University of Toledo Athletics

Rob Reinstetle – Career at a Glance

• Completed fifth season as Head Coach at Toledo in 2024
• Two NCAA Super Regional Appearances
• Six NCAA Regional Appearances
• 83 Players Drafted
• 12 Players Made it to MLB
• Two MAC Player of the Year Winners (Chris Meyers & Jeron Williams)
• Numerous All-Conference, All-Region, and All-Americans
• Team GPA OVER 3.2 Every Semester as a Head Coach at Toledo

Rob Reinstetle (pronounced RINE-stet-ul) completed his fifth season at the helm of the Toledo baseball program in 2024.

Reinstetle returned the Rockets to the MAC Tournament in 2024 with a 16-14 conference record, six conference series wins and 27 wins overall. Toledo won two elimination games in the tournament becoming UT’s first team since 2013 to win multiple games in MAC Tournament play.

Toledo led the league in opponent batting average (.270) and was second in ERA (5.66), and the Rockets broke program records in strikeouts (514), walks drawn (273) and saves (16). UT also hit its second-most home runs in program history (89) and had a .971 fielding percentage, its third consecutive season with a fielding percentage above .970.

Individually, Garret Pike turned in a career year, with a program single-season record 21 home runs, and also broke the career program record for home runs (42). Owen Jackson tied his own program record going into the season with another 16 long balls and drew a MAC-leading 47 walks, the most all-time in Toledo history. Luke Walton had and impressive freshman campaign, batting .303 with 12 home runs and 39 RBIs.

Pike ranked top-10 in the MAC in nine statistics and was named First Team All-MAC and MAC All-Defensive Team. Grant Umberger joined Pike on the First Team list after leading the league with a 3.81 ERA. Jacob Tabor earned Second Team All-MAC honors after an impressive freshman season out of the bullpen.

Toledo again excelled in the classroom in the 2023-24 academic year, with four CSC Academic All-District selections and its 9th- and 10th-straight semesters with a team GPA over 3.2.

The Rockets saw plenty of individual and team success in 2023. UT won five conference series and earned an impressive non-conference win at Michigan on April 19, its first victory vs. the Wolverines since 2012.

As a team, Toledo set new program records for single-season home runs (98), stolen bases (101), strikeouts (454), and fielding percentage (.979). Toledo led the MAC in home runs and fielding percentage and ranked in the Top 30 nationally in both categories.

Individually, Reinstetle coached junior infielder Jeron Williams to one of the best seasons by a Rocket in program history. The 2023 MAC Player of the Year, Williams was named an All-American by Collegiate Baseball and earned All-East Region honors from the ABCA while hitting .403 with 14 home runs, 48 RBIs, 67 runs scored, 16 doubles, four triples, a .681 slugging percentage, .467 on-base percentage, and an incredible 49 stolen bases. Williams broke the single-season school record for stolen bases and led all of NCAA Division I in that category, and he also led the nation in hits at the conclusion of the regular season. Williams was selected by the Houston Astros in the ninth round of the 2023 MLB Draft.

Williams was a First-Team All-MAC selection, one of a school record-tying six Rockets to earn postseason distinctions from the MAC. Mason Sykes, Owen Jackson, Garret Pike, and Cal McAninch were all named Second-Team All-MAC and Brian Fry earned MAC All-Defensive team honors. Following the 2023 season, McAninch signed a professional contract with the Winnipeg Goldeneyes of the American Association. Sykes ended his career as Toledo’s all-time home run leader (38) and Jackson tied the program’s single-season home run record with 16.

In 2022, Reinstetle led Toledo to a 33-25 overall record and a 23-16 mark in Mid-American conference play, earning the program's first MAC Tournament berth since 2018. The 33 wins were tied for the third-post in program history. The Rockets also set a program record with a 12-game winning streak that stretched from April 16-May 7 and notched their first win over in-state foe Ohio State since 1983. 

At the plate, the Rockets hit .278 and slugged 61 home runs, just the fourth time in school history the team had hit at least 60 home runs in a season. The 346 runs scored are the second-most over the last 10 seasons, and its 85 stolen bases were a new program record. Mason Sykes slugged 16 home runs, breaking the previous single-season record held by Mike Ernst (2000), Ross Adolph (2018), and Chris Meyers (2021).

Pitchers Kyle Jones and Connor Brandon led a pitching staff that was one of the best in several years. In addition to breaking the single-season strikeout record (438), Rocket pitchers posted the best team ERA (4.87) since 2015 and had the fewest walks since 2013. Individually, Reinstetle saw Jones (7th Round, Minnesota Twins) and Brandon (17th Round, New York Mets) selected in the 2022 MLB Draft, the first time since 2010 that Toledo had two players drafted in the same year.

Jones (first team) and Brandon (second team) were both named All-MAC, as well as infielders Garret Pike (second team) and Jeron Williams (all-defensive team). 

Following an abbreviated 2020 campaign, Reinstetle finally had the chance to coach a full season in 2021, and the Rockets posted a 21-19 record in MAC play. Toledo won four of its weekend MAC series in 2021 and split three others, clinching series over arch-rival Bowling Green and perennial stalwart Kent State.

Toledo was buoyed by an explosive offense that led the conference in extra-base hits (187) and slugging percentage (.459), and averaged 6.3 runs per game. The pitching staff saw success in certain areas as well, setting a new school record with 403 strikeouts.

Under Reinstetle's tutelage, Chris Meyers earned the program's first-ever MAC Player of the Year award in 2021. Meyers was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 13th round of the 2021 MLB Draft, the first Rocket taken in the draft since 2018.

Reinstetle was named the head baseball coach at The University of Toledo on July 8, 2019. A Columbus, Ohio native, he became the 12th coach in program history and came to Toledo following a four-year stint as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky University.
 
Prior to arriving at WKU, Reinstetle also served on coaching staffs at Ole Miss (2007-09), South Alabama (2006), College of Charleston (2004-05), Northwest Florida State College (2003), Cincinnati (2002) and Ohio Dominican (2000-01). Before beginning his coaching career at ODU in 2001, Reinstetle served as an associate professional scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In 12 seasons as a college assistant, Reinstetle was part of programs that compiled records of 449-313-1, won four conference championships, advanced to six NCAA Regionals, as well as a pair of Super Regionals. Eighty-three players coached by Reinstetle have been selected in the MLB Draft, highlighted by major leaguers Zack Cozart, David Freese, Brett Gardner, Lance Lynn and Drew Pomeranz.

In 2018, Reinstetle helped mentor WKU's Jake Sanford, who earned All-America honors after becoming Conference USA's first regular-season Triple Crown winner (.402 average, 22 HR, 65 RBI) and a third-round draft pick by the New York Yankees in this year's MLB draft. 

Reinstetle served as the recruiting coordinator at Ole Miss from 2007-09, where he helped sign four Top-20 recruiting classes and aided the Rebels in two Super Regional appearances. In his last season, Ole Miss fell one game shy of the College World Series and had five everyday starters finish the season with a batting average of .335 or higher. Reinstetle left Ole Miss following the 2009 season to work in the private business sector for his family-owned business in Powell, Ohio. During this time, he also provided personal baseball instruction for six- to 18-year olds.

Reinstetle also helped attract a Top-50 recruiting class as the recruiting coordinator at South Alabama in 2006. The Jaguars set single-season school records in hits (707) and batting average (.326), in addition to posting a 39-21 record and making an NCAA Regional appearance. 

Reinstetle is a 1999 graduate of Ohio Dominican University.