Heidelberg University Athletics

The transformation from also-ran to perennial contender for the Heidelberg University baseball team when Matt Palm arrived on campus was swift. Palm was able to quickly mold the players he inherited into top-level talent, but where he truly turned heads was in his ability to recruit exceptional players to the institution.  Ryan Gelhaus was among the first players to say yes to Palm -- igniting a Hall of Fame career for the dual-threat player. 

Gelhaus -- a three-time team captain -- split time at shortstop and on the mound and earned All-OAC honors four times, including first-team honors in 2003 and 2005.  He finished his career with a .315 average with 23 doubles, seven home runs, 88 RBI, and 36 stolen bases.  On the mound, he won 10 games and fanned 93 batters in 124.2 innings of work.

Gelhaus’ best year came in 2003, a season in which ’Berg baseball won its first-ever OAC regular season crown by going 15-3 in conference action.  That season, he had career bests in nearly every offensive category,  hitting .366 with 10 doubles, five home runs, and 37 RBI.  In addition, he stole 12 bases and had an OPS of .926.  On the mound, Gelhaus was 6-3 with a 3.19 ERA in 53.2 innings.  He threw four complete games and held opponents to a paltry .218 average.  

The ’03 team finished one game ahead of rival Marietta in the standings, propelled by a key doubleheader sweep of the Pioneers in April.  After Heidelberg rallied for two runs in the sixth inning to beat future MLB pitcher Matt DeSalvo in game one, Gelhaus fired a complete game, three-hit shutout in the nightcap, striking out seven batters.  

In addition to his undergraduate degree from Heidelberg in 2005, Gelhaus has earned his MBA from Lincoln Memorial University.  For the past 12 years, he has worked for the YMCA in various leadership positions.  He currently resides in Tampa, Fla., with his wife, Jennifer.