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Assistant Head Coach
NICK DeFENDIS
Second Season |
| Assistant Head Coach Nick DeFendis is back for his second season at MSU and serves as the Red Hawks third base and hitting coach. A career baseball man, DeFendis also served as an assistant coach at Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, NY helping the team to a pair of CHSAA City Championships. DeFendis currently resides in Staten Island, NY with his wife Fran and their two children, Nicole and Johnny, who was a standout at Rutgers University and was twice chosen in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, the second time by the Chicago Cubs in 2005 in the 29th round. 18-under Richmond County Baseball Club in the World Wood Bat Association |
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Assistant Coach
JOE GEORGEWITZ
10th Season |
| Now in his 10th season with Montclair State, Joe Georgewitz further adds to the quality of assistant coaches on the MSU baseball staff. Coming to MSU with close to 19 years of baseball coaching experience, Georgewitz has had success both at the high school and collegiate levels. A head coach at Becton Regional High School for three years in the late 1980s, Georgewitz took his first collegiate coaching job as an assistant at Kean in 1993, and after a stop at Columbia High School, he spent three years at Rutgers-Newark helping the Raiders become conference contenders. Georgewitz resides in Bloomfield with his wife Mary and has three children – Joe, Randi and Keri. |
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Assistant Coach
JOHN KROEGER
Fourth Season |
| John Kroeger returns for his fourth season with Montclair State assisting with the Red Hawk backstops and hitters. Kroeger came to the Red Hawks in 2005 following five seasons at Division I Fairleigh Dickinson, his alma mater. Kroeger worked closely with the Knights’ pitching staff and also handled recruiting duties. Kroeger also spent time at Raritan Valley Community College where he was an assistant coach and served the 1991-92 campaign as the interim head coach. As a player for FDU, Kroeger was a standout catcher during the 1987 and 1988 seasons where he helped the Knights to a 42-28 record and two ECAC Tournament appearances. He would play professionally within the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees minor league systems and was a spring training invitee with the Cardinals in 1988-89. Kroeger competed in the Midwest League with the Cardinals affiliate and was also invited to the big league camp with the White Sox in 1990. Kroeger graduated from FDU in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in communications and currently resides in Hackensack, NJ. |
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Assistant Coach
JOHN SCORAS
Second Season |
| A member of the Montclair State Hall of Fame, John Scoras returns to his alma mater for his second season assisting with the Red Hawk infielders and hitters. Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986, Scoras was a standout catcher for the then Montclair State Indians from 1973-76. In 105 career games, Scoras batted. 328 with 22 home runs and 95 RBI as he helped Montclair to the NCAA College Division World Series in 1975 and the Division III World Series the following year. Scoras, a three-time All-NJAC selection, hit .348 with 10 home runs and 40 RBI as he was named a First-Team All-American. He would be drafted by the Montreal Expos in the eighth round of the 1976 Major League Baseball Draft, the first New Jerseyan taken. He also served as an assistant varsity baseball coach at Middletown North High School in 1990. A graduate of Montclair State in 1976 with a degree in Physical Education and Health, Scoras has served as an official in soccer, basketball and baseball for the past 30 years and has done the NJSIAA State Finals in all three sports. |
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Assistant Coach
JAY COOK
Second Season |
| A four-year letterwinner for Montclair State, Jay Cook takes over as the pitching coach for the Red Hawks after spending last season as the bullpen coach. During his career, Cook appeared in 48 games making 28 starts from 2003-2006. Last year Cook was co-captain for the NCAA Boyertown Regional champions as he posted a 5-4 record with a 3.47 ERA. In 72 innings, the righthander struck out 36 batters and earned a victory over Franklin and Marshall in the NCAA Boyertown Regional. A scholastic standout at Westfield High School, Cook was a two-time All-County selection and was chosen Second-Team All-State during his career. Cook is currently completing his degree in Psychology and is expected to graduate from Montclair State in May. |
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Assistant Coach
JOHN BRANDI
Second Season |
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Student Assistant Coach
MATT HARTWICK
First Season |
