Stevens Institute of Technology Men's Baseball

Kristaps Aldins is in his 15th season as the head coach of the Stevens Institute of Technology baseball team. Since taking over in the summer of 2011, Aldins has compiled a 329-224-1 record. Aldins has helped the Ducks capture four regular season conference titles, one in the MAC Freedom, two in the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC), and one in the Empire 8 (E8). Stevens also won the CUNYAC Tournament title in 2014. That same year, the Ducks advanced to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament for the first time since 2002 and won their first NCAA Tournament game in program history. In 2022 Stevens achieved yet another first-ever milestone, qualifying for the "big dance" as an at-large selection. Aldins, who has led his staff to four Coaching Staff of the Year Awards (one in the MAC Freedom and three in the Empire 8), set the Stevens Baseball program record for wins in a 15-8 victory over Delaware Valley on March 13, 2021. More commonly known as “Coach Taps,” Aldins has seen three of his Stevens Ducks former student-athletes sign a total of four Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliated contracts. Charlie Ruegger '20 was selected in the 33rd round of the MLB Draft by the New York Yankees in 2018. Meanwhile Robert Robbins '16 signed a free agent contract with the Chicago Cubs in 2019. Lastly, Chandler Brierley '20, '21 inked free agent deals with the Kansas City Royals in 2023 and the Seattle Mariners in 2024. Coach Taps previously served as the head coach of the Latvian National Team, which he coached in the 2011 and 2014 European Championship Qualifier in Antwerp, Belgium and Ljubljana, Slovenia respectively. He led Latvia to its first-ever National Team victories over Norway (10-7) and Hungary (12-4). In the November of 2014 International Baseball Federation (IBAF) World Rankings Latvia moved up six spots, the fifth biggest jump in the world from 2013 to 2014. Aldins, who is a dual citizen (United States and Latvia), also competed for Latvia as a member of the national team in 2014. During these mentioned years, he arranged instruction for the Latvian National Team from the MLB Envoy coaching program. Aldins has served as an advisor to the Latvian Baseball Federation (now defunct) as well as to the Latvian Baseball and Softball Union. He has now stepped away from active coaching duties and the active player role. Coach Taps also currently serves as the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) NCAA Region IV Organization Committee Chair (Fall 2024-Present). He held the corresponding role for the formerly-named New York Region from 2014-2018. He is also a member of the MAC Freedom Sport Committee member (2019-Present) and in 2018-19 he served a one-year term as the Empire 8’s representative on the NCAA’s New York Regional Advisory Committee. Aldins has been an ABCA member for the entirety of his coaching career, spanning his time at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2005-2009), Harvard University (2009-2011) and Stevens. 2022: Division III Shenandoah Regional 2014: Division III New York Regional* * – First NCAA Tournament victory in program history 2024: Erik Sibbach - D3baseball.com Second Team All-American / ABCA Third Team All-American 2016: Jayson Yano – American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings Gold Glove 2016: Jayson Yano – D3Baseball.com Third Team All-American 2015: Jayson Yano – D3Baseball.com Second Team All-American 2025 Eli Somers - D3baseball.com First Team All-Region/ABCA/Rawlings Second Team All-Region 2025: David Finch - ABCA/Rawlings Second Team All-Region/D3baseball.com Third Team All-Region 2025: Justin Doyle - D3baseball.com Third Team All-Region 2025: Dylan Fishbough - ABCA/Rawlings Third Team All-Region 2025: Victor Schilleci - ABCA/Rawlings Third Team All-Region 2024: Erik Sibbach - ABCA/Rawlings Region 4 Pitcher of the Year, ABCA First Team All-Region/D3baseball.com First Team All-Region 2024: Garret Wolf - D3baseball.com Region 4 Rookie of the Year, D3baseall.com Second Team All-Region 2024: Joe Gonzalez - ABCA Third Team All-Region 2024: Eli Somers - ABCA Third Team All-Region 2023: Christian Kreiser – ABCA Third Team All-Region 2022: Hunter Silvernail – ABCA Second Team All-Region 2022: Thomas Paulich – ABCA Third Team All-Region 2022: Jacob Buurman – D3Baseball.com Third Team/ABCA Third Team All-Region 2021: Ryan Wall – ABCA Second Team All-Region 2021: Anthony Pron –  ABCA Third Team All-Region  2018: Charlie Ruegger – D3Baseball.com Second Team/ABCA First Team All-Region 2018: Donny Gheradi – D3Baseball.com Third Team/ABCA Second Team All-Region 2018: Alex Detweiler – ABCA Second Team All-Region 2016: Zeph Walters – D3Baseball.com Third Team/ABCA Third Team All-Region 2016: Nick Sieber – ABCA Third Team All-Region 2016: Jayson Yano – D3Baseball.com First Team/ABCA Second Team All-Region 2015: Robert Robbins – D3Baseball.com Third Team All-Region 2015: Jayson Yano – D3Baseball.com First Team/ABCA First Team All-Region, D3Baseball.com New York Region Player of the Year 2013: Dan Allen – D3Baseball.com First Team/ABCA Third Team All-Region 2012: Dan Allen – ABCA Third Team All-Region 2012: Matt Glassman – ABCA Third Team All-Region 2024: Chandler Brierley (Free Agent) – Seattle Mariners 2023: Chandler Brierley (Free Agent) – Kansas City Royals 2019: Robert Robbins (Free Agent) – Chicago Cubs 2018-2022: Charlie Ruegger (33rd Round, #997th Overall Pick, Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft) – New York Yankees 2021-2023: Chandler Brierley – Joliet Slammers (Frontier League), Lancaster Barnstormers (Atlantic League) 2018-2020: Quinn DiPasquale – Gary SouthShore Railcats (American Association of Independent Professional Baseball), Schaumburg Boomers (Frontier League), Sydney Blue Sox (Australian Baseball League), Cologne Cardinals (Ben's Baseball-Bundesliga, Germany) 2016-2018: Robert Robbins – Joliet Slammers (Frontier League), Windy City Thunderbolts (Frontier League) 2016: Jayson Yano – Windy City Thunderbolts (Frontier League) 2012: Tom Phillips – Fussen Royal Bavarians (Germany) 2025: Kristaps Aldins – Coach of the Year 2025: David Finch – Pitcher of the Year 2024: Erik Sibbach – Pitcher of the Year 2018: Charlie Ruegger – Pitcher of the Year 2018: Thomas Paulich – Rookie of the Year 2018: Alex Detweiler – Player of the Year 2018: Coaching Staff of the Year 2016: Jayson Yano – Pitcher of the Year 2016: Jayson Yano – Player of the Year 2015: Coaching Staff of the Year 2015: Jayson Yano – Pitcher of the Year 2015: Jayson Yano – Player of the Year 2013: Jayson Yano – Rookie of the Year 2012: Kristaps Aldins – Co-Coach of the Year Maintained a 3.669 cumulative team-GPA in the spring 2025 semester and currently hold a 3.692 Team Cumulative GPA One of just 19 DIII programs to receive the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Academic Team Excellence Award all eight years of existence 2024 ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award 2024: Michael Reyes - CSC Academic All-District Team 2024: Eli Somers - CSC Academic All-District Team 2024: Joe Gonzalez - CSC Academic All-District Team 2024: Erik Sibbach - CSC Academic All-District Team 2023: ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award 2023: Justin Doyle – CoSIDA All-District Team 2023: Christian Kreiser – CoSIDA All-District Team 2023: Ben Tobio – CoSIDA All-District Team 2023: Michael Reyes – CoSIDA All-District Team 2022: ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award 2022: Thomas Paulich – CoSIDA All-District Team 2021: ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award 2020: ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award 2019: ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award 2019 Empire 8 All-Academic Team 2018: ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award 2018 Empire 8 All-Academic Team 2017: ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award 2017 Empire 8 All-Academic Team 2016: Zeph Walters – CoSIDA First Team All-District 2016: Jayson Yano – CoSIDA First Team All-District 2016: ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award (first year of existence for this award) 2016 Empire 8 All-Academic Team 2015 Empire 8 All-Academic Team 2014 Empire 8 All-Academic Team 2013 Empire 8 All-Academic Team 2012: Matt Glassman – CoSIDA Third Team All-American 2012: Matt Glassman – CoSIDA First Team All-District In his tenure at Stevens, Coach Taps has seen his Ducks win one regular season MAC Freedom championship, one regular season Empire 8 Conference crown, two regular season CUNYAC titles, and one CUNYAC championship tournament title. Reached the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection in the 2022 season. Aldins heads into the 2025 season as the program’s all-time leader in career wins The 2021 season saw the Ducks advance to the MAC Freedom Tournament title game for the first time in program history. In 2025 Stevens repeated this feat. In 2018, Aldins helped Charlie Ruegger become the first Stevens player drafted into MLB in 45 years. In 2019, Coach Taps saw one of his former student-athletes, Robert Robbins '16, sign a free agent contract with the Chicago Cubs organization. Prior to this, Robbins had spent portions of three seasons playing independent baseball and also had two separate stints at Driveline in Kent, Washington. In 2023, Aldins saw another former Duck parlay their independent baseball experiences into an MLB affiliated free agent contract as Chandler Brierley '20, '21 signed with the Kansas City Royals organization. Set a new program record with 29 victories in 2015 and matched it, again, in 2022 Coached the Ducks to their first NCAA tournament victory over Union College on May 15, 2014 Continues to place numerous Stevens student-athletes in top summer collegiate leagues around the country including the Cape Cod League, MLB Draft League, Northwoods League, Futures League, and Coastal Plain League, amongst many others. Spent one season as a volunteer assistant at Harvard and then was promoted to full-time assistant coach status. Served as the director and owner of the Rising Star Academic Prospect Camp. Helped place the Crimson's student-athletes in some of the top summer collegiate leagues in the country. Worked primarily with hitters and the outfielders. Played a central role in the Harvard Crimson's nationwide recruiting efforts. Aldins oversaw a pitching staff of 16 student-athletes. Helped lead the Engineers to a school-record 25 victories in 2009. Held the role of recruiting-coordinator. Contributed to MIT making two appearances in the NEWMAC Tournament finals. Assisted in developing one NEWMAC Player of the Year, one Academic All-American and numerous All-New England and all-conference performers. As a collegiate player, Aldins was a three-time All-Academic student-athlete. Earned 2005 Liberty League Player of the Year his senior season. Named First-Team ABCA/Rawlings New York State All-Region and was selected to the ECAC Upstate All-Star team. Graduated from Vassar with a double degree in history and Russian studies in 2005. Aldins received his master’s degree in Sports Leadership from Northeastern University in June of 2011. Currently serving as the ABCA NCAA Division III New York Region IV Organization Committee Chair (Fall 2024-Present) Coach Taps has also served as the head coach of the Latvian National team, which he coached in the 2011 and 2014 European Championship Qualifier in Antwerp, Belgium and Ljubljana, Slovenia respectively. Led Latvia to its first-ever National Team victories over Norway (10-7) and Hungary (12-4). In the November of 2014 International Baseball Federation (IBAF) World Rankings Latvia moved up six spots, the fifth biggest jump in the world from 2013 to 2014 Aldins, who is a dual citizen (United States and Latvia), also competed for Latvia as a member of the national team in 2014. He posted a 1-0 record in 11.0 innings with an ERA of 0.00 as a pitcher. He also batted .750 on the tournament with seven runs scored, eight walks, three hit by pitches, and a .933 on-base percentage. During the summer of 2011 Aldins served as the director of the Cape Cod League Tryout in Wareham, Mass. Coached for the North Shore Navigators of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL), enjoying two playoff appearances in consecutive seasons. Helped the team to an overall 46-37 record and assisted in the development of nine future MLB draft picks. Has been a part of the "Speak Up" program at Stevens as a trained facilitator, volunteering to work with several of the athletic department's 24 teams. Previously served as the chair of the Stevens Athletic Department's Professional Development Committee (2020-2022), the Stevens Athletics Golf Outing Committee, and also was a member of the Stevens Athletics "Projects Committee". Served as the ABCA NCAA DIII New York Region Organization Committee Chair from 2014-2018. Represented the Empire 8 Conference as the Sports Chair for Baseball (2013-2015), the CUNYAC as the Games Committee Chair (2013-2014), and the MAC Freedom as a Sport Committee member (2019-Present). In 2018-19, Aldins served a one-year term as the Empire 8’s representative on the NCAA’s New York Regional Advisory Committee. Served as the Regional NCAA Site Representative for the 2019 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship held at UMass-Boston. Aldins is married to the former Shannon Hearon and the couple resides in West Orange, N.J along with their two daughters Nora and Ella.  

My college career was played at Kean University which is a small D3 in NJ where I was a pitcher. While there I was fortunate enough to be apart of some talented teams that were able to make two runs to the College World Series.  I was announced to the Ducks coaching staff on November 28, 2017. Prior to that I was able to gain experience coaching in summer leagues such as the Prospect & Northwoods League. As well as spending a couple seasons coaching High School (Franklin HS) & Summer Club Teams  (Full Count Baseball).  Our coaching staff tries to give our players everything they need to succeed and we look forward to seeing our guys soon so we can get back to work!  

Head baseball coach Kristaps Aldins announced the hiring of Brendan Smith as an assistant in December 2023. Smith comes to Castle Point after serving as an assistant coach for both Somers High School and the Taconic Rangers travel team program. Additionally, the Purdys, New York native was a contributor to FanSided and SB Nation covering such topics as major and minor league baseball, Syracuse University football and college basketball recruiting. As a student-athlete, Smith spent five years on the diamond for both The State University of New York at Albany and Iona College, where he earned five victories, averaging nearly a strikeout an inning over 43 career appearances (16 starts). Prior to entering the Division I ranks, Smith went 4-4 with a 3.93 earned-run average over 48 2-3 innings at Dean College, which was competing in the National Junior College Athletic Association. Smith also has professional experience with four independent teams, most recently with the Windy City ThunderBolts of the Frontier League. Smith earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in rhetoric and communication in 2019 and he completed his master’s degree in sports communication and media with an advanced certificate in cybercrime and prevention from Iona in 2021.