Head coach Joe Reina (pronounced: REE-nuh) just recently completed his 25th season coaching at the University of Rochester in 2026. During his time at Rochester, he has created a firm foundation for success on the diamond.
Over the last seven full seasons, Rochester has piled up a record of 163-111 (.550), which includes a sparkling mark of 94-44 (.681) within Liberty League play.
Last season, the Yellowjackets went 14-21 (7-13 LL) with one of the youngest rosters in the Liberty League. Benjamin Garber was named Third-Team All-Liberty League as the 'Jackets impressed during their spring trip to Florida, going 7-3 at the RussMatt Invitational, and had a pair of walk-off wins against Union and RIT.
In 2025, Rochester went 16-17 (10-10 LL) and saw five Yellowjackets earn All-Liberty League honors, including the Co-Player of the Year, senior Colby Cruser. Three 'Jackets also earned ABCA and D3baseball.com All-Region honors as UR again qualified for the Liberty League Crossover Series. Reina also earned his 500th career victory with the Yellowjackets' 6-3, game-one win at Union on April 13, while graduate students Jackson Reed and Josh Leadem became UR's all-time leaders in hits, runs scored and stolen bases.
The Yellowjackets went 21-19 (12-6 LL) in 2024 and advanced all the way to the Liberty League Tournament final. Six earned All-Liberty League honors, with Nolan Sparks repeating as the Pitcher of the Year, while Sparks also earned both ABCA and D3baseball.com First-Team All-Region honors, and capped off his career with D3baseball.com Fourth-Team All-America honors, becoming just fourth All-American in program history.
Rochester secured the Liberty League regular season title in 2023 with a 16-3 record and was 28-14 overall. The Yellowjackets led the conference with 12 All-League representatives and added ten All-Region selections. Pitcher Nolan Sparks was named Liberty League Pitcher of the Year and was also honored as a College Sports Communicators Academic All-American.
From 2019 through 2022, Reina helped return Rochester to national prominence, winning two Liberty League regular season and tournament titles, qualifying the Yellowjackets into the NCAA Division III Tournament in three straight seasons. The two Liberty League titles in 2019 and 2021 are the first two in school history.
During 2022, the Yellowjackets picked up a school record 31 wins, finishing 31-13 overall (16-3 Liberty League). UR earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament and hosted a regional for the first time in school history. Rochester also earned a national ranking in the top-25 by D3baseball.com for the first time in team history.
Sophomore Aaron Whitley earned All-American honors in 2021, being named 2nd Team by D3baseball.com and the ABCA, becoming Reina's first All-American at Rochester.
During the 2019 NCAA Tournament, Rochester, the fourth seed at the Wooster, Ohio Regional, picked up its first-ever NCAA Tournament victory, taking down the 20th-ranked and host College of Wooster Fighting Scots in the opening round.
UR's highlight of the 2017 campaign came following the season when junior pitcher John Ghyzel was selected in the 18th round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Cincinnati Reds, becoming only the second UR player ever, and first under Reina to be drafted in the MLB Amateur Draft. Two years earlier, UR embarked on a school record 17-game winning streak.
Reina's Yellowjackets were University Athletic Association champions in February 2010, and won their second straight Liberty League regular season title later that spring. The previous season was equally as successful, as Reina led Rochester to a then-school record 30 wins, while being ranked as high as 8th in the country.
Under Reina, Rochester has qualified for the Liberty League baseball playoffs 15 times. Reina and his staff have been recognized for their accomplishments in the Liberty League by earning the league's Coaching Staff of the Year award in 2004, 2007-09, 2018 and 2021.
Reina picked up his 400th career victory in the 2021 season, coming after a doubleheader sweep of RPI, and his 500th victory in a DH sweep of Union in 2025. He has a career record of 519-411-2 (.558) overall and is 302-173 (.636) in conference play across 25 seasons.
A Rochester native, Reina is a graduate of Gates-Chili High School, where he starred at shortstop for the Spartans. He then took his talents to Monroe Community College, where he played under Hall of Fame coach H. David Chamberlain. In 1995, Reina was selected as the Region III Player of the Year and a Second Team All- American shortstop. He was awarded a full athletic scholarship to Division I, Long Island University - Brooklyn Campus. A two-year starter for the Blackbirds, Reina had two solid seasons, including his junior year, where he hit .371 and four grand slams in a season. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in physical education.
Reina then came back to Rochester and his alma mater to coach at Monroe CC. In two years at Monroe, the Tribunes tallied close to 100 wins and finished runner-up in the district championships. He then accepted a two-year position as a graduate assistant at The College of New Jersey (Division III).
While at TCNJ, Reina worked as the infield instructor and recruiting coordinator. The Lions won their first Conference championship in 18 years in 2000. In May of 2001, Reina graduated with a Master's of Education Degree.
During the summer months, Coach Reina has had a wide variety of experiences in coaching all different levels. For two years, he coached in the New York Collegiate Baseball League. In the summer of 2001, he worked as an assistant for the Bourne Braves, a member of the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League. Ten of the 24 players were selected in the 2002 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, while the Braves had one of their most successful seasons in the program's history.
In the summer of 2002 and 2003, Coach Reina was asked by Major League Baseball to work in their International Envoy program. He worked in Southern Germany and in Japan. The purpose of these trips was to further baseball in both countries. He worked with players from ages 7-45 and also worked with softball players in different clubs.
| YEAR BY YEAR COACHING RECORD |
|
|
OVERALL |
CONFERENCE |
|
| YEAR |
SCHOOL |
WIN |
LOSS |
TIE |
WIN |
LOSS |
TIE |
POSTSEASON |
| 2002 |
University of Rochester |
15 |
18 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
|
None |
| 2003 |
University of Rochester |
19 |
21 |
|
7 |
5 |
|
Liberty Lg. Championships |
| 2004 |
University of Rochester |
25 |
10 |
|
9 |
3 |
|
Liberty Lg. Championships |
| 2005 |
University of Rochester |
21 |
16 |
1 |
4 |
8 |
|
None |
| 2006 |
University of Rochester |
15 |
25 |
|
13 |
9 |
|
Liberty Lg. Championships |
| 2007 |
University of Rochester |
21 |
17 |
|
13 |
5 |
|
Liberty Lg. Championships |
| 2008 |
University of Rochester |
28 |
13 |
|
18 |
4 |
|
Liberty Lg. Championships |
| 2009 |
University of Rochester |
30 |
13 |
|
17 |
7 |
|
Liberty Lg. Championships |
| 2010 |
University of Rochester |
29 |
12 |
|
19 |
4 |
|
Liberty Lg. Championships |
| 2011 |
University of Rochester |
14 |
20 |
|
8 |
10 |
|
None |
| 2012 |
University of Rochester |
18 |
21 |
|
13 |
12 |
|
Liberty Lg. Championships |
| 2013 |
University of Rochester |
16 |
24 |
|
10 |
16 |
|
None |
| 2014 |
University of Rochester |
25 |
16 |
|
16 |
8 |
|
Liberty Lg. Championships |
| 2015 |
University of Rochester |
26 |
16 |
|
17 |
7 |
|
Liberty Lg. Championships |
| 2016 |
University of Rochester |
22 |
19 |
|
15 |
9 |
|
Liberty Lg. Championships |
| 2017 |
University of Rochester |
12 |
18 |
|
9 |
11 |
|
None |
| 2018 |
University of Rochester |
19 |
17 |
|
16 |
5 |
|
Liberty Lg. Championships |
| 2019 |
University of Rochester |
29 |
17 |
|
17 |
7 |
|
NCAA Division III Regionals* |
| 2020 |
University of Rochester |
1 |
4 |
|
0 |
0 |
|
None |
| 2021 |
University of Rochester |
24 |
10 |
|
16 |
2 |
|
NCAA Division III Regionals* |
| 2022 |
University of Rochester |
31 |
13 |
|
16 |
3 |
|
NCAA Division III Regionals |
| 2023 |
University of Rochester |
28 |
14 |
|
16 |
3 |
|
Liberty Lg. Championships |
| 2024 |
University of Rochester |
21 |
19 |
|
12 |
6 |
|
Liberty Lg. Championships |
| 2025 |
University of Rochester |
16 |
17 |
|
10 |
10 |
|
None |
| 2026 |
University of Rochester |
14 |
21 |
|
7 |
13 |
|
None |
|
ROCHESTER TOTALS |
529 |
411 |
2 |
302 |
173 |
|
|
|
GRAND TOTAL |
529 |
411 |
2 |
302 |
173 |
|
* - Indicates Liberty League Champions |
|
PERCENT |
.558 |
.636 |
3 NCAA Appearances |
(updated 6/2026)
