Prep Baseball Report

Become a Member

More +

Coaches Corner: Matt Mazurek (Canisius College, Recruiting Coordinator)

January 4, 2016



Charlie Karstedt
Assistant Director, New York

As the New Year begins we will look to launch some new baseball material to our website.  One addition to the PBR New York page that we are especially excited to release is our weekly “Coaches Corner” where we'll sit down for a brief Q & A with college coaches across New York.  In these interviews we will not only get some background on their respective programs but also get some honest feedback for young ball players and parents going through the recruiting process.  Who better to talk to about what coaches are looking for than those doing the hands on recruiting themselves?

Matt Mazurek (Canisius College, Recruiting Coordinator)


College or University: Canisius College
Level: Division 1 (MAAC)
Coaches Name: Matt Mazurek
Coaches Title: Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator

Playing Career
2003-2004 - 2 Years, Jamestown Community College
2004-2006 - 2 Years, Canisius College
2007-2009 - 3 Years of Independent Baseball, Joliet Jackhammers / Rockford Riverhawks

Coaching Career
2007 - Student Assistant Coach @ Canisius College
2008-2009 - 2 Years as Volunteer Assistant Coach at Canisius College
2010-2012 - 2 Years as a Graduate Assistant Coach
2012-2014 - 2 Years as Part-Time Assistant Coach / Recruiting Coordinator
2014-Present - Full-Time Assistant Coach / Recruiting Coordinator


PBR: Can you give us a quick look inside the Canisius Baseball Program?

Mazurek: Two Conference Titles in the last three years; 257 Wins in the past seven years, highest win total in the North East Region in that seven years; 24th Nationally in win percentage in the last eight years; 5th nationally in wins among non-power conferences; Only team in the northeast with at least 33 wins in seven of last eight seasons; played in a MAAC championship series for the title in six of last seven years; 11 players drafted in the last six years.

PBR: What is unique to your program that your staff and team takes great pride in?

Mazurek: The ability to get the most out of our players with the resources that we have at our disposal.  Being a north east program does not hold us back in any way shape or form. We take pride in being able to get as many games in as possible year after year. At the start of the 2015 NCAA Tournament Canisius had the most games played in the nation.

PBR: What do you look for in potential players?

Mazurek: First athletic ability.  Then we do a background check on academics, character and quality of kid as the tipping point for yes or no with our program.  Players must be a good fit for our philosophies within our program.

PBR: Are there any immediate “Red Flags” when recruiting players?

Mazurek: Selfish tendencies on the field.  

PBR: Academically are there any base-numbers that you look for?

Mazurek: SAT: 1200 GPA: 93%+ standout the most to our staff.

PBR: Have any players gone on to play professionally from your program? If so how many?

Mazurek: 11 in the last six years.  Sean Jameson won a gold medal for Team Canada in 2015. John Axford is a current big leaguer.  Garrett Cortright has been invited to MLB spring training for 2016.  Kevin Mahoney, a Canisius College Alumni is currently a minor league coach in the Yankees organization.

PBR: Do you have any interesting facts or stories about Canisius Baseball?

Mazurek: Our 2015 graduating class left with two championship rings and was just one game away each of the other two seasons from leaving with four rings on their hand.

PBR: Do you have any advice for prospective student athletes?

Mazurek: Players must carry themselves with high character both on and off the field.  Always respect the game as it is a privilege and not a right to play this game.

*Please check back periodically as we will look to release another interview weekly*

Recent News

 

Upcoming Events