ALBANY, N.Y. – Russell Sage College Athletics announced the resignation of Nick Pontari, its Head Baseball Coach, effective June 27, 2025.

Pontari, who guided the Gators on the diamond since the program's inception in 2022, will be taking another coaching opportunity within the region. He helped RSC go a perfect four-for-four in qualifying for the Empire 8 Conference Championship Tournament.  The playoff runs include hosting the 2024 edition as the regular season champions, and making the finals of the bracket in both 2023 and 2025.

An international hiring search to fill the opening will begin immediately.

"Everyone at Russell Sage wishes Coach Pontari nothing but the best of luck as he continues his coaching journey," said Jim Lyons, Director of Athletics.. "Nick poured his heart into our team, and built a winning program in just four years.  I fully expect our baseball program to continue on with the strong traditions that have been formed in such a short period of time and to thrive in the years to come".   

"I couldn't be more appreciative of the opportunity to be the Baseball program's First Head Coach over the past five years," commented Pontari. "The opportunity to be a part of the program in its inaugural stages, and work with so many dedicated young men on a day to day basis has truly been an amazing experience. A huge thank you to all of the student-athletes who were a part of the program that built this brick by brick, who were dedicated to making themselves better both on and off of the field, and sacrificed in many areas of their lives to give our program what it needed to be as successful as we could be on a daily basis."

RSC, which just completed its fourth season as a program, built upon the most successful season in program history in 2025. Coming off a 16-2 record in Conference play and an E8 Regular Season Championship, the Gators set program single-season records for both wins and E8 Conference victories this spring, going 27-15 overall and 18-6 in the E8.

The Gators have gone 50-32, 34-8 in the E8, across the past two seasons under Pontari, the leader of the 2024 Empire 8 Conference Coaching Staff of the Year.

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