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David Valesente

David Valesente was selected as the fourth head coach in the baseball program's storied history on August 8, 2019. Valesente served as the head baseball coach at Wells College in Aurora, N.Y. for three years prior to his arrival at Ithaca. In six seasons at Ithaca, Valesente has guided the program to an overall record of 139-74-1 (.652).

Valesente's first season on South Hill was shortened to just seven games as the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown all intercollegiate athletics across the country in mid-March. In his first full season with the program in 2021, Valesente posted a 16-12-1 record and reached the Liberty League Tournament.

The Bombers had a historic season under Valesente in 2022, as IC won its first Liberty League title and finished the year with a 34-14 record. Valesente and his staff were named Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year as the Bombers reached the NCAA Super Regional, which was hosted in Ithaca. Valesente would also be named ABCA Co-Coach of the Year for Region 3. Buzz Shirley was named Third-Team All-American by D3baseball.com and set the school record for doubles in a season. Connor Pedersen, the Liberty League Rookie of the Year, established a new single season record for hits, while Kyle Lambert, the Liberty League Pitcher of the Year, set a new school standard for single season strikeouts.

IC returned to the Super Regional in 2023 as the Bombers finished the year with a 31-16 record. The Bombers won their second straight Liberty League title and swept the Cortland Regional with wins over No. 14 Eastern Connecticut State and two against No. 22 Cortland, including a 15-0 win in the final. Garrett Callaghan would be named Second-Team All-American by the ABCA and Lambert reset his single season strikeout record with 101 during the campaign. Valesente would be named ABCA/ATEC Region 3 Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Ithaca won its third consecutive Liberty League title in 2024 and posted an overall record of 31-11. Valesente earned his 100th win at Ithaca during the season and Louis Fabbo set the program record for career hits at 227. The Bombers once again returned to the Liberty League Tournament in 2025 as the No. 1 seed and reached the championship round before falling to RPI. IC posted a 26-15 record in 2025 as Jack Picozzi was named Liberty League Pitcher of the Year.

Valesente, who joined Wells in 2015, was the first-ever head coach in program history. Over the past three seasons he guided the Express to an overall record of 46-63, which included an 18-22 season this past spring and a trip to the North Eastern Athletic Conference playoffs. He built the program from the ground up and was charged with overseeing all aspects of the program, which became the seventh men's varsity sport at Wells.

Valesente is no stranger to the Ithaca College baseball program, as he will succeed his father, hall of fame coach George Valesente '66, who announced his retirement after 41 seasons and two national championships at his alma mater. The 2019 Bombers posted a record of 31-9 to run the nation's longest winning streak at any level to 81 straight seasons. IC also won its 17th Empire 8 Conference title in 20 seasons to advance to NCAA Regional play. Ithaca will play the 2020 season as a member of the Liberty League. 

Prior to his appointment at Wells, Valesente was an assistant coach at his alma mater, Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pa., for two seasons under head coach and IC alumnus Fritz Hamburg '89. Valesente worked primarily with the catchers and oversaw the development of Brian O'Keefe, a seventh-round pick in the 2014 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. He also coached one season at Arcadia University before returning to St. Joe's.

Valesente is a 2010 graduate of St. Joe's and was a four-year member of the baseball team. Valesente was selected as the Senior Male Athlete of the Year at the university, to go along with being named a three-time Most Outstanding Player of the team. He would also garner Atlantic-10 All-Rookie Team honors in 2007, and he finished his career with a .323 batting average and ranked fifth all-time with 216 hits for the Hawks.

Upon graduation, Valesente played one year professionally with the Alpine Cowboys in the Pecos Professional Baseball League, an independent league in Texas. He would go on to sign an undrafted free agent contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2012 and eventually played two seasons in the New York-Penn League with the State College Spikes and Jamestown Jammers.

A four-time scholar-athlete recipient, Valesente earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Saint Joseph's and his master's degree in sports studies from the United States Sports Academy.

Valesente resides in Lansing with his wife, Meghan, and their two children.

6/11/2025