Continuing our 2026 ABCA Hall of Fame Class podcasts, this week’s ABCA Podcast features Steve Ruzich, the legendary head coach of South Suburban College (IL). For more than 40 years, Ruzich has been the face of the Bulldogs’ baseball program, building one of the most successful legacies in NJCAA history.
With a career record of 1,385-817 (.629) through 2025, Ruzich ranks fifth all-time in wins among NJCAA coaches. Under his leadership, South Suburban has claimed 15 regional championships, made two NJCAA World Series appearances, and earned nine regional runner-up finishes.
The Bulldogs’ best season came in 2005, when they posted a school-record 51 wins and a .823 winning percentage. Ruzich has been named NJCAA Region IV Coach of the Year 14 times and has coached numerous players who advanced to professional baseball, including Tony Cingrani and Rob Mackowiak.
A 2014 NJCAA Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame inductee, Ruzich was also recognized among the inaugural recipients of the NJCAA Coaches Legacy Awards in 2025—honoring the all-time winningest coaches in NJCAA history.
In this episode, Coach Ruzich reflects on four decades of building teams, developing players, and leaving a lasting impact on the game and community he’s served so passionately.
New ABCA Podcast sponsor, Driveline, are long time friends and I have used many of their products when I was coaching and in youth camps now. If you want to truly optimize your pitchers' workload? PULSE from Driveline Baseball takes simple pitch counts to the next level. PULSE is a wearable sensor that precisely measures every throw your pitchers make on a daily basis. PULSE tracks both throw count and throw intensity.Trusted by MLB orginizations like the Cincinnati Reds, elite college programs, and individual athletes at all levels, PULSE is changing the way throwing workload is managed. With the PULSE Team Dashboard, you'll be able to make data-driven usage decisions to optimize training and injury prevention for your entire team. Visit drivelinebaseball.com/pulse to revolutionize your pitching staff's development and health today.
The ABCA Podcast is presented by Netting Pros. Netting Professionals are improving programs one facility at a time, specializing in the design, fabrication and installation of custom netting for backstops, batting cages, dugouts, bp screens and ball carts. They also design and install digital graphic wall padding windscreen, turf, turf protectors, dugout benches, dugout cubbies and more.
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