Mike Rucci, left, will replace Dennis Barth as baseball coach at Gloucester Catholic.
Long-time baseball head coach Dennis Barth, who guided Gloucester Catholic High School to nine state championships over 19 seasons, will leave the school to become head coach at Rutgers University-Camden.
Replacing Barth will be former Gloucester Catholic standout Mike Rucci, who has enjoyed a successful coaching stint at West Deptford High School and four other schools.
Barth, a former player at Gloucester Catholic and a 1980 graduate, leaves a legacy that includes a career record of 485-94-1 over 19 seasons; recognition as National High School Coach of the Year in 2000, and as South Jersey High School Coach of the Year in 2003, 2005 and 2007; recognition of Gloucester Catholic as High School National Championships in 2001; and nine state championships, including the recent 2012 Non-Public A state crown.
Barth was also coach of the Brooklawn American Legion baseball team, winning a Legion World Championship in 2001 and making multiple appearances in the Legion World Series tournament.
Mike Rucci, a 2001 Gloucester Catholic graduate, played under Barth as a catcher and was a member of three state championship teams, including the 2000 team that posted a 33-1 record, and was selected national champions that season by ESPN.
At Rowan University in Glassboro, Rucci was a three-time All American, and a member of the Coastal Plains’ All-Decade team before graduating in 2005.
In his first season at West Deptford High School in 2011 as head coach, he led the team to a South Jersey Group 2 sectional championship, despite entering the playoffs as a number 10 seed, and holds a 23-28 head coaching record at West Deptford.
Rucci was assistant baseball coach at Harrison, Schalick, University of Pennsylvania and Gloucester County College. He also played two seasons with the Independent League New Jersey Jackals.
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