Karl Steffen began coaching the Rensselaer baseball team in 1985. With him at the helm, the Engineers have become a perennial power in Division III, making 27 post-season appearances, including 18 NCAA Tournament invitations. On the league level, Rensselaer has won 11 of the 14 Liberty League championships since the conference was established in 1996.
Since Steffen took over the program, Rensselaer has qualified for all but two league 
tournaments, seven ECAC Tournaments and 18 NCAA Regional Tournaments, including 13 in a row from 1992 to 2004. RPI has played in the Regional Championship Game nine times and advanced to the Division III National Championship Tournament twice, including in 2002.
Personally, Steffen reached a significant milestone in 2012 as he won the 700th game of his career. With a career record of 770-384-3, he is seventh among active Division III coaches in victories and 26th in winning percentage (.666). Among Division III coaches all-time, he is 20th by wins and 33rd by percentage.
Last season, the Engineers finished 23-12, including a 12-9 mark in the Liberty League. Sean Conroy was named All-Liberty League First Team, while Tim Gallagher,Tim LeSuer and Nick Annunziata were selected to the Second Team. Al Mersman and Jared Jensen made Honorable Mention. Aditionally, LeSuer was named First Team All-Region by American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Rawlings. Conroy earned Third Team honors from both ABCA/Rawlings and D3baseball.com.
The 2013 team went 30-15 overall, including 16-9 mark in Liberty League play. The Engineers won the conference tournament by defeating the hosts from Union College twice. In the NCAA Regional, RPI opened with a loss to Cortland (4-3), before bouncing back with victories over Rowan (5-2) and Farmingdale State (6-5), before bowing out after a second defeat at the hands of the fourth-ranked Red Dragons (5-2). Eight players earned All-Liberty League honors, including First Team selections Tim Gallagher, Shane Matthews and Jared Jensen. Mike Campisi, Sean Conroy, Chuck Erickson and Tim LeSuer were selected to the Second Team, while Michael Croke was chosen as an Honorable Mention. Conroy also earned D3Baseball.com All-America Honorable Mention.
In 2012, Steffen saw his squad produce a 23-20 overall record. The Engineers went 19-9 in Liberty League play to advance to the conference playoffs. At season's end, six student-athletes were named to All-Liberty League teams, including senior outfielder Kyle LaVigne, who was a First Team honoree. LaVigne was also one of two RPI players to be named All-Region, while also being the only selection as an ECAC All-Star.
Steffen guided the Engineers to a 24-15 mark during the 2011 season, including a 16-6 Liberty League record. The squad won the conference regular season title. RPI was led offensively by junior Art Levenson, who had an outstanding season garnering ABCA/Rawlings All-America Third Team, ABCA/Rawlings All-Region First Team, a Unanimous All-Liberty League First Team selection and ECAC Upstate All-Star recognition.
In 2010, the Engineers posted a 24-16 record, including a 13-11 mark in the Liberty League. The squad was led offensively by senior Patrick Reardon, who was an All-League and All-ECAC Upstate First Team selection. Academically, senior Camden Mamigonian garnered National Academic All-America honors for the second straight season.
In 2009, Rensselaer set a school record for wins after going 37-13, breaking the mark it had set just a year prior. The club earned an At-Large bid into the NCAA Tournament and made it to the Regional Championship. Two players were named All-Americans, while eight were named All-Region.
The 2008 season saw RPI post a number of school records, including wins in a season (36-12). RPI won the Liberty League Championship, earned a berth in the NCAA Regional Tournament and played in the Regional Championship game. Three players earned All-America honors, three were named to the NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team and 11 garnered All-Liberty League recognition.
In 2007, Steffen guided Rensselaer to 29 wins and its second straight Liberty League regular season title. Rensselaer saw four players earn All-League First Team recognition, while pitcher John Dreimiller earned the program’s second consecutive and eighth overall Rookie of the Year honor.
The 2006 season was a banner year as the team set a school record for wins (34-11), including a school record 17-game winning streak, and played in the NCAA Tournament – the 18th consecutive year the Red Hawks played in the post-season.
In the 2002 National Championship Tournament, Rensselaer finished fifth in the eight-team field. After defeating Lakeland, 2-1, the Red Hawks dropped a pair of heartbreaking losses to Eastern Connecticut St. (10-9), the eventual National Champion, and The College of New Jersey (6-5). RPI finished with a school record 33 wins (33-11) and ranked fifth in the nation – its highest listing ever at the time. Steffen, who won his 400th career game in 2002, was named the New York Region Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).
Rensselaer’s other Division III Championship appearance came during the 1996 season. The Red Hawks finished in seventh place, capping a season in which they compiled a 26-3 regular season record, including a win over defending Division II National Champion Florida Southern, and captured the league championship with a 9-0 conference mark.
RPI’s high-powered roster boasted a player who finished third in the nation in runs batted in, three National All-Americas, and the best pitching staff in Division III, including the No. 1 and No. 2 pitchers, individually.
The following season, 1997, Rensselaer won the national pitching title for the second straight year, becoming the only team in NCAA history – at any level – to lead the nation in team ERA in back-to-back years. The Red Hawks finished with a then-school record 31 wins (31-8) and claimed its second league championship (12-0). Additionally, two players earned All-America and went on to play professionally.
In 1998 the Red Hawks matched the school record for wins in a season when they again went 31-8 and won the league championship with another perfect record (12-0). That year also saw Steffen notch the 300th win of his career. Rensselaer, which was 26-12 in 1999, finished 19th in Division III in winning percentage (.709) for the 1990s.
Steffen’s squads have rewritten the school’s record book, including all of the team’s batting records and the majority of fielding and pitching standards. In addition, players coached by Steffen hold nearly all of the school’s individual marks while several are listed in the NCAA record book.
Since arriving at Rensselaer, Steffen has seen 14 of his players earn National All-American status, 92 named to NCAA All-Region Teams, 46 voted All-ECAC and 118 named All-League. Additionally, several have been named National Academic All-Americans.
Steffen has coached six players who went on to play professionally, including four — Doug Drumm, Dave Lohrman, Bill Snyder & Travis Teeter — who were drafted by Major League teams.
A 1978 graduate of Ithaca College, Steffen was a three-time All-Conference selection and was twice named All-District. After college the Troy, N.Y., native continued his career in the prestigious Cape Cod Summer League, where he compiled a 7-0 record in 1977 en route to winning Most Valuable Player honors.
The New York Yankees selected Steffen in the 19th round of the 1978 Major League Baseball draft. He played Class A ball for the Oneonta Yankees for one year before being promoted to Class AA the following campaign.
An inductee of the Albany Twilight Baseball League Hall of Fame, Steffen has twice been honored by his fellow Rensselaer coaches with the Marvin T. Anderson Award, given to the coach who most exemplifies the spirit of RPI athletics. He has also been the recipient of the Student Affairs Service Award for his teaching skills and tireless effort on behalf of Rensselaer Student Life.
Updated March 2015
