New Jersey native and former professional baseball catcher Nick Ammirati joined the NJIT coaching staff as a volunteer assistant in April 2014.
Ammirati, who hails from Sparta, NJ, and played his high school ball at Seton Hall Prep (2009 graduate), is a 2013 graduate of Mississippi State, where he played two seasons as a switch-hitting catcher before embarking on his pro playing career in the Seattle Mariners organization. He also played pro baseball with the independent Saint Paul Saints.
A starting catcher for Mississippi State in the 2013 College World Series, the New Jersey product was a member of the school’s 2012 Southeastern Conference champions, while earning All-SEC honors in 2013 and SEC Academic All-Conference laurels in both of his years as a Bulldog.
A one-time high school battery mate of current Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Rick Porcello, Ammirati was selected by the Marlins in the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft following his senior year at Seton Hall Prep. The Marlins’ area scout for New Jersey when they selected Ammirati was Brian Guiliana, who is now NJIT’s head baseball coach.
Opting for college over signing a professional contract, Ammirati moved from Seton Hall Prep to Seton Hall University to begin his college career. After one season at SHU, he moved on to Panola College in Texas, which features some of the top two-year college baseball in the country.
After a year at Panola, Ammirati, who had been, transferred to Mississippi State, which competes in the SEC, a top-rated college baseball conference that produces dozens of pro players each year.
Ammirati’s coaching assignment at NJIT will be his first at the collegiate level.
