Ryan Roche played at Chatsworth Charter High School in southern California, one the nation's premier high school baseball programs. Chatsworth was a perennial powerhouse in the early 2000s and nationally ranked all four years he played there. Chatsworth's storied baseball program produced dozens of professional baseball players, including Mike Moustakas, a 13-year MLB veteran, who starred for the Kansas City Royals and Milwaukee Brewers, and Matt Dominguez who spent five years with the Houston Astros, Florida Marlins, and Toronto Blue Jays. 

During his junior season in 2016, Roche went 9-1 with a 0.86 ERA and was named First-Team All-West Valley League and conference pitcher of the year. Roche led Chatsworth to a Los Angeles Section City title clash and was the starting pitcher in the championship game at Dodger Stadium. Roche was recruited heavily out of high school and committed to Montana State University-Billings as a pitcher and utility player on a baseball scholarship. in 2018, as a redshirt freshman, Roche set an MSU-Billings school record with six hits in a game and went on to have a stellar campaign, hitting .347 for the season. Roche played four years at MSU-Billings before relocating to Missoula. 

Roche's understanding of the game was shaped by some of the best coaches in the West, including long-time Chatsworth head coach Tom Meusborn, who recently replaced former MLB player Jerry Roster as head coach at Sierra Canyon, one of the nation's premier athletic high schools. Roche also played for former MSU-Billings head coach Aaron Sutton, who moved on to manage the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, the Minnesota Twins High-A affiliate, and the coach for the Boise Hawks in the Pioneer League. Roche is particularly valuable as a pitching and defensive coach because he played every position, including serving as a two-way pitcher and position player at the NCAA Division II level.

In 2024, Roche began his coaching career with a successful campaign as the Missoula Impact Baseball Club 18U Head Coach. Under Roche's leadership, Missoula Impact made it to the semifinals of the V Tool 18U Colorado Summer Invitational in Denver, knocking off elite club teams from Colorado and Texas. The club team also wont heir first tournament in three years followed by two more tournament wins.