Joe Kesselmark was announced as the new Baseball Associate Head Coach on September 12, 2025 and now enters his second season on staff for the 2027 season.
“It’s a great day for the baseball program as we add Joe to the staff,” said Schoen. “Joe brings a vast array of baseball experiences that will help our student-athletes but more importantly his core values align with what we have been building here at Mercy.”
"I am incredibly honored to have been named the Associate Head Coach of the Mercy University baseball team, and I would like to thank Chris Schoen, Matt Kilcullen, and Bill Sullivan for this tremendous opportunity,” stated Kesselmark. “I am not only excited about being a part of such a successful team, but also the Mercy University community as a whole, and look forward to what the future holds. Go Mavericks!”
During Kesselmark’s first season with the Mavericks the team made the ECC finals for the first time in program history, won 28 games which is the second most ever, and had the highest end of season ranking in the east region at #8. He coached four ECC all-conference players, five academic all-district players, one east region all-defensive player, and one 1st team all-region player. The team was the ECC academic team of excellence award recipient.
Kesselmark joined the Mavericks from Pace University where he served as an assistant coach for four years. The Setters won their only two NE10 Championships in program history during his tenure. During his time at Pace, Kesselmark worked with hitters, infielders, and baserunners, coaching third base and assisting with offensive play calling. Over his four years at Pace, Kesselmark coached and worked with two rookie hitters of the year, a conference player of the year, two conference tournament MVPs, multiple all-league players, multiple all-defensive league players, two all-regional players, and one All-American.
Kesselmark is a member of the Pace University Athletic Hall of Fame and is the program’s all time career batting average leader with a .448 average in three seasons. During his junior year he batted .487 (2nd in the country in DI for the season) in 39 games with 77 hits, 60 RBI’s, 58 runs scored, 18 stolen bases, 17 HR’s, and an OPS of 1.455. He was named a 1st Team GTE Academic All-American.
After his junior season he was selected in the 8th round of the 1986 MLB draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. In his first professional season he batted .348 and was named the Howe News Bureau MVP of the Pioneer League. In total he played five years of professional baseball with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Guardians reaching the AAA level.
A Poughkeepsie native, Kesselmark is enshrined in the Our Lady of Lourdes High School Hall of Fame and the Dutchess County Baseball Hall of Fame.
Kesselmark is currently a resident of Putnam Valley, NY with his wife Sonia. Their daughter, Drew, is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, and works in Private Equity in NYC. Their son, Troy, is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is currently an officer in the US Coast Guard.
