Bill Ianniciello

With nine years under his belt as an assistant, associate and interim head coach with the program, Bill Ianniciello was named the head coach of the Adelphi University baseball team in July 2021.

While the 2023 campaign brought about his first sub-.500 season leading the 'Cats, Ianniciello's squad -- with their backs against the wall -- swept a four-game series from prevailing NE10 Southwest Division leader Southern Connecticut State University to capture a bid to the NE10 Championship on the season's final day.

For the second-straight year, the Adelphi bats answered the call, eclipsing the .300 mark as a team at .306. Each of the team's three leading hitters (Alec Maag, Anthony Cipri and Kyle Olson) were all recognized to the NE10 All-Conference Team. With a team-leading five wins on the bump, Brendan Kenneally earned a spot on the NE10 All-Rookie Team, alongside touted freshman third baseman Albert Ramos.

His first full season leading the Panthers brought about a 30-15-2 record, an NCAA Tournament bid and the program's third-consecutive NE10 Southwest Division regular-season title (won five of six season series against NE10 Southwest Division opponents). Five of his players made the NE10 All-Conference Team, with Matt Alifano and John Rizzo headlining as the Southwest Division Player of the Year and Rookie Pitcher of the Year, respectively.

On Ianniciello's watch, the Adelphi bats produced a .320 average -- the highest for the program since 2007 and the last season in which the Panthers hit .300 or better as a team.

After taking the reins as interim of a 5-7 squad in 2021, Ianniciello's guidance led to a 10-2 stretch to close the regular season, which resulted in Adelphi winning a second-straight NE10 Southwest Division regular-season championship and earning its first trip to the NE10 Tournament final since 2014.

Over those final 12 regular-season games, Adelphi swung the bat at a remarkable .317 clip, while its three workhorses in the rotation -- Nicolas Luc, Josh Rovner and Max Steele -- combined to post a 4-0 record with a 2.93 ERA.

Additionally, Matt Alifano was named the NE10 Southwest Division Rookie Hitter of the Year, upon posting a .394 batting average -- the highest for any Adelphi player since 2014.

Since his arrival in 2013, Ianniciello has helped coach the Panthers to eight NE10 Tournament appearances in ten seasons.

In 2019, Adelphi, with Ianniciello in the dugout, finished with a 34-9-1 record and a No. 16 national ranking in the final NCBWA Division II National Poll.

Prior to coming to Garden City, Ianniciello was an assistant coach at Queens College for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.

Ianniciello has a decorated history in baseball, as he spent 31 years in the New York Mets organization from 1980-2010, with his last 17 as the Vice President of Ticket Sales and Services.

He coordinated ticketing for the 1986 and 2000 World Series, and major rock concerts, including the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, The Who, Elton John/Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel. His department helped set Mets attendance records for Shea Stadium (4 million-plus in 2008) and Citi Field (nearly 3.2 million in 2009), and Ianniciello played an integral role in the ballpark transition. In addition, he performed game-day operations for the New York Jets' final season at Shea Stadium in 1983.

His time in the summer has been spent coaching in the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League, where he recently managed the Riverhead Tomcats. Ianniciello also spent time at the helm of the North Fork Ospreys, who made the playoffs in six of his seven seasons at the helm, and captured the HCBL title in 2013. He was president, general manager and manager of the Dix Hills Dodgers in the Federation of Amateur Baseball Leagues (FABL) from 2001-11.

Ianniciello earned a B.A. in Economics at Stony Brook University in 1978 and his M.S. in Sport Management from the University of Massachusetts in 1981. He played baseball for four years at Stony Brook, was team captain his senior year, and managed the junior varsity team at UMass to a 13-6 record in 1978.

Ianniciello resides in Dix Hills, N.Y. with his wife, Joyce.