Andrew Pezzuto enters his first season as NIU’s volunteer assistant coach. His major in-game responsibilities include assisting with the instruction of the NIU hitters along with instructing Huskie outfielders during practices and in-game realignments; he also serves as the first base coach. He also helps maintain Ralph McKinzie Field during the year to make sure it is in playing condition for the spring season through the fall.
Off the field, Coach Pezzuto serves as the Camp Coordinator for any NIU Baseball camps that are run during the off-season and he leads the team in their 19 Ways community service efforts. Throughout the school year, baseball team has taken weekly visits to the Heritage Woods Nursing Home and Hope Haven DeKalb, among many other community service projects during the 2016-17 season.
Prior to coming to NIU, Pezzuto joined the Shippensburg University coaching staff in 2016 as its primary assistant. His primary responsibilities included team defensive work and hitting instruction.
Pezzuto previously served as a graduate assistant coach at Franklin Pierce University for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. At Franklin Pierce, Pezzuto coached outfielders, hitters and base running. He also helped develop and lead the strength and conditioning program for position players.
Prior to coaching, Pezzuto played for four years at SUNY-Cortland, where his team played in the 2010 and 2012 NCAA Division III College World Series. As a senior in 2012, Pezzuto hit .367 with a .547 slugging percentage. He was named the 2012 New York Regional Tournament MVP as well as earning All-Region First Team honors and a selection to the ECAC All-Star Team.
Pezzuto then played at Southern New Hampshire University as a graduate student. He was named a team captain and earned All-America honors after hitting .365 with five doubles, seven triples and a home run. After finishing his collegiate playing career, Pezzuto signed a professional contract for the Florence Freedom of the Frontier League as an outfielder.
Pezzuto, a Yonkers, N.Y. native, graduated from SUNY-Cortland in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in business economics before attaining his master’s degree from Franklin Pierce in sport management in 2015.
