By: John Jay Sports Information
NEW YORK, NY –
Joe Mandile, who has been a member of the Bloodhounds' staff for the last eight years, is stepping down effective Friday, September 10.
He recently accepted an offer to serve as an Assistant Athletics Director at Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY.
"Over the past eight years, I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn, fail, and grow while being a part of the John Jay College community," Mandile said. "The leadership within the Athletics Department entrusted me with a wide range of tasks during my tenure and these experiences have provided me with the confidence to take the next step in my career. I am forever grateful to Carol Kashow for my development as a coach and an administrator; Mark Francis for his positive influence during this past year; all the baseball assistant coaches, players, and alumni for supporting my ideas, while working tirelessly to represent John Jay positively on and off the baseball field."
The Yonkers, NY native arrived at John Jay College in 2013 to serve as the head baseball coach. One year later, former Athletics Director Carol Kashow offered Mandile a position on the administrative team to work as the Event Operations Manager and Alumni Coordinator, in addition to coaching.
"I would like to personally thank Joe for the excellence he brought to each area of our program that he touched - and he touched many," stated Kashow. "Joe truly put his heart, soul and many, many hours into helping make John Jay Athletics the fine program it has become. Manhattanville's gain is truly John Jay's loss. I wish him all the very best, much success and happiness."
After two years in that role, he was promoted to Assistant Athletics Director for Operations & Scheduling / Head Baseball Coach. In 2020, former Interim Director of Athletics Mark Francis gave Mandile additional responsibility to oversee Business Development.
"Joe was an integral member of the senior staff," Francis explained. "Not only was he an excellent coach, he helped lay the foundation of the athletics transportation system, its game day management, and together with Head Athletic Trainer
Roxanne LaRaia, wrote the Return to Sport plan for John Jay. We will miss you Joe, and we wish you much success in your future endeavors."
In his role, Mandile was responsible for the day-to-day operations of 15 NCAA teams, including but not limited to; scheduling all practices, games, venues, officials and transportation, procurement of off-site facilities, and maintaining facilities on and off-site. He created and maintained a comprehensive master facilities schedule and was a major presence at all home games, serving as the on-site administrator. Mandile was a member of the Athletics Leadership team and senior staff and was the department's representative for the college's Return to Campus committee.
"Joe is a consummate professional and has been an integral part of building the foundation of the Bloodhounds success over the past eight years," said
Cat Alves, Deputy Director of Athletics. "While we certainly will miss him on the diamond and in the office, we are excited for him as he takes the next step in his career path."
"We wish Joe all the best in his new role at Manhattanville College," VP of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs Brian Kerr stated. "I will personally miss Joe's presence on campus. Although, we only knew each other for a few months, I can say that Joe truly represents the spirit of John Jay College Athletics. He is a Bloodhound through and through. We wish him all the best in his new role."
On the baseball front, the program soared to new heights in his tenure. Mandile credits some of the success to the program's retention rate, which was near 100%.
In his first season in 2014, the Bloodhounds secured a playoff spot after splitting a doubleheader with Baruch College in the final series of the season. After a year of recruiting and implementing his vision, the Bloodhounds secured 13 wins in 2016, more than 2014 and 2015 combined. In a single-elimination game in the 2016 CUNYAC Tournament, the Bloodhounds came from behind to defeat CCNY to give Mandile his first collegiate head coaching win.
In 2017, John Jay once again reached 13 wins, including the program's first win against the CSI Dolphins since 2012. Entering the playoffs as the No. 4 seed, the Bloodhounds cruised to a 4-1 victory over Lehman in an elimination tilt. Later that day, the squad faced top-seeded Staten Island. Trailing 4-2 heading into the top of the ninth, the Bloodhounds rallied for four runs to shock the Dolphins, 6-4.
The program took a major leap in 2018. After a slow start, which included 12 postponements, the Bloodhounds started to click at the end of the season. They won seven of their final nine games to finish with 13 wins in the regular season, the most in Mandile's tenure. In a back-and-forth playoff match-up vs. Maine-Presque Isle, the Bloodhounds won on a walk-off and followed to defeat Finlandia to advance to the winner's bracket of the CUNYAC Tournament.
John Jay once again faced a familiar team, CSI, in Game 3. After falling behind 5-0 after four innings, the bats came alive. The Bloodhounds pounded out 15 runs on 15 hits in the final five frames to upset the hosts. Needing to win one game in the next two vs. Staten Island for the title, John Jay had late leads in both games but could not finish the Dolphins. For his efforts during the regular season, Mandile was named the 2018 CUNYAC Coach of the Year for a magical season.
"Facing Joe and his team in the playoffs was never easy," said Mike Mauro, CSI head baseball coach and
John Jay Baseball Hall of Famer '19. "John Jay always turned on a switch when facing us. The games never went as planned for us at CSI. It was a dog fight from the first inning until the last. It was a rivalry that grew deeper each season. My players knew that when we played John Jay, nothing would come easy and it was proven every time we faced them."
In 2019, the program racked up four wins in Myrtle Beach on the team's annual Spring Training Trip. The 2020 season was then cut short due to COVID-19.
Many of Mandile's players etched their name in the John Jay College record books. Some of the program's milestones include: five players reached 100 career hits, 18 players earned CUNYAC All-Star honors, three players were named ECAC All-Region, two players were selected John Jay College Athletes of the Year, 60 Scholar-Athletes, 26 four-year players, and five consecutive years of being represented for the John Jay Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year Honorable Mention. Additionally, four of Mandile's players went onto play professional baseball.
Mandile also focused his efforts on cultivating the strong baseball alumni. With a rich baseball history, he was able to reach players from every decade dating back to the 1970's and invite them back to the program. The team hosted baseball alumni events throughout the year, softball games, fundraisers, and a virtual holiday social event.
"I am extremely proud of all that we were able to accomplish during my time as a Bloodhound," concluded Mandile. "I wish the administrators, coaches, staff, and teams the best of luck in the future. Thank you very much John Jay!"
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