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On top of being the head coach of CUNY John Jay baseball, Ryan Osborne is also coordinator of athletics facilities and operations for the school.
Ryan Osborne was named head coach of CUNY John Jay baseball. DENIS GOSTEV
When Ryan Osborne transferred from Farmingdale State College to John Jay College of Criminal Justice for his senior year in 2018, he did so with the thought that it would help him play baseball professionally, which it did. He wound up playing for a few independent teams the past few years.
But what the transfer did in the long run was open up other opportunities as well.
Osborne was recently hired by John Jay as its coordinator of athletics facilities and operations and the school’s interim head baseball coach. The 2014 Westhampton Beach High School graduate said connections made over the past few years at John Jay are what led to his new jobs at the Division III New York City-based school, which is one of the most highly regarded criminal justice programs in the country.
“Everyone loves me over there. I’m a team-oriented guy and it’s just an honor to be working there,” Osborne said. “As soon as I transferred over in 2018, I did what I had to do and it’s a cool thing to recognized for that hard work.”
Osborne said one of the main connections he made while at John Jay was with now former head baseball coach Joe Mandile, who stepped down after accepting an offer to serve as an assistant athletics director at nearby Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York, in September. It was Mandile, Osborne said, who actually recommended him for the head coach position, and Mandile confirmed as much.
Mandile said after Osborne graduated in 2018, he added him to the coaching staff as a volunteer assistant, then shortly thereafter added him as a paid assistant for the spring of 2019.
“He was essential to our staff and a really good recruiter who really understood the kind of kids I wanted to attract to John Jay. And he was also a Long Island native and had really helped us recruit in that area, which is a real hot bed for us,” Mandile explained. “Ozzy had played professionally, but in the fall of 2019 he took on a bigger role for me and did more on-field duties, as far as on-field play, helping us with our hitters and just more of the day-to-day duties. Then, during the pandemic, he was excellent. He would assist me with recruiting virtually and handle virtual practices, whether it be with the outfielders and hitting and baserunning.
"I was looking for a more administrative job, and was looking to further my career on that side of things. So that’s why I took the job at Manhattanville, but when I left I wanted to provide the current roster with some continuity,” he continued. “At least with Ozzy, they would have a familiar face. Our current juniors were freshmen when everything was shut down and they really haven’t played much. And so I thought it’s a young team with a young coach, and as long as he balances out his duties and is efficient, I think he’ll be a solid coach.”
Osborne is well aware of the many different hats he will wear in his new jobs. As coordinator of athletics facilities and operations, Osborne will be responsible for day-to-day operations for all 13 teams the school has. He needs to stay on top of the playing facilities and make sure maintenance of the field and courts are up to standards and that equipment managers have everything they need, on top of various other jobs.
Osborne, who has since moved back home to Westhampton Beach after living in the city for a year, says he’s up to the tasks.
“I’ll be pretty busy this spring,” he said. “There’s a lot on your plate as baseball coach with scheduling, dealing with other coaches and players, but I get in early do my job, and then the rest of the day I handle what I need to do with baseball. Like everything I’ve always done, I just knock one thing out at a time and I get it done. I am going to be busy but it’s nothing I can’t handle.
“As as a Division III program, our staff is very versatile,” Osborne added. “Everybody there works their ass off, everyone there is doing multiple things. When I came over to John Jay, they accepted me with open arms and everyone there just wants to get behind the adversity of being a city school. It’s a really great place to be.”
