Meet our Crew

Our team is full of coaches from all backgrounds who played professional, collegiate and coached for many years. Our coaches have a love and understanding for the game of baseball, and a desire to bring their students to reach their maximum potential. 

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BRIAN KALCZYNSKI:

  • Brian Kalczynski started coaching in the spring of 1999 as an assistant coach to Bob Riker at Brother Rice High School. That summer, he became an assistant coach for the Brewster White Caps of the Cape Cod League. Over the next four seasons, he coached at the University of Illinois, University of Michigan, and Central Michigan University. In 2004, he rejoined Bob Riker and the Brother Rice Coaching Staff.
  • Coach Kal has had great success in recent years coaching high school-age summer baseball. In 2013 and 2014, his Midwest Elite Teams won the Perfect Game BCS National Championship. The 2014 18u Midwest Elite finished the year ranked #5 nationally by Perfect Game. In 2015, Coach Kal led the 14u Warriors Baseball Club of Michigan to championships in both the Perfect Game BCS Championship and the Perfect Game World Series. The 2015 14u Warriors finished the year ranked #1 in the country by Perfect Game. In 2017, Coach Kal led the 16u D Las Vegas Baseball to a third place finish at the 16u Perfect Game World Series, earning the team a #11 national ranking by the end of summer and an end of year #22 national ranking.
  • In the fall of 2016, Brian Kalczynski and Casey Smith partnered and formed BKC Baseball to train professional, college and amateur athletes in the Metro Detroit-area. That winter, Coach Kal helped organize a team of experts to train All-Star Second Baseman, DJ LeMahieu. In its first 6 months, BKC’s client base went from 30 to nearly 300 athletes.
  • Email: Briankalczynski@gmail.com

JOE KALCZYNSKI:

  • Joe “Kal” played football, basketball and baseball at Brother Rice HS.
  • Joe Kal helped lead the Brother Rice Baseball Team to the 1994 Baseball State Championship.
  • In 1996, he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers, but decided to attend Michigan State on a baseball scholarship.
  • Joe Kal has coached Warrior Baseball and Brother Rice Baseball over the past 15+ years.
  • “Coaching the Game so that the kids master the critical details that they need to learn at a young age, is what I’m most passionate about. I’m more interested to see how good the player is when he’s 18, after receiving quality instruction, rather than comparing him to others his age when he still has so much to
    learn and practice.”
  • Email: kalczynski@brrice.edu

PAT BIONDI:

  • Pat is one of the most accomplished baseball players from the State of Michigan
    over the past decade. He is incredible at helping ball players improve their skills
    on the field, and equally as good at making them better people.
  • 6 seasons of professional baseball
  • 9th round pick by the New York Mets
  • Lousiville Slugger freshman All-american
  • 4-Year starter at the University of Michigan
  • Michigan “Gatorade High School Player of the Year”
  • Career insight PDF

BOB RIKER:

  • Bob was a three sport athlete at Brother Rice High School. He went on to play baseball at Central Michigan University and was later drafted by the Detroit Tigers. After his professional career, he returned to Brother Rice as the Assistant Varsity Baseball Coach under Ron Kalczynski. Upon Coach Kal’s retirement, Coach Riker was named Head Coach at Brother Rice in 1998. 
  • Brother Rice baseball has enjoyed extraordinary success under Coach Riker. They’ve won 9 Catholic League Championships, 12 District Championships, 7 Regionals, and have appeared in 5 State Championship games and won 1 State Championship.
  • In the last 15 years, Coach Riker has helped more than 45 high school players take their game to the next level; 6 of those players have gone on to play professional baseball. Coach Riker was inducted into the MHSBCA Hall of Fame in 2016. 
  • Email: rlriker@aol.com
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FREDDY JEHLE:

  • 4-year starter at Brother Rice High School.
  • Earned a baseball scholarship to attend Siena Heights University.
  • 4-year starter at short stop.
  • 2019 Freddy played in the USPBL and was selected into the All-Star Game and was also nominated for a Gold Glove Award.
  • Coach Freddy has been working at BKC since 2018
  • Email: fjehlequality@gmail.com