Eric Peterson became the 15th head coach in Raven Baseball program history, which began competing in 1922, on June 15, 2018, and is beginning his 6th year with the program.
Peterson is married to his wife, Ashley, and has two boys, Jack (14) and Brooks (8).
The Benedictine baseball program has gone 111-100 with 14 All-Conference Honors, 2021 Opening Round Post-Season qualifier, 3 conference tournament appearances (covid year tournament canceled), established 15 new single-season and career records, 3 All-America Selections and 17 Daktronic Scholar Athletes over Peterson tenure.
Program accolades also includes a 3.07 cumulative team GPA over the past 5 seasons, finishing with 4 ABCA Team GPA awards out of the past 5 academic years. The program has seen a 100% graduation rate for those who have exhausted eligibility and a 100% job placement rate for those who graduated with a degree at Benedictine during that time period.
In 2022, the program celebrated 100 years of Benedictine College Baseball by welcoming back Ravens from every decade beginning in the 1950’s. And boast an active alumni group of nearly 150 former Raven baseball players. Olsen Stadium was upgraded by the installation of the Ravens Records and Honors wall and banner graphics were added to the fence lines.
In 2023, Olsen Stadium at Laughlin Field, saw a significant playing surface upgrade as the entire field was replaced with new synthetic turf installed by Mammoth Construction.
Led the largest campus athletic missions trip to the Dominican Republic in December of 2023. The group donated nearly 1,000 health kits, 1,000 pieces of baseball equipment, and various items to local sugar cane villages and orphanages. While there, they revitalized community areas, celebrated Christmas at the Casa Amor orphanage, and attended mass at the oldest New World Catholic church.
From 2018-2023 the program has participated in more than 3,000 hours of community engagement or service. Sleep in Heavenly Peace, High 5 Fridays, KC Marathon, the annual Free Youth Baseball Camp, and many more community engagement events that the program has been involved with during that time.
Before Benedictine, Peterson spent four years as pitching coach for NCAA Div. II Drury University, seeing stops at Eastern Michigan, the University of Kansas, Niagara University, Fort Scott Community College, and Pittsburg State University.
Peterson holds a Master’s Degree in HHPR Administration from Pittsburg State University.
