TYLER PACOS
Sports Editor
Although students have had the past couple of months off for summer vacation, the Fredonia Blue Devils Athletic Department has been working diligently to fill two vacant head coaching positions over the course of the off-season.
At the end of the Spring 2022 semester, the search began for a new women’s lacrosse coach as former coach Alanna Herne announced she would be stepping away from the game. Men’s baseball also had been looking to acquire a head coach as at the time interim head coach Jordan Basile was filling in for Matt Palisin, former coach and current sports information director.
Image retrieved from fredoniabluedevils.com
Luckily for the baseball team, Fredonia’s athletic department looked no further than Jordan Basile, a former Blue Devil who certainly has what it takes to lead the squad. Basile has had numerous experiences in his baseball career, including his work with the Detroit Tigers back in 2011. Basile told The Leader in an interview last spring that “Fredonia feels like home and this is somewhere I plan to be for a long time.” Now, Fredonia officially is home for Basile.
As for women’s lacrosse, they are bringing in Tori Poffenberger, former NCAA Woman of the Year nominee. According to the hiring report on the Blue Devils athletic page, Poffenberger’s career started out at her Alma Mater of St Mary’s College of Maryland as a graduate assistant. From there, she assisted at Boonsboro High School for three seasons before taking over as head coach in 2019. The report also highlights some of her biggest accomplishments throughout her career thus-far.
Both newly acquired coaches can be seen in action during the upcoming spring season, which will start in March of 2023.