The 2025 Presidents' Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, Matt Royer has spent 10 seasons as Grove City College head baseball coach. Since taking over in 2016, Royer has built Grove City into a perennial contender in the Presidents' Athletic Conference and Mideast Region.
In 2025, Grove City won the Presidents' Athletic Conference and advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The Wolverines won a program-record 31 games, including an 8-1 win over longtime rival Westminster in the conference tournament title game.
Junior first baseman Colin Marinpetro earned the conference's Player of the Year award while freshman shortstop Sam Meredith earned PAC Newcomer of the Year. Pitcher David Leslie and infielder Sam Bevin both earned All-America and ABCA All-Region honors.
In 2023, Grove City won a program-record 30 games, finishing 30-11 overall and 16-4 in conference play. Pitcher Tate Ostrowski earned ABCA All-America honors for the second straight season.
The 2024 Wolverines went 27-14 and advanced to the finals of the conference tournament. Pitcher Nick Guidas earned PAC Pitcher of the Year honors, along with ABCA All-Region recognition. He also earned Region Player of the Year and consensus All-America recognition after the 2024 season.Â
Grove City won 28 games in both 2021 and 2022, setting the previous single-season school record. Ostrowski earned All-America honors and Presidents' Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2022 while third baseman Mally Kilbane earned ECAC and PAC Newcomer of the Year.
Royer took over the Wolverine baseball program in January 2016 and led the squad to a 27-17 overall record this spring, including a 15-9 mark in Presidents' Athletic Conference play. Grove City's 27 victories established a program record, and the Wolverines capped the season by winning the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Southwest title May 20 at Penn State Behrend.
Grove City surpassed that win total in 2019 as the Wolverines finished 28-16 overall. The Wolverines went 16-7 in conference play, good for second place in the league. Grove City then earned ECAC Division III Tournament runner-up honors following the season.
Overall, Royer owns a 238-136 record at Grove City.Â
Royer's collegiate coaching career began in 1989 at Harper (Ill.) College. In 1990, he took over as head baseball coach at Division III Wheaton (Ill.) College and coached the team for three seasons. Royer then built Kutztown (Pa.) University into an NCAA Division II powerhouse in 10 years as coach from 1993 to 2002. He led the Bears to the 2001 and 2002 Division II World Series after winning the North Atlantic Region crown in each season.
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He earned North Atlantic Coach of the Year honors in 2001 and 2002 as well as four Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division Coach of the Year awards. Kutztown captured three division titles and two PSAC championships during Royer's tenure and inducted him its Hall of Fame in 2010.
From 2003 to 2007, Royer worked as head coach at his alma mater, Liberty University. The Flames earned runner-up honors in the Big South Conference three times during his five-year tenure. Royer led Liberty to three 30-win seasons, including a program-best 39 victories in 2006. Eight of his players at Liberty were selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Royer owns a 708-502 record as a head coach at four-year colleges.
He earned a bachelor's degree in physical education at Liberty and then added his master's in physical education at The University of Arizona in 1982.
