John Russo was named head coach of the Hofstra Baseball program on May 6, 2012, after serving as interim head coach since January 2012.
Russo is in his fifth season on the Hofstra Baseball staff in 2013 and is the 14th head coach in program history. Russo is coming off a stellar 2012 season in which he led the team to a school record 34 wins and the #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 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 (2.59) and stolen bases (2.80) per game while finishing second in batting (.334) and total steals (157). Senior outfielder Danny Poma, who was a 10th-round selection by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the MLB Draft, led the nation in doubles (32) and ranked second in batting (.430) and runs (78). Poma, who was the CAA Player of the Year, would earn several All-America accolades for his play in 2012, and joined Jared Hammer and Matt Ford on the All-East Region team as well.