Yellow Jackets again seeking baseball coach
Waynesburg University is looking for a baseball coach.
Again.
After only two seasons at the helm, Michael Impellittiere has resigned the full-time position.
The Yellow Jackets went 20-56 overall under Impellittiere and were just 7-34 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.
Waynesburg went 13-27 overall and 4-18 in the PAC thai spring.
The Yellow Jackets were 2-24 on the road under Impellittiere.
Prior to coaching at Waynesburg, Impellittiere was head coach at Hood College in Frederick, Md.
He succeeded Perry Cunningham, who resigned after the 2024 season when Waynesburg won a school record-tying 23 games and tied for second in the conference with a 15-5 record. Cunningham is now the head coach at Waynesburg Central High School.
Tim Fusina, Waynesburg’s athletic director, said the university reached out to a potential candidate and have had other inquiries about the position.
“Michael has a young family, and this was the best decision for he and his family right now,” Fusina said. “He’s taking a step away and will pursue other opportunities.”
Fusina said with school starting later this month and fall baseball looming, the timing of the resignation is “not ideal.”
Waynesburg is embracing the search for a new coach who would be expected to strengthen and expand recruiting and provide some stability and energy to the program.
“We’re two years into it and we’re making a change,” Fusina said. “Not only that, but we have students moving in within two weeks.
“We don’t get going for a while with the fall season, They usually start their fall season in early October. So, while we have time, we want to move as quickly as we possibly can. We’re not going to move too quick and make the wrong move. We must get this right.”
Assistant coaches are helping to operate the program in the absence of a head coach. Sources, including Fusina, said former Waynesburg players have reached out with interest in the position as well as sitting PAC assistant coaches and high school coaches.
“I expect interest from people connected to our baseball program, whether they are former coaches or alumni who are coaching right now,” Fusina added. “I expected some interest and we’ve already had some interest from those types of people.”
Fusina hopes to expand recruiting for the baseball program throughout Western Pennsylvania.
“We have a large roster right now,” he explained. “I think that Michael did a really good job in identifying quality student-athletes. I think he did a really good job in getting quality. I think he’s built the roster talent-wise. He’s rebuilt it in a good way.
“We need to focus on recruiting the area a little bit better with this next hire — not just Greene County. We must be able to recruit the Pittsburgh area better than we than we have. When you don’t have a foothold in Western Pennsylvania, it’s a little tougher. It takes a little longer to get established.
“For now, one of our assistants is kind of our point of contact with the team. We have a supportive group. I think we have a talented group of players – a talented roster. We just need somebody to come in here and develop them and recruit. We need somebody who is going to stay and who is going to provide consistency to our program because right now we don’t have it.”