EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The ESU Athletics Department announced the hiring of Kraigen Rasalla as the new assistant coach for the ESU baseball team on Aug. 19.
 
"I'd like to thank Dr. Snook and Coach Kochmansky for this great opportunity," Rasalla said. "I am extremely grateful to become a part of the ESU Baseball family, and I am excited for the opportunity to get to work alongside Coach K, the players, and the rest of the coaching staff to help the program get back to Cary."
 
Rasalla comes to the Poconos after one season at Dickinson College, where he was the Assistant Coach for the Red Devils. Rasalla led and organized the pitching staff for Dickinson, helping the Red Devils improve their win total by four from 2025 to 2026. Prior to that, Rasalla spent over two years at the University of Virginia, working as a Recruiting Assistant and Camp Director. Helping the Cavaliers advance to the 2024 College World Series, he created defensive scouting reports for the coaching staff and managed the bullpen on game days in addition to identifying and communicating with recruits.
 
"I am very excited to have Coach Rasalla join our coaching staff and lead this group of pitchers," Head Coach John Kochmansky said. "For a young coach, he has a wealth of experience. He has been the lead pitching coach at two previous universities and gained valuable experience spending two years at a Power 5 school, including a trip to the Division I College World Series in Omaha."
 
Rasalla played collegiately for one year at Lackawanna College before transferring to Dominican University for his final three seasons. As a freshman, he recorded a 0.88 ERA and helped Lackawanna capture the Region XIX Championship. After jumping up to Division II at Dominican, Rasalla earned All-Conference honors as a relief pitcher in his first season, and followed that up by earning CACC Tournament MVP as he led the Chargers to a conference championship. Concluding his collegiate career as a team captain in 2018, he began his coaching career at the University of Scranton three years later. Spending three seasons with the Royals, Rasalla began his career as their pitching coach. Under his tutelage, he helped Scranton reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, win the 2021 Landmark Conference Championship, and set a team record with 28 wins in 2022. The Royals' pitching thrived with Rasalla as their assistant coach, as he oversaw one conference pitcher of the year in 2021, helped three pitchers earn all-conference honors in 2022, and, as a whole, Scranton led the Landmark Conference with the lowest team ERA and BB/9 rate.
 
As Rasalla takes over as Assistant Coach for the Warriors, Joe Baran will remain with the program as an Assistant Pitching Coach and Co-Recruiting Coordinator. Baran, who spent three years as a volunteer coach prior to becoming the Assistant Coach in 2026, helped ESU claim a share of the PSAC East regular-season title and saw two pitchers earn All-Region honors.
 
"Coach Baran really stepped up for his alma mater last season to take the job after the full-time Assistant/Pitching Coach position became vacant between semesters," Kochmansky said. "He will now work very closely with Coach Rasalla as the Assistant Pitching Coach and Co-Recruiting Coordinator. I feel we have strengthened our coaching staff by adding two excellent coaches whose strengths and philosophies blend well together."
 
Rasalla, who received his Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Dominican University in 2018, joins ESU as the Warriors are coming off their fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.