Giuseppe Papaccio recently completed his third season as NJIT's full-time assistant coach, having joined the Highlanders' coaching staff in September 2018.
Papaccio, who leads the program's recruiting efforts while also serving as Hitting Coach and Third Base Coach, helped NJIT to its best season in program history in the spring of 2021 as the Highlanders won a program-record 27 games and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time. In its first season in the America East, NJIT earned the Conference's automatic qualifier to an NCAA Regional, where it won NJIT's first-ever Division I NCAA Tournament game across all sports when the Highlanders defeated CAA Champion Northeastern on June 6, 2021, at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville, AR.
A native of nearby Nutley, NJ, Papaccio helped the NJIT offense reach new heights in 2021 as the program broke many records and had several players earn individual accolades. In America East play, the Highlanders led the conference in hits, doubles, home runs, total bases, and stolen base percentage and finished second in runs, RBIs, walks, and hit by pitches.
The program was rewarded for its successful season with plenty of individual accolades with Jake Rappaport (First Team) and Julio Marcano (Second Team) earning NJIT's first-ever ABCA Division I All-Region honors. Rappaport and Marcano were joined by Albert Choi as First Team All-America East recipients, while David Marcano and Ryan Fischer were named Second Team All-America East. Choi was tabbed as the league's Rookie of the Year and was joined on the All-Rookie Team by Fischer.
Papaccio helped set the tone for the 2021 season when he helped put together arguably NJIT's highest-ranked class in history as the Highlanders 2020 recruiting class will welcomed three players who ranked in the top 10 in their state (all in different states), four players in the top 30 in their state, and five top 50 players in their state (Prep Baseball Report).
Papaccio joined the Highlanders after serving two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach under Rob Sheppard at his alma mater, Seton Hall, and one season at Manhattan College.
Prior to entering the coaching ranks, Papaccio, a 2013 Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I All-American Third Team as a shortstop, was drafted in the 18th round by the Chicago Cubs on June 8, 2013. He played two years in the Chicago Cubs organization, reaching as high as Double-A. Â
In 2014-15, he played for the Rockland Boulders, who went on to win the CanAm League in 2014.
He served as an assistant coach for the Orleans Firebirds in the Cape Cod League (2018) and head coach of the Ocean Giants (2017) and Monmouth Monarchs (2016).
Papaccio finished his senior campaign at Seton Hall as a first-team All-BIG EAST selection and New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association (NJCBA) Player of the Year.
A four-year starter for the Pirates, Papaccio finished ranked third in the BIG EAST with a .365 batting average and led the conference in doubles. He set the Seton Hall career record with 56 doubles and tied the single-season Pirate record with 24.Â
Papaccio graduated from Seton Hall with a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies and minor in Communications and Writing.
