Conversations with College Coaches: Stevens Institute of Technology
Baseball Factory is privileged to work with programs from every level of college baseball. We strive to educate and guide our players when it comes to choosing the right school. In our latest interview, Dan Mooney spoke with Head Coach Kristpas Aldins from Stevens Institute of Technology. Stevens is a Division III program out of the Empire 8 Conference.
1. You recently took over at Stevens Institute of Technology. How long have you been coaching overall?
This will be my eighth season coaching college baseball…I spent four years at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), two at Harvard University, and this will be my second year at Stevens Institute of Technology.
2. Who are some of your mentors or coaches that you look up to?
I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work for some great people in the game of baseball. Andy Barlow at MIT gave me my first opportunity in coaching and I have learned so much from him about organization and game strategy. At Harvard I learned from Coach Walsh who unfortunately passed away this summer. The amount of passion and energy Coach Walsh brought to the table each and every day was amazing to see… He was a genuine people person who cared deeply about everyone around him.
3. What is the first thing about your school and program that you want recruits to know about?
We have a tremendous academic and athletic culture here at Stevens. Our students get great jobs right out of college thanks to our nationally ranked career development program, CO-OP opportunities, and proximity to New York City… On average a Stevens student makes $63,200 in salary their first year out of college and our job placement rate is near 100%. Meanwhile… Our athletic department is rated as one of the top Division III programs in the country (13th in 2011 and 40th in 2012 out of 450+ schools). We feel as if we can provide the very best of both worlds to prospective student-athletes!
4. What do you look for in a prospective recruit on the field? Off the field?
There are five main criteria that we look for in a recruit: 1) passion for life and baseball 2) high character level, 3) division baseball ability, 4) diversity, and 5) academic achievement.
5. How has video helped you in the recruiting process?
I think video is extremely important in the recruiting process. We always like getting a skills dvd or video link on file so that we can reference back to it at various points of the recruiting process.
6. Stevens has tough academic standards, so do you have any advice for a prospective baseball player looking to attend your school?
The best advice that I could give to a prospective athlete at Stevens or any top-notch academic school is that time management is a must. We ask a lot of our players both on and off the field and if you cannot effectively balance your family, your academics, your baseball, and your social life, then chances are… The baseball element of your college experience will likely not work out as well as it could have.
7. Despite those tough academics, the baseball program has been competitive at the Division III level. Can you give any insight on your goals for the team this year?
We are excited about the direction our baseball program is headed right now. We have pretty much out entire pitching staff returning this spring and we most definitely be a more athletic and aggressive team on the base-paths! Last year, which was our first year as a staff, we posted a 24-18 record, which was a ten-win improvement from the previous season. During the year, we tallied seven wins against regionally ranked teams including triumphs over Ithaca College, St. John Fisher College, Ramapo College and Farmingdale State College, all of which competed in the 2012 NCAA tournament. Our strength of schedule was rated as the 35th most difficult in the nation amongst 371 teams. Individually we placed six of our student-athletes on the Empire 8 All-Conference Team, two on the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Team, two on the D3baseball.com All-Region Team and one on 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. Stevens Baseball also gained recognition when our coaching staff was named the 2012 Empire 8 Co-Coaching Staff of the Year. The other key element of our program that we are very excited and proud about is that 15 out of our 17 returning players played summer baseball. This shows that are student-athletes are serious about their year round commitment to baseball. In fact… For this upcoming summer (2013) we already have six of our players placed in some of the top summer collegiate teams in the country!
8. Can you break down your fall practice schedule? What are you all trying to accomplish?
The fall season is a great opportunity for our coaching staff to see who has improved during the summer months and is also a chance for us to get our first look at our recruited freshman. We also use the fall season as a tryout period for anyone interested in the program.
9. Do you have a strength and conditioning coach?
Our strength and conditioning situation at Stevens is one of our biggest selling points from an athletics standpoint. We have a full-time strength coach who has three assistants – all of whom work with our guys year-round. All of the necessary tools are in place for our players to get better, stronger, and more flexible year-round!
10. What can you tell us about your facilities?
We are very fortunate to have a FieldTurf facility that allows us to get outside earlier than almost any other program in the Northeast. Our first home game is scheduled for February 20th. Our field also has lights so we usually host around 6 or 7 night games a year. Indoors we have two batting cages that provide our players the chance to hone their skills even when the weather is cold. We are very proud of our facilities and they most certainly give us an edge versus our competition!
11. What part of the 2013 schedule/year are you looking forward to the most?
My favorite part of the schedule is most definitely our practice weeks in February. We love the process of developing our players and seeing them make skill improvements. The games that we play during the course of the season are certainly exciting and we love to see our guys compete… But my favorite part of coaching is, without a doubt, the practices.
12. Is there anything else you would like to add about your recruiting class?
We are very excited that this year’s freshman class has players from eight different states including four from Texas and two from both California and Florida. It also includes 12 All-Conference/District Players, 7 captains of their team, 3 All-State Players, and 2 Conference/District Players of the Year. I also feel as if the character level of this group is high… It is always nice to get good ballplayers, but it is a bigger necessity for our program to bring in quality individuals who have a passion for baseball and life. Each of these individuals demonstrated to us that they had the potential to be excellent future teammates… And many of them come from strong high school baseball programs, which we hope will help contribute to the baseball culture we are developing here at Stevens!
