Jeff Sonnema, a 1999 graduate of New Jersey Institute of Technology, has made a seamless transition from to-sport stardom to coaching at his alma mater.
He was a standout player for the Highlanders in both basketball and baseball and he moved to the NJIT coaching staff in both sports. He was an assistant baseball coach for four seasons, before focusing exclusively on basketball. He joined the coaching staff in 1999-2000 and became the men's basketball lead assistant in 2003-04.
Along the way, he was a player on NJIT's most successful basketball team ever (NCAA Division III national quarterfinalists in 1995-96) and an assistant coach on its most successful team at the Division II level (18 wins, conference championship, ECAC finalist in 2002-03).
In 2002-03, he was assisted head coach Jim Casciano, as the Highlanders captured the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference regular season title and went on to finish as runner-up in the Eastern College Athletic Conference postseason Tournament. That team also established a high for wins (18) in NJIT's NCAA Division II era (since 1997).
Sonnema holds the rare distinction of having been Most Valuable Player in both basketball (1996-97) and baseball (1999) and he was a four-year letterwinner in both sports. He was honored as NJIT's Outstanding Senior Male Athlete in 1998.
As a freshman, Sonnema was a member of the most successful basketball team in school history. The 1995-96 Highlanders advanced to the NCAA Division III national quarterfinals and had a won-lost record of 28-2, including 22 consecutive victories.
The next season, as a sophomore, he posted team-leading averages of 15.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game and was selected as a New Jersey College Basketball Coaches Association All-Star.
Not only was he versatile as a two-sport standout, but he was also versatile within the sport of baseball. A successful pitcher and slugging first baseman, Sonnema's 3.55 earned-run average led the Highlanders' 1999 baseball team and he also batted .307. He holds the school single-game record, with nine runs batted in.
Sonnema earned a bachelor's degree in management from NJIT. He and his wife, Katie, reside in Wyckoff, NJ. They welcomed the newest member of their family with the birth of son Brendan Jeffrey on September 12, 2006.
