Coaching Staff

After spending six years working diligently in an assistant coaching role with the University of Minnesota Duluth, Bob Rients is now in his third season as head coach of the Bulldog baseball team.

Rients (pronounced “rents”) became just the third head coach UMD has employed (he was hired August 4, 2005) in the baseball program’s storied 36-year history. He succeeded Scott Hanna, who stepped down roughly three months earlier following a 27-season head coaching run.

Through his first two seasons directing the Bulldog Nine, Rients has accumulated a 33-65 overall record. He has gone 14-24 in North Central Conference play, and has his sights set on a strong showing in the league’s final season of existence.

A native of Elysian, Minn., Rients first arrived on the UMD campus in the fall of 1997 after transferring from the University of Minnesota-Crookston. He lettered two years (1998-99) with the Bulldogs as an outfielder before moving on to the coaching arena.

Until his promotion to head coach, Rients had been responsible for coordinating UMD’s recruiting efforts as well as overseeing the pitching staff and monitoring practice sessions since 1999.

During his assistant coaching tenure, UMD won one Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference regular season title (2003), earned the school’s lone berth in the NCAA Division II Central Regionals (2003) and produced the school’s first two baseball All-Americans (Tim Battaglia in 2003 and Tim Garceau in 2005), six ABCA All-NCAA II Central Region selections and 12 different All-NCC/All-NSIC honorees.

Rients, 31 (he was born on 2/4/76), earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from UMD in 2000 and is currently pursing a master’s degree in education.

Jim Karnas handles the assistant coaching duties for the University of Minnesota Duluth baseball team.

A native of Richfield, Minn., this spring will be his third season as the secondary leader of Bob Rients' staff. Karnas, 25, spent five years (2001-05) working under the tutelage of Scott Hanna -- much like Rients.

Karnas' profile includes a three-year stint as head coach of the Richfield American League team, a club that qualified for state tournament play each season under his watch.

With the Bulldogs, Karnas will provide defensive guidance to the infielders and outfielders, perform first baseline coaching duties during games and will also contributing to scouting for talent and player evaluation all the while.

Rory James will take on the job of leading the Bulldog hurlers for his first year as the team's pitching coach.

James is a 2003 graduate of Oshkosh West High School. After graudation, the Oshkosh, Wis., native led the University of Utah baseball staff in ERA during the 2005 season after his first collegiate go-around with Pasco Hernando Community College the year before.

Last summer, James had his first taste of professional ball when he played for the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association Independent League.

James is currently finishing his college degree, while working with the baseball team, at UMD.