Yellow Jackets hire alum Rubasky as baseball coach
Waynesburg University is reaching back to the past to improve its baseball future.
Tyler Rubasky, a 2016 graduate and four-year catcher in the program, has been hired as the Yellow Jackets’ new head coach. He served as head coach at Anderson University in Indiana this past season. But he was let go after leading the Ravens to a 22-20-1 overall record, which included a 12-10 mark in the Hartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
Now, he gets a chance to revive Waynesburg’s program.
“I couldn’t be more excited about having the opportunity to come back to Waynesburg,” Rubasky said. “I think the goal every time that we go out is trying to figure out how to get in the conference tournament. Ultimately, I think every coach would sit here and tell you they want to win a national championship, and I mean, you must get to the regional and super regional. We must get back into the conference tournament, then ultimately, figure out how to win that.
“I think the league always is good. You have your perennials, like, W&J and Grove City have been the last few years. Westminster and Allegheny are up there as well. And you can quote me on this, Nick Rush (Chatham) might be one of the best coaches in the league.”
Rubasky’s path to Waynesburg and a head coaching position is more than welcome after his removal at Anderson.
Earlier this month it was announced that after just two seasons at the helm Michael Impellittiere had resigned as Waynesburg’s coach. The Yellow Jackets went 20-56 overall under Impellittiere and were only 7-34 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.
Waynesburg went 13-27 overall and 4-18 in the PAC in 2026.
Rubasky began his coaching career at Waynesburg as an assistant during the 2017 and 2018 seasons under then-head coach Mike Humiston. He served a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Franklin College in 2019. After Franklin, Rubasky was selected as the top assistant coach at Davis & Elkins College for two years and was the top assistant coach for Trine University for two years, beginning in 2023.
Upon his hiring at Anderson, Rubasky was hailed as “a proven recruiter.”
“The thing that I kept coming back to is that we need somebody who knows the program and can recruit the area,” said Tim Fusina, Waynesburg athletic director. “That wasn’t a prerequisite, but it was certainly something that was helpful.
“It’s good to have somebody in your program, somebody leading your program who’s been in it. Especially now because I feel that’s just where our program is and what it needs to kind of be revived.”
Fusina added that Rubasky’s face-to-face interview stood out.
“He set himself apart in that regard,” Fusina explained. “His player development plan was spelled out. His recruiting plan was spelled out. He wants to bring our program back to the area. One of the things he talked about was making sure that the program is visible in the Pittsburgh area. And I think that’s where we’ve been lacking.”
Rubasky said his experiences have put him in a solid position to succeed.
“A very wise man and mentor to me, (Franklin head coach) Lance Marshall, once told me that you are never truly ready to be a head coach,” Rubasky said. “You can be prepared and organized, and he could teach me everything he knows, but until you are in that position, you will never be ready. My time as the head coach at Anderson gave me that opportunity to know, without a doubt, that I am prepared and ready for this position as the head coach at Waynesburg.
“I am not sure I can put into words the excitement I had when I realized. When I decided I wanted to follow the dream of coaching college baseball as a career, Matthew Bensinger, a former college teammate of mine, and I used to talk about how awesome it would be if one day I was the head coach here at Waynesburg. What seemed like big dreams and something that would never happen as a 19- or 20-year-old college kid has happened, and I could not be more excited and honored to be the next head baseball coach at Waynesburg.”