Mark Rizzi is in his 17th season as the head coach of the Rutgers University-Newark Scarlet Raider baseball program with the 2018 campaign set to begin.
Since taking over as skipper in 2002, Rizzi has overseen dramatic improvements in many aspects of the baseball program. His philosophy of discipline and hard work has helped steer Raider baseball in the right direction as the program works to continue its winning tradition.
Last year, Rizzi led Rutgers-Newark to one of its best seasons, recording the most wins since at least 2004 with a 24-15-1 campaign. The team returned to the postseason for the first time since 2011 after going 9-9 in New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) play. In the NJAC Championship Tournament, the Raiders shocked 18th-ranked TCNJ to earn their biggest win of the season.
The Scarlet Raiders strung together three straight 20-win seasons (2009, 2010 & 2011) while earning back-to-back NJAC Championship Tournament berths. Under Rizzi, the program went to three straight ECAC Metro Championships Playoffs, sharing the title in 2011. The program has registered a pair of ECAC Metro titles and has advanced to four NJAC tournaments in the last eight seasons.
During his tenure as head coach, Rizzi has upgraded the schedule, expanded the program’s recruiting area, and increased visibility and awareness of the Rutgers-Newark campus throughout the state and region.
Each spring, The Scarlet Raiders have ventured to California to compete in two prestigious tournaments – the California Classic and the California Invitational. On the west coast, Rizzi’s teams have recently beaten perennial national powers University of Redlands and Eastern Connecticut and also had impressive wins over perennial Top 30 programs in California Lutheran and Ithaca. It also battled 2004 National Champion Chapman University and 2005 SCIAC champion University of La Verne. The schedule has also been bolstered by annual contests against National Top 30 regulars Johns Hopkins University, York (PA) College and DeSales University.
In 2005, the Scarlet Raiders qualified for the NJAC playoffs for the first time since 1992. They finished with the nation’s third-best fielding percentage. Rizzi guided his team to the conference playoffs again in 2006 and also captured the school’s second ECAC Metro Tournament title in the program’s history.
It is clear that the Scarlet Raiders are pointed in the right direction to be a contender in the rugged NJAC for years to come. Rizzi and his staff continue to attract talented recruits, as they work toward the program's ultimate goal of competing for a national championship.
Before accepting the head job at Rutgers-Newark, Rizzi was a year and a half into a rebuilding effort at Bloomfield College. Taking over a program with just 12 players on the roster in May of 2000, Rizzi turned in a banner recruiting year. Although the Deacons went 11-26 in 2001, the season was highlighted by victories over Concordia (an NCAA Tournament team) and NAIA district champion Dominican. A shocking 2-1 victory over the Scarlet Raiders on March 28th snapped the nation's longest winning streak. He also completed a second outstanding recruiting effort at Bloomfield before leaving to accept the position at Rutgers-Newark.
Rizzi began his coaching career at his alma mater, Paterson Catholic Regional High School, where he resurrected the baseball program from an 0-23 season in 1992 to a state Parochial B championship appearance in 1999. Rizzi posted an 86-25 record during his final four seasons, which included four consecutive Bergen Parochial Scholastic League titles. His teams qualified for the state tournament in 1997, 1998 and 1999. His final team claimed the Parochial B North Sectional title and finished in the Star-Ledger Top 25 rankings. He was named Star-Ledger Passaic County Coach of the Year for his team’s accomplishments.
Rizzi also served stints in sports information offices at New Jersey City University (1988-90) and Seton Hall (1990-92) after training as a graduate assistant at Rutgers University (1986-88). He then taught in the public school system in Paterson for six years while coaching at the parochial high school. Before beginning his college coaching career, he served as the Technology Coordinator for the Lyndhurst (NJ) Public Schools for three years.
Rizzi is a 1986 graduate of Rutgers University, where he earned a Bachelor of arts degree in Journalism. He resides in Lake Hopatcong, NJ.
