Saint Peter's Names Ken Passante Softball Head Coach
MAAC Sports
Courtesy Saint Peter's University Athletics.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Saint Peter's University Director of Athletics Joe Quinlan has announced the hiring of Ken Passante as the softball head coach.
"I am excited to welcome Ken Passante as our softball head coach coach," said Quinlan. "Ken brings a great knowledge of the game and experience as an instructor and a coach. Ken knows what it takes to be successful and has strong recruiting ties to the New Jersey area. We believe his background will position us well to recruit skilled softball student-athletes and help our team grow as a program and be competitive in the MAAC."
Passante returns to the dugout after spending a year as the assistant softball coach at Adelphi University in 2006. During his time in Garden City, he served as the third base coach and helped run all offensive strategies for the team. He helped the Panthers to a 33-17 record and a regional playoff appearance.
"I am extremely excited for the opportunity to be joining the Athletic staff at St Peter's University," said Passante. "After meeting with Director of Athletics Joe Quinlan and seeing he had the same vision as myself for the program I hoped I would get the chance to coach here. Now that I have been given that opportunity, I very much look forward to proving myself and rewarding the student athletes as well as the University.
Passante also served as the owner and instructor of the Hit Gym from 2005-11. He trained and instructed coaches and players on hitting and defense along with working with high school programs on game strategies, hitting, defense and motivational talks.
Prior to his arrival at Adelphi, he served as the head softball coach for Briarcliffe College from 1997-2007. Passante enjoyed success during his time with the Seahawks, developing the program and transforming it into a National powerhouse in NJCAA D1. Passante led the team to nine regional playoff appearances including eight trips to the College World Series in nine years.
Briarcliffe finished with Top-5 finishes as All-Academic Team of The Year from 2003-07 during his tenure as head coach. His shining moment came in 2002, when Passante led the team to a fourth-place finish in the College World Series and was named the All-Academic Team of The Year. Passante has also coached three college all-star teams in the Canada Cup pre-Olympic Tournament.
While coaching at Briarcliffe, Passante served as the program's Athletic Director from 1999-2005. Passante was responsible for running all aspects of the athletic department, including handling the department's budget, distribution of scholarships, overseeing travel arrangements and monitoring the academic progress of every student athlete. He developed new programs to the school, including ice hockey, where he was the head coach, men and women's basketball, men's lacrosse and cross country.
During his tenure as athletic director, he brought the department from a two-year junior college program to a four-year program.
Passante got his College coaching start at Suffolk Community College from 1994-97, where he developed the program and helped lead the team to three regional playoff appearances, including a College World Series appearance.
Passante attended New College of California, where he earned his Bachelor's Degree in Business Management in 1980.