Ron Rakowski enters his third season as assistant coach for the Holy Cross baseball team in 2013. He handles the Crusaders pitching staff and assists with recruiting duties.

Prior to his time at Holy Cross, Rakowski was the head assistant / pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Tacoma (Wash.) Community College. While at TCC, Rakowski helped recruit and place over 40 players to four-year schools, including seven to the NCAA Division I level. TCC also made the NWAACC playoffs in all five seasons during his tenure there. In addition to his baseball duties, Rakowski served as an adjunct faculty member in the physical education department and supervised game management at TCC home athletic events. In addition, he coached for the RIPS Brewers, one of the top high school select teams in the state. During his time with the Brewers, he worked with 2010 first round draft pick Josh Sale (17th overall), and third round draft pick Ryan Brett.  

For the two years prior to his arrival at TCC, Rakowski worked as the head assistant / pitching coach at Willamette University in Salem, Ore. Before arriving at Willamette, he was an assistant coach at San Francisco State for three years where he worked with the Gators pitching staff and assisted in recruiting. He was also an assistant coach at DeAnza Junior College in San Jose, Calif., where he helped the team to the California Junior College state playoffs. In 2002, Rakowski coached in the Northwoods Collegiate Summer League as head coach of the St. Cloud River Bats in St. Cloud, Minn. While there, he coached future Major Leaguers Thomas Diamond and Jason Jaramillo and led the team to the second best record in the league.

Rakowski also served as a coach with the Fresno Royals, a collegiate summer league team. The Royals participated in the National Baseball Congress World Series twice in his five years there. Before coaching at the collegiate level, Rakowski coached at Clovis (Calif.) High School, helping the team to back-to-back USA Today High School national championships (1997 and 1998).

During the summer, Rakowski works as a coach at the Stanford All-Star Baseball Camp as well as high school All-Star camps at Gonzaga and Kansas. He received his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from San Francisco State in 2002, and then earned his master’s degree in teaching with a specialization in teaching leadership from National University in 2009. He currently resides in Worcester, Mass., with his wife (Barbara) and daughter (Susannah).