, Torgalski left Hamilton to join Tim Cohane's staff as an assistant at the Division I level with the University at Buffalo. Torgalski remained on the staff for six seasons.[2]

Baseball[edit]

In 2000, Buffalo resurrected its baseball program in Division I with Bill Breene as head coach. That year, Torgalski left the basketball program and joined the staff as an assistant baseball coach. In 2003, while an assistant coach, he received a Master of Science degree in education from Canisius College.[10] After six years as an assistant coach, Torgalski was named the head coach in 2006.[7] In 2013, he was named the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year.[11] Torgalski was the head coach of the baseball team until 2017 when the university chose to discontinue the program. Although Buffalo's was the lowest-funded baseball program in its conference at the time of its shuttering, Torgalski and his staff had several players selected in the Major League Baseball draft during his tenure as head coach.[12]

Personal life[edit]

Torgalski's brother, Randie, similarly coached two sports at the NCAA level. He served simultaneously as the head softball and men's basketball coach at Elmira College. Another brother, Rick, played baseball at Duke for four years and served as team captain.[13]

Head coaching record[edit]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Buffalo Bulls (Mid-American Conference) (2007–present)
2007 Buffalo 16–35 11–16 3rd (East)
2008 Buffalo 14–38 7–19 6th (East)
2009 Buffalo 20–35 6–20 6th (East)
2010 Buffalo 23–29 9–18 5th (East)
2011 Buffalo 14–38 3–22 6th (East)
2012 Buffalo 20–36 10–16 4th (East)
2013 Buffalo 33–24 19–7 2nd (East)
2014 Buffalo 26–26 13–13 4th (East)
2015 Buffalo 16–35 7–20 6th (East)
2016 Buffalo 13–28 6–15 6th (East)
2017 Buffalo 17–34 8–16 5th (East)
Buffalo: 212–358 99–182
Total: 212–358

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d Rippey, Sharon (December 19, 2007). "Ron Torgalski '89 Inducted into Athletic Hall of Fame". Hamilton College. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  2. ^ a b Gleason, Bucky (May 21, 2013). "Torgalski uses the family formula at UB". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  3. ^ "UB baseball shining like a diamond". The Buffalo News. May 4, 2013. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  4. ^ "UB: Ron Torgalski named interim baseball coach". Lockport Union-Sun & Journal. July 11, 2006. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  5. ^ "UB BASEBALL: Bulls remove Torgalski's interim tag". Tonawanda News. June 12, 2007. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  6. ^ "Torgalski Tabbed New Bulls Baseball Coach". Mid-American Conference. July 13, 2006. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Tarapacki, Thomas (September 10, 2013). "Torgalski Revives UB Baseball". ampoleagle.com. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  8. ^ "Coach Torgalski challenges baseball team after going 1-2 against Ohio". The Spectrum. May 4, 2014. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  9. ^ "Boys basketball All-WNY first team selections through the years". The Buffalo News. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  10. ^ a b c "Ron Torgalski". University at Buffalo Athletics. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  11. ^ "Jason Kanzler Named MAC Player of the Year; Torgalski Named Coach of the Year". University at Buffalo Athletics. May 21, 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  12. ^ Myerberg, Paul (July 16, 2020). "When Buffalo eliminated college baseball, 'It derailed a lot of lives, a lot of plans'". USA Today. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Randie Torgalski - Head Men's Basketball & Softball Coach - Staff Directory". Elmira College Athletics. Elmira College. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
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