Baseball

	Neil Ioviero
	Head Coach nioviero@kean.edu 908-737-0614

Neil Ioviero is in his 13th season at the helm of the Kean University baseball program. Under his guidance, the team has grown into one of the premiere programs in the nation culminating with the program's first national championship in 2007 and three straight World Series appearances (2007, 2008 & 2009).

Ioviero, who collected his 350^th career win during the course of the 2009 season, currently boasts a 359-147-2 record, the third highest win total of any coach in athletic department history.  Ioviero has been garnered with several honors over the past couple of years.  In 2007 he was honored with the biggest award, the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings Division III National Coach of the Year.  In addition, he has been tabbed the NCAA Division III Regional Coach of the Year (2007 & 2008), New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association (NJCBA) Coach of the Year (2007 & 2008) and has been named the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Coach of the Year four times (2005, 2007, 2008 & 2009).

In 2008, the Cougars proved to do what few others could, defend their title.  KU battled through the always competitive NJAC, and captured their second conference tournament championship.  With a 14-4 NJAC record, the Cougars also claimed the regular season title for the second straight season.  Kean didn't have to travel far, and stayed close to home, hosting the Mid-Atlantic Regional for the first time in school history.  With a perfect 4-0 record, including wins against two NJAC foes, Kean advanced to the NCAA Division III World Series for the second straight season with their second straight NCAA Regional Championship.

During the 2007 campaign, the Cougars set many milestones including then, their first ever trip to the World Series, a regional championship and a new standard for wins in a season with 43.  After receiving one of 14 national "wild-card" bids, the Cougars would go on to win eight straight post-season games, including four in regional play.  In an ironic twist, Kean needed 10 innings in both the regional and World Series championship games and defeated both of their opponents by an identical score of 5-4.

In 2002, Kean University captured the schools first ever NJAC Championship and with a 33-12 record advanced to the NCAA Tournament. That year the Cougars then set school records for most wins and best winning percentage.

In his first season, 1998, Ioviero led the Cougars to a 25-9 mark and earned an invitation to the Division III Regional Tournament, only the second time in school history then that the Cougars had made the national tournament.

In his first 12 years in the dugout, Ioviero has developed three first-team All-Americans, 14 first-team regional All-Americans, 19 first-team All-State and 18 first-team All-NJAC players. Moreover, 12 of those players have gone on to play professionally following the end of their Cougar careers.

A standout pitcher in college, Ioviero played for legendary coach Fred Hill at Rutgers University. As a Scarlet Knight, Ioviero pitched on two NCAA Division I tournament teams, in 1990 and 1992. As a sophomore in 1991, he posted a 7-1 mark and was named to the New Jersey Baseball all-state squad.

Ioviero has played professionally in the independent Northeast League and the Frontier League. He also participated in the prestigious amateur Cape Cod Summer League and in the Atlantic Collegiate Summer Baseball League.

Ioviero earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Rutgers in 1994, adding a postgraduate degree in physical education and health from Kean University in 1996. He received his master's degree in supervision and administration from Kean in 2002. He currently resides in Woodbridge with his wife Letizia.