Nike Baseball Camp at Villanova University

As the 153rd season of Villanova baseball dawns, Mulvey can look back on a productive first year as head coach. He and the rest of the program's coaching and support staff immediately set to work on developing a positive culture that was centered on the complete student-athlete experience. The results of that focus paid immediate dividends from the standpoints of academic achievement, community involvement and alumni support.

The baseball team had a record 25 student-athletes named to the BIG EAST All-Academic Team for the 2016-17 academic year, while the team as a whole achieved a grade-point average above a 3.0. Individual honors include 2017 senior Todd Czinege being named to the Philadelphia Big 5 All-Academic Team, while he and classmate Hunter Schryver were among 10 national finalists for the Senior CLASS Award which recognizes a student-athlete for their success in athletic competition, academic success and community service.

Mulvey has instilled in the baseball program a commitment to giving back to the community. He and other members of the team make regular visits to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia throughout the year and have participated in several other athletic department initiatives. Mulvey also started the Baseball Service Weekend in his first year as head coach, in which the Wildcats dedicated a weekend during the spring season to a team-wide community service project. This will continue for a second year in 2018, as Villanova will partner with the Phillies the weekend before the start of conference play to hold a youth baseball clinic in Philadelphia.

Another new initiative Mulvey has started is the Villanova Baseball First Pitch Dinner, an unofficial kickoff to the start of the baseball season which brings together the current student-athletes with alumni, fans and other supporters of the baseball program. The keynote speaker for the 2018 event was Phillies Senior Adviser Larry Bowa, and more than 150 attendees packed the O'Dea Terrace in the Talley Athletic Center to help the Wildcats launch their 2018 campaign.

Mulvey's first year as head coach had no shortage of positive storylines on the field. He mentored two players -- infielder Todd Czinege and pitcher Hunter Schryver -- who went on to be selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft in June. Schryver was a seventh round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays and was a first team All-BIG EAST selection after a season in which he had 91 strikeouts and the lowest ERA (2.44) by a Villanova starting pitcher in more than 20 years. Czinege was a 29th round draft pick of the Colorado Rockies after finishing his collegiate career ranked second in school history with 244 career hits.

A roster with a modest veteran presence and several underclassmen who were thrust into significant roles showed its promise during the 2017 season. Villanova won its first conference series against a Xavier team which went on to win its second straight BIG EAST title, and the Wildcats also defeated nationally-ranked St. John's on the final day of the regular season to cost the Red Storm the regular season title and the top seed in the conference tournament. Villanova also notched wins over Big Ten programs Iowa and Rutgers during the 2017 season, and defeated Army West Point in a renewal of the longtime series between the Wildcats and the nation's oldest service academy.

Mulvey continued to work with the Villanova pitching staff during his first year as head coach. The selection of Schryver in the MLB Draft continued Mulvey's streak of having a pitcher ascend to the professional ranks in each of his five years as pitching coach. Left-handed pitcher Woody Bryson was signed by the New York Yankees as a non-drafted free agent in June 2016, while Mulvey previously mentored a trio of pitchers who were chosen in the draft. Those pitchers included Pat Young (2013, 13th round); JB Kole (2014, 8th round); and Max Almonte (2015, 16th round).

In 2015 the Wildcats had a staff ERA of 4.14, which was nearly a full run lower than the previous season and was the lowest team ERA overall in the past 20 years. One of the top performers on the 2015 staff was right-hander Chris Haggarty, who saved nine games and held opponents to a .194 batting average. A former walk-on to the baseball team, Haggarty finished his collegiate career ranked second in program history with 80 career appearances. He also ranked seventh in school history with 11 career saves and eighth among pitchers with at least 100.0 career innings with a 3.78 ERA.

Villanova's 2014 pitching staff lowered its ERA by more than a quarter of a run from the previous year and had a number of noteworthy individual performances. Left-handed pitcher Matt Meurer was a second team All-BIG EAST selection after making 28 appearances and recording nine saves with a 1.21 ERA in 44 2/3 innings.

Mulvey pitched parts of seven seasons in the professional ranks and returned to campus in 2013 to begin his coaching career. In addition to his four years as an assistant coach Mulvey coordinated the program's nationwide recruiting efforts in 2015 and 2016, and oversaw the academic progress of the Wildcats student-athletes as the coaching staff's liaison to the Office of Academic Support.

Mulvey pitched for the Wildcats for three seasons (2004-06) and registered the most strikeouts (222) in a three-year span in school history. He also threw the eighth no-hitter in school history as a sophomore in 2005. Following his junior season, he was selected by the New York Mets in the second round with the 62nd overall pick in the 2006 MLB Draft. He became the first Villanova player ever to be selected with a team's top draft pick.

Mulvey pitched professionally in the organizations of the Mets, the Minnesota Twins and the Arizona Diamondbacks. He pitched in the major leagues for both Minnesota and Arizona, logging 10 appearances and starting four games. In the minor leagues, Mulvey appeared in 143 games with 130 starts and tallied 35 victories while pitching more than 750 innings and striking out 547 batters. During his first full season of professional ball in 2007, Mulvey was named a midseason All-Star in the Double-A Eastern League and was also selected to pitch in the Futures Game which takes place during Major League Baseball's All-Star Weekend. He wound up being a 12-game winner for the Binghamton Mets in 2007 and, at the end of the year, made his Triple-A debut with six scoreless innings of two-hit ball.

Mulvey and his wife, Athena, make their home in King of Prussia, Pa. They are the parents to Jack and Max..

Brown made an impact in working with the Villanova offense as the assistant hitting coach in his first season with the team. Senior second baseman Todd Czinege was named to the All-Big 5 team for a fourth straight season and was a 29th round pick of the Colorado Rockies in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft following the season. Brown also assisted with the development of freshmen Ryan Toohers and Tyler Bruno during the 2017 season, as both became mainstays in the Wildcats starting lineup. Entering his first year as the primary hitting coach, Brown has implemented a hitting program to prepare Villanova’s incoming freshmen hitters for their first taste of collegiate competition.

From a defensive standpoint, Brown worked with a Wildcats infield which was one of the best in the BIG EAST last season. Freshman shortstop Timothy Lilly started 44 games and committed just six errors all season while posting a .973 fielding percentage, while Toohers had a .987 fielding percentage at first base and Czinege a .972 mark at second for the season.

During the the 2020 season, the Wildcats recorded a .352 team on-base percentage. Chris Rotondo hit .298 with seven runs driven and walked 16 times in 47 at-bats with an impressive .485 on-base percentage.

The 2021 Wildcats featured three hitters who plated 20 or more runners throughout the season. Ryan Toohers hit .282 with two home runs and 22 runs driven in and sported an .827 OPS. Chris Rotondo led the team with seven homers, 23 runs driven in with nine doubles and a .966 OPS. Jack O'Reilly drove in 20 runs with seven doubles.

In 2022, the offense found substantial growth at the plate, hitting as high as a .346 slugging percentage and .358 on-base percentage during the 2022 season. The bats were led by eventual 19th-round MLB Draft Pick Chris Rotondo, who was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals after leading the team with a .359 batting average and .656 slugging percentage, both that were good enough for fourth-best in the BIG EAST. The All-BIG EAST First Team outfielder tacked on 59 runs, 15 doubles, 12 home runs, 37 RBI, 32 walks and successfully stole base in 14 of his 17 attempts.

Brown came to Villanova after spending the previous four years at Wagner, including the 2015 and 2016 seasons as an assistant coach. He primarily worked with the team’s infielders in 2016, in addition to overseeing the offense and coaching third base. Brown was also the Seahawks recruiting coordinator. He previously worked with the team’s outfielders.

Prior to entering the coaching ranks, Brown played college baseball at both Seton Hall and Wagner. He was the Seahawks starting shortstop in 2012, when former Wildcats assistant Jim Carone was in his first year as the Wagner head coach. Brown hit .314 with 15 doubles, three home runs and 36 runs batted in to go along with 22 stolen bases in 49 games as a senior in 2012. Also batted .277 with nine doubles and a team-high four home runs for the Seahawks in 2011.

Brown is a native of Edison, N.J. and began his collegiate career playing for Seton Hall in 2008 and 2009. He played in 161 games overall during his collegiate career, with a combined 123 hits, 83 runs scored, 10 home runs and 36 stolen bases.

Brown completed his MBA in business administration management at Wagner.

Weaver aided with pitching and scouting during his time as a volunteer assistant and resumes his post at Villanova as pitching coach. Weaver now has over seven years of collegiate coaching experience.

The 2020 Wildcats' pitching staff featured six hurlers with an ERA below 3.50. Gordon Graceffo led the staff with a 4-0 record and a 1.42 ERA in four games started. Jimmy Kingsbury had a standout season with 20 strikeouts in 26 innings while sporting a 2-1 record and 3.08 ERA. Freshman closer Danny Wilkinson made an immediate impact in his first season with four saves and fanned 18 batters in 12.1 innings pitched.

Graceffo headlined Villanova's pitching staff again in 2021 with a 7-2 record, struck out 86 batters in 82 innings pitched with a miniscule 1.54 ERA. Danny Wilkinson was lockdown in the bullpen with 36 strikeouts in 25.1 innings pitched with seven saves and a 3.20 ERA. Jimmy Kingsbury recorded a career-high 86 strikeouts in 64.2 innings pitched in his senior season. Graceffo was drafted in the fifth round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals and Kingsbury was drafted in the 17th round by the Seattle Mariners.

Under Weaver's guidance, Wildcats on the 2022 roster alone set their marks as leaders for the program's history. Wilkinson moved into fourth on the program's career saves list through three seasons with 15 while Tyler Arella and Devin Rivera have both tied for the third-most combined career shutouts (3). On the single-season side, Rivera's three combined shutouts in the 2022 campaign tied him for the most in program history with Chic DeGaetano following closely behind in a tie for fourth-most with two. Cole Patten sat down 77 batters throughout this past season marking the 16^th-most for the program. By year's end, both Patten and Wilkinson inked Major League deals with Patten being drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 17th round and Wilkinson signing a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Weaver previously served as the head coach of Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY for the 2018 season, taking his team to a 25-14 record and second place in the conference at 21-7 en route to a third-place finish at the 2018 NJCAA DIII Region III Baseball Championships. At Hudson Valley he coached region player of the year, an all-American and six all-conference players.

The Fort Plain, NY native made his way to Pennsylvania in college, pitching for four years at DII East Stroudsburg University while earning his bachelor’s degree in May 2015.

Following graduation, he took his first coaching job at Fairmont State assisting in both recruiting and pitching.

Weaver then moved on to West Virginia University where he served as a grad assistant in 2016 and the director of player development in 2017. While at WVU, Weaver completed his M.S. in sports science and education.

Weaver found other ways to stay in coaching during the summers, coaching American Legion and Collegiate Summer league teams. He spent four years with the Morris J. Edwards 19U Legion team, one year with the Saratoga Stampede in the Thruway Collegiate Baseball league, and another with the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs of the Perfect Game Collegiate League.

Weaver currently resides in the Villanova area with his wife of three years, Victoria Weaver.

Playing career: A four-year starter, O’Reilly had 746 career at bats, while playing in every game during his tenure as a Wildcat. Showing his versatility playing both infield and outfield, Jack’s leadership as a two-time captain has put him in a strong position to mentor the 2024-2025 players. Jack most recently played for the MLB Draft League, where he led the Trenton Thunder in numerous categories, including a .332 average with an .833 OPS.

Big East Honor Roll and Big East Player of the Week highlight an impressive career that included 4 time Big East All Academic Team, and an 8 time Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.

Jack received a B.S. in Finance from the Villanova School of Business and is currently completing his Master of Education