EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The East Stroudsburg University baseball team hired Joe Baran '20 as assistant coach, the athletics department announced on January 15.
 
"I'd like to thank Dr. Snook and Coach K for this opportunity," Baran said. "I am excited for my new and expanded role with the program."
 
Baran has been a part of the coaching staff at ESU since 2022, spending three years as a volunteer coach. With his promotion, he will continue to focus on his work with the Warriors' pitching staff in a full-time capacity. In addition to his coaching experience with the Warriors, Baran was also a volunteer assistant at Marywood in 2021 and Lycoming from 2021-2022. At the high school level, Baran spent the 2022 season as an assistant coach at Hazleton Area.
 
"Joe was a standout pitcher for our program in 2019 and 2020," Kochmansky said. "He showed the knowledge of pitching as a player that led me to hire him as the assistant pitching coach in 2022. He has played a major role in the development of our pitching staff, working as our pitching mechanics expert over the past four years. He will also take over as a recruiting coordinator. A dogged recruiter, Joe has played a major role in our last two recruiting classes and our 2026 commitments."
 
As an athlete, Baran began his collegiate career at Stony Brook, playing two seasons with the Seawolves. A two-way player, Baran posted a .250 batting average and .377 OBP in 44 at-bats while pitching 25.2 innings with a 3.86 ERA across 16 appearances. After two years at Stony Brook, Baran spent a season at Lackawanna College, where he was named the Regional Pitcher of the Year and was a NJCAA All-American. Baran was then drafted in the 22nd round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers and was a part of the 2018 Cape Cod League Championship-winning team, the Wareham Gatemen. For his last two years of college baseball, Baran transferred to ESU for the 2019 and 2020 seasons. In his first year as a Warrior, he pitched 27.0 innings in seven appearances, going 3-1 with a 2.67 ERA, 25 Ks, and a .250 BAA. In the abbreviated 2020 season, Baran was on pace for another stellar year, throwing 11.0 innings and only allowing one earned run on six hits with 21 strikeouts. Baran wrapped up his playing career in 2021 with the Sussex County Miners of the Frontier League before pursuing coaching opportunities.

"We are very fortunate to have an alum with the character and pitcher knowledge of Joe," Kochmansky added.
 
In addition to promoting Baran to assistant coach, today also marks the beginning of ESU baseball's preseason training. The Warriors started their five-day minicamp this morning in preparation for Opening Day, now 29 days away from starting the 2026 season against Felician on Feb. 13. The team will conduct two practices a day for five-straight days, along with weight training, meetings, and film sessions. ESU returns this season after winning its first NCAA Division II Atlantic Region championship last year, going 41-16 overall.
 
Baran graduated from East Stroudsburg in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and from King's College in 2024 with a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction.