Niagara didn’t have to look far for its next head baseball coach. Matt Spatafora will take on that role and he doesn’t plan to overhaul the program as a whole following the Purple Eagles’ most successful season to date.
Niagara announced Friday that Spatafora, who had been an assistant coach the last 12 years under Rob McCoy, will take over. McCoy resigned after 16 seasons on June 20 to become the head baseball coach at William & Mary in Virginia.
Spatafora will have to make some needed changes as he takes his first job as a head coach. He has to rebuild and re-recruit a roster that lost players to graduation and the transfer portal.
He’ll get at least one player back: Vincent Mauro, an infielder and a former Canisius High standout. Mauro confirmed to The Buffalo News on Friday that he plans to return to the Purple Eagles after entering the transfer portal on Tuesday.
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Spatafora, a Toronto native who played college baseball at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, is still excited about the chance to continue the culture that he helped create.
“Our strategy is going to be the same as what I’ve been doing the last 12 years,” said Spatafora, who was Niagara’s interim coach for eight days before being named head coach. “The philosophy won’t change. The type of player won’t change. It’s going to revolve around the culture of, who fits the mold and who is talented on the field.”
Niagara did not release the length or the financial terms of Spatafora’s contract.
Spatafora has been a hitting coach and a recruiting coordinator for the Purple Eagles, who went 38-17 this past season, won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship and earned their first berth in the NCAA Tournament in May.
Spatafora also takes over after McCoy was named the MAAC coach of the year.
“I wouldn’t call it a challenge; it’s a new beginning for me,” Spatafora said. “Learning the ins and outs of the athletic department as a head coach, and administratively. On the field, it’s going to be business as usual, and we’re not going to change too much.”
For Spatafora, it’s not about changing things – it’s about maintaining consistency, while putting his own touches on the program.
“I’m going to have to think about that over the summer, how to make this my own,” Spatafora said. “Coach McCoy and I really worked well together and had all our ideas put into one. That’s a good stamp of what I’ve been doing, and it might be about working with someone who I bring in, to put their own stamp on the program, too.”