HOBOKEN, N.J. (December 8, 2023) – Stevens Institute of Technology head baseball coach Kristaps Aldins announced Friday the hiring of Brendan Smith and Ross Bartziokas as assistant coaches. 

Smith comes to Castle Point after serving as an assistant coach for both Somers High School and the Taconic Rangers travel team program. Additionally, the Purdys, New York native was a contributor to FanSided and SB Nation covering such topics as major and minor league baseball, Syracuse University football and college basketball recruiting. As a student-athlete, Smith spent five years on the diamond for both The State University of New York at Albany and Iona College, where he earned five victories, averaging nearly a strikeout an inning over 43 career appearances (16 starts). Prior to entering the Division I ranks, Smith went 4-4 with a 3.93 earned-run average over 48 2-3 innings at Dean College, which was competing in the National Junior College Athletic Association. Smith also has professional experience with four independent teams, most recently with the Windy City ThunderBolts of the Frontier League. 

"I am very thankful to have Coach Brendan Smith joining me here within our Stevens Baseball program," Aldins said. "He comes to us from two high-level baseball programs in the state of New York: Somers High School and the Taconic Rangers organization.

"Prior to this, Brendan played Division I baseball at both The State University of New York at Albany and Iona University. Upon receiving his undergraduate and graduate degrees, he went on to play professionally in the Frontier League for the Windy City Thunderbolts, amongst other independent league franchises. Brendan's passion is student-athlete development, both on and off the field, and it has been fantastic seeing him jump headfirst into all aspects of our Ducks Baseball family."

Smith earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in rhetoric and communication in 2019 from SUNY Albany and he completed his master's degree in sports communication and media with an advanced certificate in cybercrime and prevention from Iona in 2021. 

Bartziokas, meanwhile, arrives at Stevens after a year-long stint on the staff of his alma mater, The College of Mount Saint Vincent, where he served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the varsity program and as head coach of the Dolphis' junior varsity squad. He entered the coaching ranks at CSMV after a successful five-year stint on the diamond, where the Middletown, New York native finished with a .301 batting average across 109 career games (105 starts), while connecting for two homers and driving in 50. He also interned with the athletic department at Manhattan College.

"Coach Ross Bartziokas joins us from across the Hudson River after playing and coaching at College of Mount Saint Vincent, a fellow Division III Institution in the Skyline Conference. Ross helped spearhead an impressive and rather meteoric recent rise in prominence for the Dolphins; in recent years, they have been one of the top programs in the New York Region. I am looking forward to seeing Coach Ross make a big impact with our student-athletes this year!"

A three-year captain and a 2021 All-Skyline Conference selection, Bartziokas graduated from CMSV in 2021 with a degree in business administration, before going on to complete his MBA one year later. In addition to his duties in the Stevens Baseball dugout, Bartziokas will also serve as an events coordinator for the athletic department.

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