POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. — Two-year Upper Valley Nighthawks pitcher and last season’s pitching coach Mike Coss will return to his alma mater, Marist College, to become the Red Foxes’ new pitching coach.
Coss revealed the news on his Twitter feed on Monday night. The school has yet to make a formal announcement on the hire.
Coss returned to the Nighthawks this summer to join former Upper Valley teammate Keller Bradford’s coaching staff.
The Nighthawks posted a 24-20 record and were knocked out of New England Collegiate Baseball League playoff contention on the final day of the season.
One of Coss’ charges, rising Wichita State sophomore Aaron Haase, won the league’s top reliever award at season’s end; Haase and starter Jordan DiValerio (St. Joseph’s) landed on the all-league first team.
Coss pitched for Upper Valley during the franchise’s first two seasons in 2016 and ’17, mostly out of the bullpen.
He had an 0-1 mark with a 4.32 earned-run average over 13 regular-season appearances and 26⅔ innings in 2016.
He came back a year later to post a 3-0 record with a 2.73 ERA in 13 outings and another 26⅔ innings of work.
Coss spent last spring coaching at SUNY Cobleskill. His departure for Marist likely will affect the Nighthawks’ efforts to hire a head coach next summer; Bradford’s recruiting responsibilities for Mississippi’s Hinds Community College are expected to keep him from returning to Upper Valley next season.