Prospective Student-Athletes Should Contact the FDU Baseball Coaching Staff at the following email address: fdubaseballrecruiting@gmail.com.
Gary Puccio became the 11th head coach in FDU baseball history on August 15, 2010. Puccio, who came with a reputation of rebuilding poor programs, quickly went to work on doing the same for the Knights.
Last season, the Knights matched the program's season-high for wins with 28 and returned to the NEC Tournament for the second straight season.
Puccio is in his 27th year of coaching at the collegiate level and has 12 years of professional experience as an associate scout for the Seattle Mariners. Over his five head coach positions, across all levels of collegiate coaching, Puccio has amassed over 380 career victories.
In 2015, his fifth season at FDU, Puccio led the Knights to an NEC Tournament berth for the second time in four years. FDU also won 21 games, eclipsing the 20+ win plateau for the second time in four years. The Knights also featured three players that earned All-NEC honors in senior Riley Puccio and juniors Joel Roman and Dylan Sprague.
The 2015 season also saw the culmination of the career of relief pitcher Eric Snyder. One of the top players in FDU history, Snyder became the FDU and NEC all-time leader in saves under Puccio’s guidance. Snyder finished his career with 31 saves setting a new record for the school and the conference.
In addition, Puccio’s 85 career victories at FDU rank as the fourth highest total in program history.
In 2012, Puccio’s second at the helm, the team had what can only be called a historic season.
Puccio used 16 incoming freshmen to establish a new culture around the baseball diamond. The result was astonishing, 25 wins, the fourth most in history; a conference win total of 18, more than any other FDU baseball team ever; and a return to the Northeast Conference Tournament for the first time since 1999. He also helped guide, former assistant coach, Ryan Kresky to NEC Player of the Year accolades following the 2012 season.
For his efforts, Puccio was named NJCBA Division I Coach of the Year.
He came to FDU after serving as the head coach at Briarcliffe College from 2005-2010. While with the Seahawks, he took his squads to five-straight United States Collegiate Athletic Association tournaments. His teams made the Final Four three times and walked away with National Championships in 2006 and 2010.
Puccio was also the head coach at Suffolk Community College from 1999-2002. He revitalized a program that had not made the playoffs in two years and took them to two playoff appearances in three years, including a Final Four appearance in the regional playoffs in 2000. Along the way he earned Coach of the Year in 1996 and 1998.
In the mid-1990s, Puccio had great success at Manhattan College, where he was the head coach from 1993-1998. In five years, he rejuvenated a program that ranked last in the country in Division I. He capped the program's turnaround with a 20-win season in 1998, the most wins recorded by the team since 1903. Puccio garnered MAAC Conference Coach of the Year in 1993.
Puccio began his collegiate coaching career at SUNY-Old Westbury, serving as the head coach from 1989-1993. During that span, he took over a winless program and was able to lead it to a Division III Tournament berth in his final season as coach. Puccio was also named the Knickerbocker Conference Coach of the Year in 1993.
Puccio earned a bachelor's degree at C.W. Post and later received his master's degree from Dowling College. He taught high school math at Island Trees High School for 21 years (ending in 2010).
