Tom Riley did not inherit anything when he got the job as Goldey-Beacom's baseball coach, except a field and an office. What he has accomplished in nine seasons has been nothing short of outstanding and four NCAA Tournament Appearances entering the 2026 campaign bear witness to this.
The 2025 season saw the team make the NCAA Tournament a fourth time in five seasons, be nationally ranked for the third time in four years, regionally ranked all year in reaching number one, record a school-record 15-game winning streak, amass a team-best 23 league wins, tie the school record with 20 home wins and notch 14 straight league wins dating to 2024.
It also marked the fifth straight season the Lightning were part of the NCAA East Regional rankings, the official formula of seeding the teams for the NCAA Tournament.
The 2024 campaign was business as normal with the Lightning making it to championship weekend of the CACC Tournament a second consecutive season. Continuing to build a program with multi-faceted players, Riley concocted the perfect recipe that saw the team notch 34 victories for a second straight 30-plus win season.
The end result saw a second player in team history, Braden Kolmansberger, named CACC Player of the Year. It also saw Kolmansberger, Darin Miller and Garrett Musey all tabbed second team All-East Region.
The 2023 season was a watershed moment in the Athletics' Department history with Goldey-Beacom (37-20, 16-8 CACC) playing in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons, hosting a regional for the first time and breaking the school record for most wins. The team also received votes in the NCBWA national poll prior to the NCAA Tournament, was second in the NCAA East Regional rankings and won four times against schools that competed in the NCAA Division II World Series.
The 2022 campaign was the latest example of the team's success with five being named All-Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, including catcher Marshall Awtry tabbed CACC Player of the Year. Awtry and shortstop Mason Maxwell did not end their award winning there with each being named All-East Region, both by the ABCA and the NCBWA.
Goldey-Beacom (27-25, 18-6 CACC) that season notched 17 home victories and had a team-high 16-game home winning streak entering the CACC Tournament. GBC was ranked ninth in both the NCAA East Region Rankings and the NCBWA East Region Poll following the regular season.
The program on May 1, 2022 also hit a momentous milestone when it reached 100 victories since the team's 2016-17 reinstitution.
The 2021 season was a memorable one with GBC (22-9, 19-6 CACC) winning the CACC South Division title, going on a pair of eight-game winning streaks and opening 8-0 for the best start in program history. Goldey-Beacom led the CACC with 37 home runs, a .508 slugging percentage and a 3.76 ERA.
The squad also had Musey tabbed CACC Rookie of the Year and second team NCBWA All-East Region along with Maxwell picked second team ABCA All-East Region. All totaled, six players were picked all-league in helping GBC outscore its opponents 253-117.
Goldey-Beacom did not stop its production at the NCAA Tournament, where it twice upended No. 18 Saint Thomas Aquinas and ended third in the regional. The pitching staff also gets a great deal of credit for this, recording a 1.00 ERA over the tournament's first three games.
For all of this, Riley was named CACC and NCBWA East Region Coach of the Year.
Those accomplished spilled into the 2022 preseason, when the team was ranked 14th in the Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll.
The 2018 unit took a step forward by closing with a winning record in the CACC (17-15) and competing in the league tournament. The squad won five of its last eight games to make the conference tournament and saw four players named All-CACC.
The team in 2017 did not look like a first-year squad with its intense play, competitive nature and ability to stay in games until the end. The Lightning amassed 10 victories that included three walk-off triumphs and was presented the CACC Sportsmanship Award.
Riley did not have far to travel, spending three seasons (2013-15) as an assistant coach for Delaware State University. He handled many things within the program including recruiting, monitoring academic development, heading the team’s Dugout Club for fundraising, leading the program’s baseball camps and being in charge of field maintenance.
Riley’s influence helped the Hornets in 2014 lead Division I with a .336 batting average, a .435 on-base percentage and close second with 8.2 runs per contest. The 2013 unit paced the NCAA with 3.02 stolen bases per game.
Delaware State has had 23 players named All-Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference during Riley’s time and one pitcher, Jordan Elliott, signed by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Prior to that, Riley owned and was a personal trainer for Riley Performance Training in Texas. He also was head coach for the Austin Big Dogs U-16 Summer Team.
Riley is no stranger to the CACC, having been an assistant coach at Dominican (NY) College from 2001-04. He served as hitting coach two seasons with the Chargers batting at least .309 each year and two seasons as pitching coach with the squad leading the CACC in ERA and strikeouts both years.
Dominican won three CACC titles in that stretch and had 13 all-conference players, nine all-region members and one All-America. The Chargers also saw eight players play professional ball and two pitchers in 2002 drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals.
Riley graduated the United States Sports Academy in 2013 magna cum laude with a degree in Sport Studies. He is working on his Masters in Sport Administration.
Riley and his wife, Karen, are parents of Finnegan, 16, and Maggie, 10.
