COACHING STAFF

Head Coach Pat Mason

Mason, who enters his 18th season in the coaching profession, was promoted to the position of associate head coach at Tech in the fall of 2012, and had served as the pitching game coordinator and recruiting coordinator in his three years prior to his promotion. The former Northeastern catcher (1994-97) spent the previous five seasons before coming to Tech as an assistant at Northeastern (2005-10).

Before his arrival in Blacksburg, Mason was the recipient of the 2010 Kevin Burr Award given to the top assistant coach in New England as selected by his peers. He also served as assistant coach at Framingham State in 2004 after four years at Boston College, when Hughes was the head coach there. For the summers of 2003-06, he was a coach with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod League.

Mason has a tremendous history of developing catching prospects and in his previous 13 years of coaching before coming to Tech, he served as a mentor for 10 catchers who were selected in the MLB Draft, including Huskies Matt Morizio and Dan Milano at Northeastern. The drafting of Hokies’ catcher Mark Zagunis in the third round (78th pick) of the 2014 draft only continued that trend.

Also taken in the 2014 draft was pitcher Brad Markey, which brings the total number of Tech pitchers who signed pro pitching contracts under Mason to 11, which included six off the 2013 roster – his last of three seasons as the Hokies’ pitching coach.

In those three years, the Tech pitching staff registered three straight seasons with an ERA lower than the previous year and posted an ERA no higher than 4.57, which hadn’t happened since an 18-season streak that ended in 1980. The last time a Tech squad posted back-to-back seasons with an ERA of 4.20 or lower was the 1976 and 1977 teams, something the 2012 and 2013 teams accomplished.

In his first season at Tech, Mason inherited a staff that registered an ERA of 4.76 the year before, but lost the entire weekend starting rotation and four pitchers total to the MLB draft that combined for 316 innings (58% of the team's total in 2010), 323 strikeouts (61%), 25 wins, six saves and a 3.95 ERA. 

All he did was guide the 2011 Hokies' staff to posting a 4.57 ERA and allowing just 23 home runs. Since 1995, when the team had a 4.10 ERA, only one squad (2003, 4.50 ERA) posted an ERA better than the 2011 staff. Also, the home runs were the fewest allowed by a staff since 1977 (17) and only the 1979 team (25) surrendered fewer than 32 in the 34-year span since ’77.

Lastly, he helped Joe Parsons rebound from a rough junior season (just 5.1 innings pitched and a 10.13 ERA) to registering a team-best 7-3 record with a complete game shutout and another combined shutout and a team-low 3.21 ERA (75.2 IP). Parsons signed a pro contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization after graduation.

Mason followed his first season in Blacksburg with an even better second year, as his staff lowered its ERA to 4.16, the second lowest ERA at the school in almost 30 years when the 1984 staff registered an ERA of 3.80. The staff also allowed 24 long balls, the second fewest since 1977.

Following the 2012 season, four pitchers were either drafted or signed pro contracts highlighted by Joe Mantiply’s selection by the Philadelphia Phillies and Ronnie Shaban’s selected by the St. Louis Cardinals. Andrew Aizenstadt signed a pro contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, while Patrick Scoggin signed a pro contract with the Atlanta Braves.

In 2013, Mason’s staff did it again, lowering the team ERA to 4.14 and allowing just 24 home runs. Those numbers included eight postseason games in which the staff posted a 2.28 ERA in 71.0 innings pitched. In Tech’s previous postseason (2010), the staff threw 64.0 innings and had a 5.20 ERA.

The pro prospects continued to pile up under Mason, as four pitchers – Jake Joyce (Washington Nationals), Eddie Campbell (Seattle Mariners), Colin O’Keefe (Los Angeles Angels) and Mantiply (Detroit Tigers), again – were drafted by Major League clubs. Two more signed pro contracts as Devin Burke signed with the Colorado Rockies and Clark Labitan signed with the Frontier League’s Schaumburg Boomers.

While playing at Northeastern, the Franklin, Massachusetts, native was the team’s captain in 1996 and 1997, and helped NU to America East championships in 1994 and 1997. In his four years, he found his way into the record books on both sides of the ball, as his 19 career home runs rank high in Husky history and, defensively, he holds the NU record for errorless chances in a season with 242 (1997).

Mason and his wife, Leigh, reside in Blacksburg and have a daughter, Anna.

Assistant Coach Ryan Connolly

A 2009 graduate of Notre Dame, Connolly spent his first two years in the coaching profession – the 2011 and 2012 seasons – on Tech’s bench with Mason, who was the pitching coach at the time, and former head coach Pete Hughes.

For the 2013 season, Connolly worked as a full-time assistant just down the road at Radford University and helped the Highlanders to a 30-26 record and a fourth-place finish in the Big South Conference with a 14-10 mark.

When Hughes left Tech for Oklahoma, he pulled Connolly away from Radford and that’s where he spent the 2014 season, working as the volunteer assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Sooners. The team finished with a 29-29 record and advanced to the Big 12 Tournament.

Connolly, a native of Binghamton, New York, led the Fighting Irish in 2010 with a .335 batting average, which included team highs of 11 home runs and 38 RBIs. He also led the team in hits (66), doubles (15), triples (2), total bases (118), slugging percentage (.438) and hit by pitch (20). He was a four-year Monogram winner and a two-time captain.

Connolly and his mother, Penny, are co-chairs of the Michael E. Connolly Endowment for Lung Cancer Research, named in honor of his late father.

Assistant Coach Jamie Pinzino

15-year coaching veteran Jamie Pinzino was added in 2016 to Pat Mason's staff as associate head coach. Pinzino spent the past three seasons as the pitching coach at Oklahoma, where he served under former Tech head coach Pete Hughes. Pinzino owns a 212-174 career record as a collegiate head coach.

“Jamie will be a fabulous addition to our program,” Mason said. “He owns a wealth of experience coaching and recruiting in this region and will be a great resource for both me and our student-athletes. We’re excited that he’s joining the Hokies and I know he’s eager to begin his work at Tech.”

During the 2015 season, Oklahoma pitchers registered 524 strikeouts, the third-highest total ever amassed by the Sooners. In addition, he had seven pitchers selected in the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft.

Prior to his stint at Oklahoma, Pinzino served as the head coach at William & Mary, where his squad set program records with 39 wins and 17 conference victories in 2013 as The Tribe earned its third invitation to the NCAA Tournament, its first since 2001, and advanced to the Raleigh Region finals. Pinzino was named both the 2013 Colonial Athletic Association Co-Coach of the Year and the VaSID Coach of the Year.

Pinzino served as an assistant coach at William & Mary in 2012 and at Northeastern in 2011 after a five-year tour of duty as head coach at Bryant. At Bryant (2006-10), he registered a 162-122 record, while transitioning the program from the Division II Northeast-10 to the Division I Northeast Conference, which resulted in an NEC regular season title in 2010 with a 29-7 league record, and the NEC Coach of the Year award. He was named the Northeast-10 Coach of the Year in 2007 as he led Bryant to its first of two NCAA Division II Regional Finals. The Bulldogs posted a program-best 43 wins in 2008 as they won the league’s regular season title.

Pinzino spent his first collegiate head coaching year at the Division II Assumption in 2005. Prior to that, he spent time as an assistant at Tufts (2003-04), Holy Cross (2002), and Pomona-Pitzer (1998).

A 1997 graduate of Tufts University with a bachelor’s degree in history, he later earned a master’s degree in educational studies during his assistant coaching stint with the Jumbos. He was a four-year letterwinner at Tufts, helping the Jumbos win three ECAC Championships. In 1995, Tufts reached the NCAA Division III Regional as the No. 2 seed. Pinzino was the Tufts Baseball Elias Award recipient for hard work and dedication in 1997.

He and his wife, Cheryl, have a son, Henry.

Assistant Coach Robby Price

Price comes from a baseball family. His father Ritch Price is entering his 13th season as the head baseball coach at Kansas, and his 21st season overall as a head coach. His older brothers, Ritchie and Ryne, both played Division I baseball and pro ball, as well. Ritchie is currently an assistant on the Jayhawks’ staff.

The Tampa Bay Rays selected Robby, who played for his father, out of Kansas in the 13th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft. He played five seasons of minor league baseball – almost 500 games – and rose as high as AAA last season, seeing action in 68 games with the Durham Bulls.

Price earned an economics degree from Kansas in 2011, and during his time in Lawrence, was a First Team All-Big 12 performer in 2010 and helped the team to the NCAA Baseball Championship in 2009.

The former Jayhawk second baseman was also a three-time recipient of the John Trombold Golden Glove and set the school record for career runs scored (204) and also led the NCAA in 2008 in sacrifice bunts with 24.

Price’s role on staff will include responsibilities in regards to Pat Mason Baseball Camps, assisting with the instructions of the infielders and hitters, and helping with on-campus recruiting.