Coaching Staff

Tad Skelley | Head Coach

Vassar College Director of Athletics and Physical Education Michelle Walsh has announced the hiring of Tad Skelley as the new Head Baseball Coach in July 2024. Skelley will join the Brewers following a two-year stint as the Head Coach at Gordon College.

"We're very excited that Tad accepted our offer to serve as the next head coach for our baseball program", said Walsh. "Throughout the interview process, Tad demonstrated a clear commitment to taking our program to the next level competitively while also working to build upon a strong and inclusive team culture aligned with team, department, and college values.  Tad's focus on player development along with his emphasis on serving as a positive role model for our student-athletes both on and off the field distinguished him among a deep pool of candidates and I'm looking forward to the future of the program under his leadership.

Skelley was hired as the Gordon Head Coach in June of 2022 and led the Scots to an appearance in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Tournament in his first season. During his tenure, Skelley mentored two All-CCC First Team recipients along with two All-Region honorees. He also saw three College Sport Communicators Academic All-District selections and 13 named to the CCC All-Academic team.

"I am honored to be entrusted with the Vassar Baseball program; I want to thank Michelle Walsh, Matt Brennie, the search committee and the entire leadership team in the Vassar Athletics Department", said Skelley. "Vassar is undoubtedly one of the premier academic institutions in the country, and I am beyond excited to build a championship culture both on and off the field."

Prior to his time at Gordon, Skelley was the lead assistant at Colby from 2018-22 where he helped transform the Mules from a 7-25 regular season squad to a 24-13 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Tournament post-season contender for the first time in program history. At the conclusion of the 2022 regular season, Colby set a program record for overall wins and most conference wins in program history.

Over the course of his tenure at Colby, seven student-athletes were named to the NESCAC All-Conference Team. Skelley also oversaw an offense that set program records for slugging percentage, on base percentage, on base plus slugging (OPS), runs per game, extra base hits per game, and home runs per game amongst others.

Skelley was also an amateur scout and Southeast video coordinator for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018 where he assisted the director of scouting as well as the front office with preparation for the Major League Baseball draft. Skelley was tasked with creating scouting reports on amateur, professional, and international players.

In the summer of 2017, Skelley was the head coach for the Brockton Rox, supervising all aspects of managing a competitive summer collegiate baseball organization. Skelley was responsible for selecting and signing all players to the active roster.

Skelley spent three years from 2015-18 as the assistant coach and camp coordinator at Northwestern University where he developed two MLB draft picks. In 2013, he was appointed as the Director of Baseball Operations at the University of Notre Dame where he coordinated all team travel, assisted with on-campus recruiting, and oversaw and directed all team video operations.

A 2011 graduate of Wheaton College (Mass.) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, Skelley captained his team during his senior season and helped Wheaton to a 130-44 record in his four years. During his career, Wheaton won three conference and tournament championships. In 2017, Skelley also earned a Wildcat Initiative for Leadership Development certificate from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and is currently completing his master's degree in business administration from Thomas College.

Zack Landy | Interim Assistant Coach

Landy joins the Vassar College Baseball staff following a three-year stint as the pitching coach at Utica University. Landy will also have the title of facilities assistant at Vassar.

"I would like to thank Director of Athletics and Physical Education Michelle Walsh, Interim Head Coach Blayne Fuke, and the rest of the committee for selecting me as the next Assistant Coach at Vassar College" stated Landy. "I am extremely excited to join such a tremendous community within the Vassar athletic department and contribute to the overall student-athlete experience."

Landy joined the Utica University baseball program in the winter of 2021 as an athletic assistant. He will primarily work with the team as a pitching coach, while also assisting head coach Joe Milazzo with all facets of the program.

"I'm extremely excited for the addition of Coach Zack Landy to the Brewers Baseball family" , said Fuke. "His knowledge of the game, passion for coaching and overall character will help guide student-athletes on and off the field. We are all looking forward to working with him and we welcome him to the Vassar community."

In 2023, Utica's pitchers set a program record for strikeouts and had the second most wins in program history. The staff was second in wins, saves, fewest walks allowed, and runs scored while also being top three in ERA, strikeouts and batting average in the Empire 8. Landy helped freshman pitcher Kooper Knabe to win Utica Baseball's first ever league award as E8 Rookie of the Year. Knabe was also named to three All-Region Teams (D3Baseball.com, ABCA/Rawlings, and ECAC). Knabe finished with the best ERA in the Empire 8.

Brendan May, the closer for the Pioneers signed a professional contract with the Alpine Cowboys (TX) of the Pecos League after setting the career saves record at Utica. May was also named to two All-Region teams. Three pitchers were named to the Empire 8 All-Conference team and one was selected as All-Tournament team. Members of the pitching staff were awarded E8 weekly honors seven times throughout the 2023 season.

In 2022, the Utica staff ranked first in the Empire 8 in strikeouts with 257, second in ERA, B/AVG, and runs allowed. He helped Ryan Cardone earn an ABCA/Rawlings All-Region selection; the first for a pitcher in school history. The staff was awarded three all-conference selections with one member named to the all-tournament team.

In his first season as Utica's pitching coach in 2021, Landy led the Pioneers pitching staff to the program's first-ever Empire 8 Conference Championship Series. The Utica pitching staff ranked in the top-three in the Empire 8 Conference in ERA, strikeouts, and runs allowed. In 2021, Landy's pitching staff included two Empire 8 All-Conference selections and one member was named to the Empire 8 Conference All-Tournament Team. His staff was also awarded conference pitcher of the week three times during the 2021 season. Under Landy, Grad-Student Griffin Baur set the single season school record for strikeouts (75) and set program records in appearances, games started, innings pitched, wins and strikeouts.

In the summer of 2023, Landy served as the Head Coach of the Hitter's Club Hawkeyes in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League (ACBL) and had three players selected to the All Star Game.

Landy enjoyed a decorated four-year baseball career at Alvernia University in Reading, Pennsylvania. The right hander finished with a 13-4 record and five saves in 54 total appearances with the Crusaders/Golden Wolves. He logged a 3.38 ERA and 107 career strikeouts. The team made three NCAA regional appearances and also won the 2019 MAC Commonwealth Conference Tournament title with Landy on the roster. He threw 11 innings in that tournament and recorded the win in the championship clincher. Also in 2019, he was named MAC Pitcher of the Week and to the D3Baseball.com Team of the Week for a complete game one-hit shutout against Albright College.

He graduated from Alvernia in May 2019 with his four-year degree in Sports Management and Economics. He completed his Master's Degree in Business Adminstration from Utica in 2023.

Jonathan Caceres | Assistant Coach