Ricci joins the Twins’ organization after three seasons as a Division I pitching coach. Ricci spent the 2023 season with George Mason, leading the Patriots to an Atlantic 10 Championship and an NCAA Regional final, the furthest the program has ever gone. Patriots’ hurlers posted the best ERA (5.02) in the league, a mark that was over 1.40 runs better than ten of the other 11 teams in the league. George Mason pitchers also broke the single-season school record for opponents’ batting average (.258) and strikeouts (516), fanning over 120 batters more than their opponents.

The Greencastle, Pennsylvania native spent the previous two seasons at Lafayette College. His pitching staff led the Patriot League in Conference ERA (3.84) and strikeouts (397) in 2022 after advancing to the league semifinals in 2021.

Ricci began his coaching career by returning to his alma mater of George Mason for the 2019 and 2020 seasons, serving as both a graduate assistant and strength and conditioning coach.

As a player, he ranks fourth in George Mason history in appearances (70) and set the single-season record for BB/9 (0.79). Over his final two seasons, he combined to post a 2.55 ERA over 56.1 innings of work. Ricci graduated with a Bachelor’s in Kinesiology and a Master’s degree in Sports Management.

After four years with the Patriots, Ricci signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks, pitching in 15 career games at two different levels in 2018.