Head coach Dan Pirillo '08 was named Northeast Conference Coach of the Year after leading the LIU baseball team to a Division I program record for wins in 2022.
In his sixth season at the helm in 2022, Pirillo's Sharks earned their first outright NEC title since 1990.
During the 2019 season, Pirillo coached the program to its first win over a top-10 team and Southeastern Conference school with a 1-0 win over ninth-ranked Georgia in late February. LIU was honored with the NEC Sportsmanship Award and excelled in the classroom as it posted a 3.49 GPA, which was highest in the NEC, and saw Frank Cerillo win the NEC Scholar Athlete of the Year award. LIU finished the season 20-33, 10-14 in the NEC and ranked second in the league with a .966 fielding percentage for the 2019 campaign. 24 student athletes were named to the Spring NEC Academic Honor Roll.
In 2018, he guided LIU to the school’s first Northeast Conference Championship and the first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1972. The team won a then-program-record 31 games and reached the NEC Tournament for the eighth time in school history. In the first NEC tournament appearance in five seasons, LIU went on to win all three NEC Tournament games en route championship title over Wagner, clinching the automatic NCAA berth.
Along with winning the NEC title, five members of the team garnered NEC All-Tournament Team honors; Patrick Clyne, Rob Griswold, Joe Mercadante, Andrew Turner and Greg Vaughn Jr., with Vaughan Jr. also being named NEC Tournament MVP. Five members of the team also garnered All-NEC honors, the most since 1990. Andrew Turner and Alex Briggs garnered first team recognition, while Mike Kreiger, Andrew Smith and Patrick Clyne were named to the second team. Pirillo also helped guide seven LIU players to NEC weekly awards.
Under Pirillo’s tutelage, Turner increased his batting average 90 over points in two seasons, finishing his senior campaign with a .346 batting average and .493 on base percentage and was drafted in 39th round by the Miami Marlins. He also garnered All-ECAC honors, becoming the first LIU baseball player to do so since 2014.
LIU rewrote the record book in 2019, crushing the program record for strikeouts with 442, well over the 345 mark set in 2013. It also tied the school mark for strikeouts in a game with 17 in a 2-1 win over Central Connecticut State University in May.
Success has also translated off the field for Pirillo’s teams. His teams have excelled in the classroom, earning the NEC Team GPA award in back-to-back years (2018, 2019) and have had over a 3.3 GPA in each of his three years. LIU has also earned ABCA Team Academic Excellence Awards in the last two seasons for a cumulative team grade point average above a 3.00. His student-athletes have been named to the NEC Spring Academic Honor Roll 56 times and 15 were named to the ECAC Academic Honor Roll in 2018.
Since taking over at LIU, Pirillo’s teams have been active in the community. They have raised over $6,000 for the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation which honors the sacrifice of firefighter Stephen Siller who laid down his life to save others on September 11, 2011. It is a foundation who helps wounded soldiers and first responders get back on their feet.
Before LIU
Pirillo's philosophy and teaching helped the 2014 club raise the team batting average 68 points, on base percentage 70 points and the slugging percentage 94 points from the previous season. The Cougars offense improved their run total in 2014 by more than 100 runs from 2013.
In their first season in the Western Athletic Conference, the Cougars offensive finished top in the Conference in many offensive categorites including RBIs, Batting Average, On Base Percentage, Runs Scored and Hits. 77 Stolen Bases was good enough for second most in the Conference.
Four Cougars finished with a .300 Batting Average or better. Mattingly Romanin (.312) and Nathan Poff (.265) each saw their batting average raise 28 and 73 points respectfully. Romanin finished top 15 in the WAC in batting average. He went on to be named to the All-Western Athletic Conference Second Team and went on to be drafted in 2015 by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 39th Round.
Sophmore shortstop Julian Russell had the biggest improvement adding 150 points to his batting average, 193 points to his slugging percentage, and 142 to his on base percentage: finishing with a .328 BA, .402 SLG% and .416 OB%. The improvements saw Julian take home WAC hitting of the week and flourish into one of the best shortstops in the WAC. HIs .328 BA was the highest Batting Average for any SS in the WAC. Freshman second baseman Sandford Hunt also flourished under Pirillo's tutelage, hitting .310 with 9 doubles and 3 triples.
Pirillo came to Chicago State after most recently serving as an assistant at NCAA Division II Georgia College. Pirillo assisted with recruiting, coordinated the outfield defense while developing the team’s strength and conditioning programs. Pirillo helped guide the Bobcats do a West Division Championship in the Peach Belt Conference with a 29-20 record. While at GC, the Bobcats put up beefy offensive numbers. While hitting .302, 103 doubles and 351 runs scored, Georgia College was one of the top offensive clubs in the PBC.
Before Georgia, Pirillo spent two years as an assistant at NCAA Division I Long Island University. He coached first base and helped with recruiting. The 2011 squad set a school record for victories in a season with 28. He oversaw the academic performance of the team, with the Blackbirds recording a team GPA of 3.1 from 2009-11.
In 2013, Pirillo was named the head coach of the Edenton Steamers in the Coastal Plain League. The Steamers went on to win the first and second half Eastern Division Championships. Pirillo's recruitment and development saw 10 steamers go on to sign professional contracts from the 2013 squad.
In 2012, Pirillo was the hitting coach/third base coach for the Steamers. His club set new team standards in home runs (44), slugging average (.423), OPS (.791) and doubles (100). The Steamers won the first and second half Eastern Division Championships. Under Pirillo's watch, Steamer OF Michael Camporeale was named the CPL Hitter of the Year. Nine Steamers eventually went on to sign professional contracts.
Pirillo owns a bachelor's degree in physical education and a master's in exercise physiology from LIU Brooklyn where he was a four-year member of the baseball team.
