NEWARK, NJ—Chris Reardon is the new pitching coach for the NJIT baseball team, head coach Brian Callahan announced today.
Reardon recently resigned as head coach at nearby Caldwell College, where he led the team to three NCAA Division II Northeast Regional postseason appearances in eight years, including each of the last two seasons. His overall record in eight seasons at Caldwell was 176-150.
At NJIT, Reardon succeeds Dan Morogiello, who was the pitching coach of the Highlanders for the previous four seasons.
NJIT's Callahan and Reardon have known each other since they both became head coaches in 2000-01. At the time, NJIT competed at the NCAA Division II level in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, as did Reardon's Caldwell teams. NJIT moved up to face Division I competition starting in 2007, but Callahan and Reardon have remained friends.
Reardon led Caldwell to the Division II Regionals following the 2004, 2007 and 2008 seasons and his teams captured three conference regular season crowns and two conference tournament titles, including a championship double in 2008.
He was named CACC Coach of the Year in 2003 and 2007, an award that Callahan received in 2004 and 2005 when the Highlanders belonged to the conference.
Reardon's teams at Caldwell produced 37 all-conference honorees and ranked first in the conference in both team batting average and team earned run average each of the last two years. The 2008 Cougars ranked fifth nationally in Division II with a 3.11 team ERA. His 2003 team was also ranked nationally in ERA.
“Chris and I have been good friends and great competitors over the years,” said Callahan. “I am excited to have the chance to work with him instead of having to coach against him.
“I'm looking forward to his bringing the success he had at the Division II level to NJIT and help us succeed at the Division I level.”
Before becoming head coach at Caldwell, Reardon was an assistant coach in 1999-2000 at St. John's, one of the top Division I programs in the Northeast. He began his coaching career at Nassau Community College in Garden City, NY.
Reardon, who played two years at New Mexico Junior College and two years at Queens (NY) College, is a 1998 graduate of Queens. He resides in Caldwell, NJ.
Reardon's NJIT predecessor, Dan Morogiello, tutored the Highlanders pitchers for four seasons, including a conference first-place finish in 2005, the ECAC Division II title in 2006 and the program's transition to Division I competition in 2007 and 2008.
Morogiello is a former major league pitcher and a one-time college star at Seton Hall. His son, also named Dan, ended his playing career at NJIT in the 2008 season, completing four years as the starting second baseman.
