University of St. Thomas Athletics
Baseball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- crolean@stthomas.edu
- Phone:
- 651-962-5924
Awards & Achievements
- 2025 Summit League Champion
- 2024 Summit League Champion
- 2021 National NCAA Division III Runner-Up
- 2014 Third-Place NCAA Division III National Finish
- 2012 Third-Place NCAA Division III National Finish
- 3-time NCAA Division III Region Coach of the Year (2012, 2013, 2021)
- 3-time MIAC Coach of The Year (2012, 2013, 2021)
- 8-time MIAC Baseball Playoff Champion
- 7 D-III All-American pitchers produced
A three-time NCAA D-III Region Coach of the Year, Chris Olean will be starting his 16th season as Tommie Baseball's head coach in spring of 2025.
In 2025, Tommie Baseball won the programs second consecutive Summit League championship. Coach Olean's squad finished 29-21 overall, and 21-9 in Summit League play. The Tommies earned nine All-Summit League honors, including two FIrst Team honor (Marcus Kruzan and Matthew Maulik), five Second Team honors (Joe Vis, Brigs Richartz, Zak Endres, Tanner Recchio, and Riane Ritter), and two honorable mentions (Max Moris anf Joe Roder). Six Tommies earned Summit League weekly awards and four were named to the CSC Academic All-District Team.
In 2024, Tommie Baseball won the university’s first Summit League team championship in just its third season of DI competition. Coach Chris Olean’s 2024 squad finished with a 22-24 overall record, going 16-10 in Summit League play. The Purple had eight come-from-behind wins en route to a Summit championship. Those included 10-9 home win over Oral Roberts on May 17 after falling behind 7-0 in the first inning — the largest deficit St. Thomas Baseball has overcome for a victory in the three-year D-I era. The Tommies earned eight All-Summit League honors, including two First Team accolades (Brigs Richartz and Max Moris), while two-student athletes earned Summit League weekly awards, four were named to the CSC Academic All-District Team, and a pair of Tommies were named to the Summit League All-Academic Team.
The Tommies continued into year two of Division I play with a 10-34 record overall and 6-18 mark in the Summit League, finishing seventh. St. Thomas came away with its second win over a Power Five opponent following a 2-1 victory at Kansas State. Eighteen games were decided by three runs or fewer as the Toms went 6-12 in those games. The Tommies won their final series of the season with two wins at New Mexico State, averaging 13.7 runs over three games. The Toms defense ranked fourth in the Summit League with a .966 fielding percentage and fifth with a 7.44 ERA. Two student-athletes earned the Summit League Peak Performer of the Week (Brigs Richartz) and Pitcher of the Week (Evan Esch), while Matthew Enck, Sam Kulesa, Max Moris, and Richartz all were named to the CSC Academic All-District Team.
In spring 2022, Olean guided St. Thomas into its first Division I season competing in the Summit League. Despite losing 16 games by one or two runs, the Purple finished 16-29 and claimed a fifth-place conference finish. The team won its final three games, all in comeback fashion, and in six total games took both a victory and a one-run loss over the conference champions of the regular-season (North Dakota State) and playoffs (Oral Roberts).
Olean has surpassed 350 victories and won nearly 70 percent of his conference games as a head coach. In his last 12 Division III seasons the Purple won eight MIAC championships, capped by third-place national finishes in both 2012 and 2014, as well as a national runner-up finish in 2021.
Olean was a two-time all-state pitcher at Minneapolis Washburn High, and later was an All-American pitcher for St. Thomas, where he led the 1999 team to an NCAA runner-up finish. He won 24 games and struck out 246 batters in 248 innings in his four college seasons. He went on to pitch in the Milwaukee Brewers organization before returning to Tommie baseball as pitching coach and later as head coach.
Division III Era
Olean's teams claimed third-place national finishes in both 2012 and 2014, as well as the national runner-up finish in 2021, and won eight of a possible 11 conference championships.
He mentored seven D-III All-America pitchers. He was voted Conference and Midwest Region Coach of the Year in 2012, 2013 and 2021. In addition Coach Olean works with the Tommie pitching staff; which was a perennial top-10 group in Division III baseball.
Olean was a nine-year assistant at St. Thomas from 2001-09 under legendary coach Dennis Denning. Chris was a key member of Denning's staff that guided St. Thomas to NCAA Division III National Championships in 2001 and 2009, along with an unprecedented seven straight MIAC conference titles from 2003-2009. While an assistant, Olean’s pitchers led the conference in ERA in eight of his nine seasons, and finished in the top 10 nationally in ERA in in four of nine seasons. Olean has also coached six pitchers who have gone on to play professionally, along with seven All America pitchers.
During Olean’s first 20 seasons coaching with Tommie baseball, UST averaged more than 30 wins a season; won either the MIAC regular-season or post-season title each spring from 2002-2014; reached the NCAA playoffs 14 times; and reached the conference playoffs 18 of 19 times.
Tommie Baseball had a 54-game home winning streak end on March 30, 2015. At the time it was the second longest home string among all Division III men's teams in all sports behind only Mount Union’s 85-game football streak.
Olean’s 2012 Toms ranked first in fielding percentage in Division III as well as team strikeout-to-walk ratio, and were ranked as high as No. 2 in the national rankings before finishing third.
The 2014 Tommies finished No. 3 in the final Division III rankings and had a rare stat with three seniors surpassing 200 career hits – just the 10th, 11th and 12th players in MIAC history to achieve that feat.
The 2017 Tommie pitchers finished in Division's III's top five in WHIP, K-to-walk ratio, and strikeouts per nine innings, and also closed 10th in ERA at 3.01.
As a Tommie pitcher, Olean was a three-time All-MIAC selection, a three-time All-Midwest Regional selection, and member of the 1999 Division III World Series All-Tournament team. His Tommie teams won the MIAC conference title all four seasons and compiled a 152-32 record during his era as a player. In his senior season, the two-time team captain finished second in Division III in ERA (0.60) and finished with 97 strikeouts to only six walks while leading the Tommie’s to their first College World Series appearance. He was also named the MIAC Player of the Year and a first team All-America. He finished his career with the modern school career strikeout record (246 Ks in 248 innings), and his 24-8 career mark included a 15-1 record in conference play.
Olean was inducted into the University of St. Thomas Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004.
As a high-school player, the Minneapolis Washburn graduate was a three-time all-conference player, a three-time all-section player, a two-time All-Metro team member and a two-time All-State selection. Olean was in the top three in the state in ERA in both his junior and senior year. As a senior, Olean also batted over .400 and led the state in home runs with seven.
Olean was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 17th round of the 1999 amateur draft, and spent two seasons in their organization playing in Ogden, Helena, and Beloit (6-1, five saves, 3.50 ERA, one one-hitter). He also played one season with the St. Paul Saints.
Olean still pitches in Minnesota amateur baseball with the Miesville Mudhens. He also served as Mudhens' team manager until 2009 and guided them to a 118-52 record and won a 2007 class B state championships. Olean has managed multiple Division I players and former professionals in his time with the Mudhens. Olean is also a member of the Mudhens' board of directors and is involved in fundraising events, field improvement and maintenance, as well as player recruitment and retention.
As an amateur player, Olean has won a Class A state championship with the now defunct Glynn Building Products team, and Class B state titles with the Mudhens in 2007 and 2016. Olean is a six-time all-tournament selection combining both class A and B appearances.
Olean has worked at multiple baseball camps and clinics throughout the state over the last decade. He has been a speaker at multiple coaches’ clinics and has given lessons at Blue Chip Academy, Minnesota Baseball Academy, and Acceleration Minnesota.
Chris Olean Year-By-Year
| Division III Totals | |||
| Year | Overall | MIAC | Place |
| 2010 | 35-9 | 15-5 | 1st |
| 2011 | 28-18 | 16-4 | Tie 1st |
| 2012 | 41-10 | 19-1 | 1st |
| 2013 | 34-7 | 19-1 | 1st |
| 2014 | 39-9 | 18-2 | 1st |
| 2015 | 24-16-1 | 11-7 | 4th |
| 2016 | 25-15 | 14-6 | 1st |
| 2017 | 29-18 | 16-4 | Tie 1st |
| 2018 | 20-18 | 13-7 | Tie 3rd |
| 2019 | 20-17 | 11-9 | 5th |
| 2020 | 6-1 | 0-0 | -- |
| 2021 | 37-10 | 17-2 | 1st |
| 338-148-1 (.695) | 169-48 (.779) | ||
| Division I Totals | |||
| Year | Overall | Summit | Place |
| 2022 | 16-29 | 10-14 | 5th |
| 2023 | 10-34 | 6-18 | 7th |
| 2024 | 22-24 | 16-10 | 1st |
| 2025 | 29-21 | 21-9 | 1st |
| 77-108 (.416) | 32-42 (.432) | ||
| Career Totals | |||
| 414-256-1 (.618) | 233-99 (.701) |
