As Associate Head Coach, Kaier has helped the ascend the program to prominence during his tenure. His success on the recruiting trail has been paramount to the program's accomplishments.
The 2024 season saw the Great Danes return to the America East Tournament as the conference's No. 5 overall seed after finishing the year with an overall record of 15-34-1. The regular season came down to the wire and was capped by a 2-1 road series win over powerhouse Maine to secure a spot in the postseason. One player, Will Binder, was named an America East Second Team All-Conference selection after finishing with a team-best .314 batting average.
The 2022 season saw the Great Danes finish with an overall record of 22-25, going 11-19 in conference play. Two players were named America East Second Team All-Conference at the end of the year in Brad Malm and Will Binder. Following the conclusion of the season, the team saw five players go on to sign semi-professional contracts, led by Malm who signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets.
In 2021, Kaier helped lead the Great Danes to a 22-25 overall record, finishing 20-18 in conference play. The mark secured the top seed in the America East’s Division A – the first in program history. The Great Danes led the conference in fielding percentage (.975), breaking their own school record for the second-consecutive full season. Five student-athletes collected seven end-of-season awards from the conference, including two All-Conference First-Team selections, two All-Conference Second Team selections, two All-Academic Team selections, and an All-Rookie Team selection. To top things off, UAlbany was awarded the 2021 Coaching Staff of the Year award from the America East – Highlighting Kaier’s excellence.
On March 12, the 2020 season was cut short after 12 games due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequent decisions made by the NCAA and its member conferences and institutions to cancel spring events. UAlbany finished with a 7-5 record and won three-straight series to end the shortened campaign. Under his guidance, three players combined to earn four America East weekly awards in the first four weeks of the season.
In 2019, Kaier's efforts saw the Great Danes earn the most wins since 2007 with 28, and led the America East in offense with a .285 average. UAlbany broke the school record for fielding percentage (.973) and earned 10 All-Conference accolades.Kaier was part of the staff that was tabbed Coaching Staff of the Year, and earned the team's first postseason bye in program history.
Kaier was promoted to Associate Head Coach in November, 2017.
Working with the position players in 2017, Kaier's efforts resulted in an increase in slugging percentage from .344 in 2016 to .372 in 2017. Home runs increased from 11 to 32, the most the team has hit in a single season since 2010. UAlbany earned one First Team All-Conference selection, Connor Powers, two Second Team selections, Travis Collins and Kevin Donati, and one All-Rookie selection, Marc Wangenstein. The team recorded its highest GPA in history in the 2016 fall semester, cumulatively 3.25.
In October, 2016, Kaier was promoted to first assistant and recruiting coordinator.
Kaier played a key role in putting together UAlbany's 2013-14 incoming class that was recognized as the top recruiting class in the Northeast Region by Baseball America. Right-handed pitcher Stephen Woods highlighted the group, opting to attend UAlbany after the Tampa Bay Rays selected him in the sixth round of the 2013 MLB Draft.
Under Kaier's surveillance, the Great Danes featured two all-conference selections in the 2014 season, as infielder Brian Bullard earned first-team honors and Evan Harasta was named to the second team, as well as the all-academic team.
In 2013, Kaier helped the Great Danes earn a No. 3 seed in the America East Tournament with a 16-14 overall conference record. In addition, UAlbany garnered seven all-conference honors, including outfielder Josh Nethaway's first-team accolade. In addition, centerfielder Nolan Gaige and first baseman Greg Muller earned second-team honors, while third baseman Matt Hinchy was named to the all-rookie squad. The Great Danes finished second in the league with a .274 collective batting average and a .288 mark in league play, while also boasting a program-record .966 team fielding percentage. Academically, Kaier aided the Great Danes to a team GPA just shy of a 3.0, marking the program's best output.
In his first season on staff in 2012, Kaier helped lead the Great Danes to a No. 2 seed in the America East Championship, as they recorded the highest total league wins in the program's Division I history, with a 16-8 record. Seven earned all-conference honors, highlighted by first-teamers Mike Tirri and Nolan Gaige, as Gaige finished the season ranked third in the nation for triples (9). In addition, left-handed pitcher Sean Lucas was chosen in the 25th round of the Major League Baseball Draft by the Cincinnati Reds, marking the highest draft choice from the UAlbany program since 2002, and the eighth player in UAlbany history to be selected.
A 2009 graduate from UAlbany, Kaier was a pitcher and outfielder for the Great Danes from 2005-09. He was a member of the 2007 America East Baseball Conference Championship Team, marking the first time that the Great Danes won the title and went on to compete in the NCAA tournament. In the Fayetteville Regional, Kaier pitched two scoreless innings of relief against No. 7 Arkansas. During the 2007 season, Kaier led the America East in pitching appearances (26) and finished his career third all-time in UAlbany history for pitching appearances in a season. In 2009, he led the Great Danes, as a captain, to 15 conference wins.
Kaier, a Queensbury, N.Y. native, previously coached with the Halfmoon Mariners summer baseball team, an affiliate of the American Amateur Baseball Congress, serving as the head coach from 2006-11. He led them to two state championships, including a final four appearance in the North Atlantic Regional in 2009.
Kaier earned his bachelor's degree in communication with a double-minor in education and sociology from UAlbany in May 2009 and received his master's in education administration and policy study in December of 2011.
America East Coaching Staff of the Year - 2019, 2021
