Pitt baseball has already filled an assistant coaching vacancy that was created less than a week ago. On Tuesday, former Panthers assistant Matt Reida announced that he had left the program and accepted an assistant coaching role at the University of Alabama. By Saturday, head coach Mike Bell had filled the position.
Joe Mercadante, a Stetson University alumnus and veteran college coach, will join Pitt this season, according to Kendall Rogers of D1Baseball. Mercadante, the former Stetson University and Miami (Fla.) assistant, announced he has accepted an assistant coaching position and will join the Panthers in time for next season.
He brings with him a decorated resume as a collegiate coach. Mercadante was an assistant on a Stetson Hatters team that hosted and won an NCAA Regional in 2018, his lone year with the program. That year, they also set a program record in runs and won the Atlantic Sun tournament championship.
Prior to that, he spent seven years with the Miami Hurricanes, where he coached hitters and worked with the catchers defensively. During his time in Coral Gables, the Hurricanes won four Regional tournaments, went to the College World Series twice and Mercadante coached a pair of Johnny Bench Award finalists in Yasmani Grandal and Eddy Rodriguez.
In 2011, Mercandante left the Hurricanes to spend one year as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Central Florida.
As a player, Mercandante spent two years in junior college before arriving at the University of Florida in 2002. He batted .471 primarily as a reserve for the Gators, but missed most of the following season — his senior year — before beginning his coaching career.
