John Russo, Hofstra Pride

John Russo is in his 10th season on the Hofstra Pride Baseball staff in 2017-18 and his seventh as head coach. He is the 14th head coach in program history and was tabbed to lead the Hofstra Pride on May 6, 2012, after serving as interim head coach since January 2012.

In his six seasons at the helm of the Pride program, Russo has coached the team to a 128-176 record and has seen five players signed by Major League Baseball teams, including two that were drafted. Senior Danny Poma was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks organization in the 10th-round of the 2012 MLB Draft, while junior Bryan Verbitsky was a third round selection of the San Diego Padres in the 2013 Draft. In addition, junior Matt Reistetter and 2012 graduate Kevin Flynn signed with the Washington Nationals organization as free agents in 2013, while Matt Ford signed with the Tampa Bay Rays after graduating in 2014.

The 2017 Hofstra Pride set the team record for strikeouts by the pitching staff with 412 in their second season under the tutelage of Assistant Coach John Habyan. First-team All-CAA selection Teddy Cillis established a new single season mark with 96 strikeouts and also set the single game record with 16 over seven innings against Elon.

In 2015 the Pride set a new team record for fielding percentage at .970, leading the Colonial Athletic Association for the first time in program history. Freshman Steven Foster earned a spot on the CAA All-Rookie team after ranking fifth in the league in batting.

The Hofstra Pride posted a 20-win season in 2014 and the team set a new benchmark for ERA in a season at 4.89 and tied the then-team record for fielding percentage at .968. Ford earned his second CAA Defensive Player of the Year Award and was one of five Pride players selected to All-CAA teams.

Hofstra won 26 games in 2013, tying for the third most victories in program history. The Pride pitching staff set a new team record for strikeouts with 365 and junior Brett Schreiber’s 2.48 ERA set a new single season record.

In 2012 Russo led the team to a school record 34 wins and the No. 2 seed in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship with a 20-10 conference mark. In addition to the team’s 34 wins, the Pride set seven other team records including runs (447), hits (669), doubles (145), stolen bases (157), ERA (5.37), strikeouts (349) and double plays (65).

Under Russo’s direction in 2012 the Hofstra Pride was one of the top offensive teams in the country. Hofstra ranked in the top 10 in 11 offensive categories, leading the nation in doubles (2.