KUTZTOWN, Pa. – The Kutztown University baseball team was rejuvenated in 2023 and had one of its best seasons in almost a decade this past spring. Fourth-year head coach,
Eric Folmar, was a major reason for that, leading the charge for the Golden Bears. On Monday, Folmar was voted the 2022-23 KU Dr. Dennis Roth Men's Coach of the Year, his first recognition at Kutztown.
Folmar has had a unique start to his career in Maroon and Gold, having taken over the program before the 2020 season, one which was halted after 11 games due to COVID-19. KU was 7-4 before having the rest of the season canceled. He then led Kutztown to a 17-21 overall campaign in 2021 and later won just 11 games in 2022.
But this past year, Folmar helped put the program back on the map when it comes to Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and NCAA postseason talk and just overall receptiveness. The Chambersburg native led the Golden Bears to a 15-win turnaround from last season with a 26-19 record (most wins since 2014) and 12-12 mark in the conference, finishing tied for fourth in the PSAC East Division, despite being picked last in the preseason poll. They just missed qualifying for the postseason for the first time since 2014 due to a tiebreaker. Shippensburg and Bloomsburg also ended with 12-12 PSAC records, but both teams defeated Kutztown in two-of-three games to earn the tiebreaker.
Three Golden Bears earned spots on the All-PSAC teams, as
Gavin Moretski (Harleysville, Pa./La Salle College H.S.) was voted to the First Team and both
Ethan Martini (Trevose, Pa./Father Judge) and
Jake Skrocki (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) were honored on the Second Team. It was the first time since 2014 that three players were named to all-conference teams. Moretski and Martini were both on the American Baseball Coaches Association All-Atlantic Region Second Team as well, the most under Folmar.
Along with the success on the diamond, under Folmar's guidance, the Golden Bears continued their worth ethic into the classroom.
Mitchell Peers (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown),
Dominic Proietto (Norristown, Pa./Norristown) and Skrocki all were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Division II Academic All-District Team in the spring, giving KU a trio of academic all-stars for the first time in program history.
Folmar gives the baseball program its first coach of the year award since 2010. Kutztown is set to return a majority of its roster from the successful team of 2023 and will look to break down the door to the postseason in 2024.
Presented annually since 1993, the Kutztown University Athletics Dr. Dennis Roth Men's Coach of the Year award recognizes the coach of a men's varsity sport for leading their team to success in a given academic year. KU's annual athletic awards are selected through a vote of the department's administration, head coaches and support staff.
