Stevens Baseball celebrated Coach Ken Zinchiak's 10th year at Stevens in 2015. Coach "Z" will return his 12th season as the Ducks hitting coach in 2017.
Stevens Baseball completed the 2016 campaign with a 26-15 record and appeared in both the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and d3baseball.com national polls at various points during the season. Additionally the Ducks finished the 2016 season ranked 5th in the New York Region. Notable victories included two triumphs over local powerhouse rival Kean University as well as three combined wins against World Series participants St. John Fisher and Keystone. Individual honors included senior Jayson Yano being named d3baseball.com All-American, Empire 8 Player of the Year, Empire 8 Pitcher of the Year, as well as many other accolades. Senior Nick Sieber and junior Zeph Walters also received All-Region honors. In 2016 the Ducks' schedule was ranked as the 27th toughest in the nation, continuing our program's commitment to playing the best competition possible.
Under his watchful eye, the 2015 Ducks garnered several offensive accolades, including Jayson Yano being named Empire 8 Player/Pitcher of the Year and D3Baseball.Com New York Region Player of the Year. The Ducks set a new program record with 29 victories in 2015 and appeared in both the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and d3baseball.com national polls for the first time in over ten years.
In 2014 Zinchiak helped the Ducks tie a program record for victories with 27. Statistically the Ducks were ranked in numerous key categories including second nationally out of 369 schools in strikeouts per nine innings (9.6), second in hits allowed per nine innings (7.21), third in E.R.A. (2.27), third in strikeout to walk ratio (3.29), fifth in shutouts (5), tenth in stolen bases (113), and eighteenth in stolen bases per game (2.57). At the conclusion of the season seven student-athletes were named to the Empire 8 All-Conference Team, five to the CUNY All Conference Team, five New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association (NJCBA) honorees (including D2/D3 Rookie Pitcher of the Year Zeph Walters), two to the D3baseball.com All-Region Team, and one to the ABCA All-Region Team.
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Academically the Stevens baseball team also has continued to improve and shine. The Ducks baseball scholar-athletes posted a 3.373 team gpa in the fall 2014 semester and are slated to be named an Empire 8 All-Academic Team for the fourth time in the last five semesters. Currently the Ducks are proud to maintain a cumulative team gpa of 3.332.
Summer collegiate baseball also was a highlight from the 2014 season as now junior right-handed pitcher/second baseman Jayson Yano was named Perfect Game Collegiate League Pitcher of the Year, Third Team Summer All-American (only Division III player on this list), and the #30 Professional Pitching Prospect in the league. Yano and fellow junior Greg Jakusik, a left-handed pitcher, subsequently were placed in the Northwoods League (Rochester Honkers) for summer 2015. Northwoods is considered by many to be the top summer collegiate baseball league in the nation. Additionally junior Robert Robbins, a right-handed pitcher, will be playing for the Forest City Owls of the equally prestigious Coastal Plain League. In addition to Northwoods, Coastal Plain, and Perfect Game, the last three summers have seen Ducks athletes placed in several top exposure environments. These opportunities have included Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, Texas Collegiate League, New York Collegiate Baseball League, Beach League and South Florida Collegiate Baseball League. Year round commitment to the game of baseball has quickly become a cornerstone of the Stevens Baseball experience.
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In 2012 Stevens posted a 24-18 record, a ten-win improvement from the previous season. This turnaround resulted in Zinchiak and the Stevens coaching staff garnering Empire 8 co-Coaching Staff of the Year honors. Stevens was named the No. 1 seed in the six-team ECAC Metro Tournament and advanced all the way to the tournament's championship game where the Ducks lost 2-1 in extra innings. During the year, Stevens tallied seven wins against regionally ranked teams including triumphs over Ithaca College, St. John Fisher College, The College at Old Westbury, Ramapo College and Farmingdale State College. The Ducks also had seven wins against teams that went on to compete in the 2012 NCAA tournament. Stevens' strength of schedule was rated as the 35th most difficult in the nation amongst 371 teams. At the conclusion of the season senior first baseman Matt Glassman was named to the CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-America Team. Additionally, a Stevens baseball player was recognized as either the Empire 8 Conference Player or Pitcher of the Week on eight separate occasions - the most in program history.
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In 2010, Zinchiak helped guide the Ducks to a 21-20 mark. Stevens, which upped their win total from 2008 by 11, earned a berth in the ECAC Metro Championship Game where the Ducks fell to Ramapo College, 9-6. Three Ducks also earned All-New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association recognition with two-student athletes earning two all-rookie accolades and one garnering all-NJCBA third-team honors.
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Prior to coming to Stevens, Zinchiak served as a hitting instructor at Centenary College in Hackettstown, N.J. During his time with the Cyclones, Zinchiak helped in turning a program that was only a club sport in 2001, into an NCAA-qualifying team in 2005.
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Before working at Centenary, Zinchiak was an assistant coach at Kennedy Christian High School from 1997-99 and Hickory High School from 1991-96.
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Zinchiak, who currently resides in Berkeley Heights, N.J., works for Altitude Staffing in New Providence, N.J.
