CARY, N.C. -- USA Baseball today announced the hiring of Rick Eckstein as Special Advisor of Player and Coach Development. In this newly created role, Eckstein will work alongside Executive Director/CEO Paul Seiler, General Manager of Professional and Collegiate National Teams Eric Campbell, and General Manager of National Teams Ashley Bratcher, as a key leader within the baseball operations team, overseeing the creation and implementation of a development program for USA Baseball athletes and coaches.
Eckstein boasts decades of coaching experience at the Major League, Minor League, collegiate, and international levels, including two years as a USA Baseball national team manager and six more as an assistant coach. Most recently, he led the 18U National Team to a world championship at the 2025 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup, defeating host-country Japan, 2-0, in front of a sold-out crowd in Okinawa, Japan. Helping lead the 18U team to an 11th world title secured him his second consecutive USA Baseball Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year Award.
“Rick has coached at the highest levels of baseball: college, Minor Leagues, Major Leagues, and internationally. That range is rare, and it’s exactly what this role calls for,” said Seiler. “He has a tremendous ability to understand what players and coaches are working towards, whether it’s winning a gold medal or simply developing appropriately to make it to the next level, and then draw from his experience to mentor them. We are thrilled to welcome him to the organization in a more prominent role and look forward to witnessing the continued impact he will have on our athletes and coaches.”
“I have spent my entire career in and around baseball and working with USA Baseball in this way is something I truly cherish,” said Eckstein. “My goal in this role is to help create a player progression plan so that when an athlete enters the USA Baseball pipeline at a young age, we are providing them with a focused and proven development program that will build them up year over year while also preparing them to succeed in one of our national team programs.
“But player development must be matched by coach development, which is why it will be equally important to identify and mentor coaches who have had the kind of success our athletes hope to one day achieve. Investing in both sides of this relationship will create an experience that surpasses simply producing results. It will help players and coaches push each other to achieve new heights throughout their careers.”
As Senior Advisor of Player and Coach Development, Eckstein will lead the construction of on-field, development-focused programming for USA Baseball's national teams and national team development programs, focusing on creating a comprehensive pipeline that prepares athletes to advance from one team or program to the next. He will then work directly with national team and development program coaches to integrate USA Baseball's player development plans into their on-field plans, ensuring a consistent approach across all programs.
Eckstein will also assist national team program directors in the coach identification and selection processes by evaluating and providing feedback on prospective coaches and task force members. He will then mentor coaches at all levels across USA Baseball programs by offering feedback on on-field strategy, international competition preparation, and player selection. Beyond the national team pipeline, Eckstein will support the organization's broader educational mission, working alongside the Youth Programs & Education Department to construct resources for coaches, including a revamped coach certification program.
The transition into this advisory role follows a decorated run on USA Baseball national team coaching staffs. In addition to leading the 18U National Team to a world title in 2025, he led the program to its seventh consecutive gold medal at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier in Panama City, Panama, in 2024. Later that year, Eckstein joined the Professional National Team coaching staff as its hitting coach for the 2024 Premier12™ and helped Team USA to a bronze medal. The 2024 Premier12™ marked his sixth appearance on a Professional National Team coaching staff, a tenure that included winning a world championship in 2007 and a bronze medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
Eckstein's involvement with national teams, development programs, and educational initiatives has resulted in several international and USA Baseball awards. He was named the organization's inaugural "Doc" Councilman Science Award winner in 2008, the 2023 Coach Educator of the Year, and the Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year recipient in 2024 and 2025. Eckstein was also recognized by the WBSC as its International Baseball Federation Coach of the Year in 2025.
Eckstein began his coaching career in 1997 as a volunteer assistant coach for the University of Florida after his playing career ended there. In 1999, he joined the Tampa Bay Devil Rays as a bullpen coach and batting practice pitcher, then took the same role with the Minnesota Twins a year later. Eckstein got his first hitting coach position shortly after this, joining the University of Georgia's coaching staff during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. In the subsequent years, he worked for multiple minor league teams in that role, including the Harrisburg Senators, Vermont Expos, New Orleans Zephyrs, Memphis Redbirds, and Columbus Clippers. He got his first major league coaching role at the end of 2008 with the Washington Nationals, where he served as the hitting coach until the end of the 2013 season. Eckstein joined the Los Angeles Angels as a player information coach in 2014 before returning to the college ranks as an assistant coach for the University of Kentucky, a position he held for two years. After that, the Minnesota Twins brought him on as a minor league hitting coordinator, a role he held from 2016 to 2018. His most recent big-league coaching role was hitting coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates, a position he held through the end of the 2021 season
