Wayne Mazzoni is in his sixth year as pitching coach for the Pioneers. Mazzoni comes to the Pioneers after working as pitching coach at the College of Holy Cross.

A 1991 graduate of Gettysburg College, Mazzoni spent the six seasons prior to Holy Cross as the head baseball coach and assistant athletic director at Post University in Waterbury. Prior to that Mazzoni was the pitching coach at Fairfield University and also served as an assistant at Nova Southeastern University in Florida.

Mazzoni, who earned a master’s degree in Sports Marketing from St. Thomas University, is also an established author and speaker. He has published articles in the ABCA Coaching Digest, NCAA News, Scholastic Coach, Baseball Digest, and Junior Baseball. He is the author of The Athletic Recruiting and Scholarship Guide, which helps high school athletes and parents with the recruiting process and is a frequent speaker at high schools regarding that topic. In addition, he was a recruiting speaker at the 2005 World Baseball Coaches Convention. He has appeared on ABC, Fox, and most sports radio stations around the country. He has a pitching video titled The Left-Handed Pick Off Move, which he presented at the national ABCA Convention in 2004.  He also is part-owner of Shea 22 with Tim Shea, Head Baseball Coach at Southern Connecticut State University.

A native of Northport, Long Island, Mazzoni and his wife Keli, have three children, Colby(9), Brayden (7), and a black Lab puppy named Moxie (2).

Coach B

Brijesh Patel began his first year with Quinnipiac University in August 2008 as the athletic department’s head strength and conditioning coach. Patel previously held the title of assistant strength and conditioning coach at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.

While at Holy Cross Patel worked extensively with the men’s basketball, baseball, softball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, field hockey, men’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s track and field, and cheerleading programs while also assisting with other sports. Patel’s responsibilities ranged from weight room management to serving as sports medicine liaison before implementing strength and conditioning programs for the Crusaders. Patel was also an intern with Holy Cross during the summer of 2002.

In addition to his strength and conditioning programming, Patel also provided nutrition and food supplement education to all student-athletes. Patel also prepared several presentations for the Crusaders’ athletes while also helping to develop the strength and conditioning website section of the Holy Cross athletics website.

Prior to Holy Cross Patel served as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Connecticut. While at UConn Patel worked with the women’s ice hockey, baseball, men’s and women’s swimming and diving, and women’s cross country teams. Patel also assisted with the men’s basketball and football programs. In addition to his strength and conditioning responsibilities, Patel also taught a course entitled, “Fundamentals and Principles of Free Weight Training,” for which he assisting in writing a course manual.

Patel also authored an article, “Time is Precious,” that was published in the January 2003 edition of Pure Power Magazine. He has also been featured as a guest speaker at several prestigious regional industry functions including the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Pennsylvania State Strength and Conditioning Clinic at Juniata College, “Be The Best” Baseball Clinic in Cherry Hill, N.J., Mike Boyle’s Functional Strength Coach Seminar and the Be Athletic Performance Symposium. In addition, Patel was a speaker at the first and second Mike Boyle Winter Seminars and has also spoken at Springfield (Mass.) College.

Patel holds certifications from the NSCA, USA Weightlifting, and the Red Cross and is also SPIN certified. Patel is also the founder and partner of SB Coaches College, and My Fit Tube.

Patel graduated with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology in 2002 and a master’s degree in sport management in 2004 from the University of Connecticut.

Currently, Patel and his wife Anna live in Hamden.