Union College Men's Baseball

John Muller completed his second season as the head coach of the Union College baseball team in 2025.  In his first two seasons, Muller has led the Garnet Chargers to a combined 51-30 record. In 2024, Muller guided the program to a 29-12 record, the best finish for the team since 2018. Union clinched the second seed in the Liberty League Crossover Series and dispatched RIT in three games to earn a spot in the Liberty League Tournament. Union finished in the top five nationally in on base percentage (1st), scoring (t-1st), and batting average (5th). Sophomore Caleb Miller was named the Liberty League Player of the Year, first-year Jack Collins was the conference's Rookie of the Year, and Muller's staff earned Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year along with eight All-Conference players. Five players earned All-Region honors from D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association.    Muller recently finished his seventh season at the helm of the baseball team at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in 2023. After spending his first few years in Riverdale building the culture of the program, the results of Muller’s efforts started to show in recent years, boasting 62 wins over the last three seasons. The team won a program-record 26 games in 2022 on the way to a tie for second in the Skyline Conference regular-season standings, winning the program’s first conference tournament game since 2011 and boasting the program’s first ABCA and D3baseball.com All-American, Jake Blinstrub. His 2023 squad tied for second all-time at the school with 23 wins to its credit, while making the postseason for the fourth straight season and seeing a program-record-tying four players earn All-Region recognition.   In total, 12 CMSV players earned All-Region honors during his tenure in addition to two Regional Rookies of the Year, three Skyline Conference Players of the year, one Skyline Conference Pitcher of the Year, and 16 All-Conference honorees. Muller’s teams also succeeded off the field, earning the ABCA Academic Excellence Award in each of the last six seasons.   In addition to his time at the helm of the baseball team, Muller also served as an Associate Director of Athletics at Mount St. Vincent, serving as the liaison between the Athletic Department and the Admissions Office and assisting the department with recruiting policies and procedures.   Muller started his collegiate coaching career at his alma mater, spending three years as the pitching coach at Division II St. Thomas Aquinas College from 2014-16. During his time in the dugout, the Spartans were nationally ranked in two of the three seasons and reached a pair of NCAA Tournaments, while the pitching staff produced one All-American, two All-Region honorees and four All-Conference selections.   Muller played four seasons collegiately at St. Thomas Aquinas, captaining the team for three years and graduating as one of the most prolific offensive players in program history. A three-time All-East Coast Conference honoree, he left STAC as the all-time leader in hits (228) and ranked second in runs scored (134) and third in runs batted in (113), while also serving as the team’s primary closer over his final two seasons.   After graduation, Muller was signed by the Chicago Cubs before the 2007 MLB Draft and spent two years in the organization, playing for the Boise Hawks of the Northwest League and the Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League, where he learned under the direction of Baseball Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg. He then spent three years playing on the independent circuit, earning All-Star honors in both the Atlantic League and the Frontier League.   In addition, Muller has also served as the President and Director of Player Development for Evolution Baseball Training, providing professional development-based instruction for coaches and players.  

Mound became just the third head coach in Union history to eclipse the 100-win plateau. He guided the Dutchmen to a second-straight Liberty League regular season crown, the program's first Liberty League championship, second-straight 26-win season, and earned the program's first berth in the NCAA Division III Regional Championships in the 2014 season. Under the guidance of Mound, Fishman captured the Liberty League and D3Baseball.com All-New York Regional Rookie of the Year honors in 2014. Fishman and senior Sam Caruso were also named to the All-Liberty League and D3baseball.com All-New York Regional First Teams. Senior Dane O'Neil earned CoSIDA Academic All-American All-Region honors for his performances on the field and in the classroom. Outfielder Tyler Heck was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American in both his junior and senior (2013) seasons under Mound. The coach led Union to 18 wins in his second season, and the victory total from 2012 was the second highest single season win total in the program's history. Union took to the baseball diamond for the first time in 1860. In 2013, Mound and the rest of his coaching staff were named the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year after posting a school-record 26 wins. Mound was named the Union College head baseball coach on June 8, 2010, replacing interim head coach Gary Reynolds. Prior to Mound's arrival at Union, he spent the past 12 years as the head coach and general manager of the Saratoga Stampede. Mound, who served as an assistant at Union under Reynolds for the second half of the 2010 season, posted a 483-151 record with the Stampede and has led the American Legion team to a top-eight finish in New York State in three of four seasons. The team won its district twice in the last three years. His 2010 team went 35-8 and won the New York State Championship. During his tenure at Saratoga, Mound has helped place many of his players on college rosters and has had several players receive Division I or II baseball scholarships in the past four seasons. His other coaching responsibilities include serving as the head coach and player development for Saratoga Central Catholic High School since 2007 and the head varsity soccer coach for SUNY Adirondack since August. Mound, who coached the Saratoga Thunder Softball Program from 1995-99, has also been the director of the Saratoga Summer Baseball Camps since 2006. Coach Mound's Career Record At A Glance 2011 14-19 (10-14) 2012 18-22 (12-16) 2013 26-13 (20-6) 2014 26-12-1 (14-6-1) 2015 21-15 (13-11) 2016 26-14 (15-7) Overall: 131-95-1 (84-60-1) Paul Mound's sixth year as the head coach of the Dutchmen in 2016 was quite memorable. His squad posted a third 26 win season, which tied the school record set by his 2013 team and tied the following year. The 2016 team produced a second NCAA playoff berth in three years, a second Liberty League tournament title in three years, and Union's third regular season championship in four seasons. Junior pitcher Jake Fishman led all of NCAA in ERA and was the program's first ever ABCA All-American. He was also the Liberty League Player and Pitcher of the Year, and made the All-Region teams for ABCA and D3Baseball.com. Following his outstanding junior campaign, Fishman became the first ever Dutchmen to play in the prestigious Cape Cod League, pitching the season-opening game for the Wareham Gatemen. His time with the Gatemen quickly came to an end when he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 30th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft, adding another program first to his resume as the first player from Union taken in the MLB Draft. Fishman agreed to terms with the Blue Jays on June 18, 2016. In 2015, Mound became just the third head coach in Union history to eclipse the 100-win plateau. He guided the Dutchmen to a second-straight Liberty League regular season crown, the program's first Liberty League championship, second-straight 26-win season, and earned the program's first berth in the NCAA Division III Regional Championships in the 2014 season. Under the guidance of Mound, Fishman captured the Liberty League and D3Baseball.com All-New York Regional Rookie of the Year honors in 2014. Fishman and senior Sam Caruso were also named to the All-Liberty League and D3baseball.com All-New York Regional First Teams. Senior Dane O'Neil earned CoSIDA Academic All-American All-Region honors for his performances on the field and in the classroom. Outfielder Tyler Heck was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American in both his junior and senior (2013) seasons under Mound. The coach led Union to 18 wins in his second season, and the victory total from 2012 was the second highest single season win total in the program's history. Union took to the baseball diamond for the first time in 1860. In 2013, Mound and the rest of his coaching staff were named the Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year after posting a school-record 26 wins. Mound was named the Union College head baseball coach on June 8, 2010, replacing interim head coach Gary Reynolds. Prior to Mound's arrival at Union, he spent the past 12 years as the head coach and general manager of the Saratoga Stampede. Mound, who served as an assistant at Union under Reynolds for the second half of the 2010 season, posted a 483-151 record with the Stampede and has led the American Legion team to a top-eight finish in New York State in three of four seasons. The team won its district twice in the last three years. His 2010 team went 35-8 and won the New York State Championship. During his tenure at Saratoga, Mound has helped place many of his players on college rosters and has had several players receive Division I or II baseball scholarships in the past four seasons. His other coaching responsibilities include serving as the head coach and player development for Saratoga Central Catholic High School since 2007 and the head varsity soccer coach for SUNY Adirondack since August. Mound, who coached the Saratoga Thunder Softball Program from 1995-99, has also been the director of the Saratoga Summer Baseball Camps since 2006.

McDonald enters his sixth season with the Dutchmen in 2016.  Before joining head coach Paul Mound at Union, he served as an assistant coach and hitting instructor for the Saratoga Stampede. He assisted Mound earn a record of 483-151 over his twelve seasons. McDonald assited Mound in placing players on college rosters and recieve scholarships at the Division I and II levels.  McDonald and Mound have been coaching together for the past 18 years and coached the Saratoga Thunder Softball program while their daughters were in the program. After that they moved on to coach the other Union assistant coaches Jeff Mound and Andy Brown when they were at the Babe Ruth Little League level.  McDonald graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1975 with a degree in Business Administration.  He currently resides in Saratoga Springs. 

Cole Paro was hired as an assistant coach with the Union College baseball team in 2025 and will begin his first season in the dugout with the Garnet Chargers in 2026, serving as the team’s catching and first base coach.  Paro joins Union after a two-year career at Russell Sage College where he caught 82 games for the Gators and earned all-conference honors in 2024. He also played two seasons at Hudson Valley Community College and served as the bullpen catcher for the Tri-City Valley Cats in 2022.  Paro was a four-year starter and captain for two seasons at Kingswood Regional High School and has been giving private baseball lessons since 2022.

One of the most accomplished coaches in the history of New York baseball, Duke Beck was hired as an assistant coach with the Union College baseball team in June 2025 and will begin his first season with the Garnet Chargers in 2026.   Beck brings three decades of coaching experience at the collegiate and high school level to Schenectady.   In 2020, Beck served as the hitting and infield coach at Skidmore College, helping the team to a .333 batting average. The following year, he took over as Skidmore’s pitching coach and guided a staff that led the Liberty League in batting average against and WHIP. During his tenure, he coached Jackson Hornung, who was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 16th round in 2023.   Beck has spent the last four years at Bryant and Stratton College, beginning as the hitting and infield coach for two years. He assumed the head coaching role in 2024 and led the team to a championship at the Palm Beach Classic, the first title in the history of the program. In his second season, the team went on the road and took three-of-four games from then-#1 ranked Florida National University.   Before making the move to the collegiate level, Beck spent 24 years as the varsity baseball coach at Greenwich High School. His teams won 425 games with a winning percentage of .720 during his tenure, accumulating seven league and sectional championships, five regional championships and one state title. He was recognized as the New York State Class C Coach of the Year in 1999 and was inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016. He retired after 27 years of service to the Greenwich Central School District in 2019.    

Ryan Parker was hired as an assistant coach with the Union College baseball team in 2025 and begins his first season in the dugout with the Garnet Chargers in 2026, serving as the team’s pitching coach and assisting with recruiting. Parker joined Union following two seasons on staff at Russell Sage College where he helped guide the Gators to a 2024 Empire 8 regular-season title and earned Empire 8 Coaching Staff of the Year honors. His previous collegiate coaching stops include serving as associate head coach and pitching coach at Worcester State University (2016), head coach at Fitchburg State University (2015), and an extended tenure as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Wheaton College (Mass.), where he contributed to over 400 program wins across 14 seasons. During his time at Wheaton, Parker helped the Lyons capture 10 NEWMAC championships, make 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, advance to three NCAA Division III College World Series, and finish as national runner-up twice (2006, 2012). Under his direction, Wheaton’s pitching staff ranked in the top 10 nationally in eight times, including two top-five finishes, and led the nation in WHIP in 2021. Over his coaching career, Parker has coached 23 all-conference pitchers, including six conference pitchers of the year, along with multiple Major League Baseball signees. He is a two-time Wheaton Athletics Hall of Fame inductee as a member of the 2006 and 2012 baseball teams. Parker has also served as pitching coach for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League, one of the nation’s premier collegiate summer leagues. During his tenure, he helped guide Harwich to the 2008 league championship, ending a 21-year title drought. In 2025, his pitching staff led the league in ERA (3.27), WHIP (1.26), runs allowed, walks allowed, and shutouts. A member of Wheaton’s first varsity baseball team in 1998, Parker helped the Lyons capture three NEWMAC titles and make two NCAA Regional appearances as a right handed pitcher. He earned the win in the program’s first NEWMAC Tournament championship game in 1999 and recorded the first save in program history in 1998. Parker is also the co-founder and head coach of the Troy Baseball Expo, a nonprofit organization in Troy, N.Y., that provides free baseball instruction, academic advising, and workforce development to youth in New York’s Capital District. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology from Wheaton College in 2001 and a master’s degree in higher education counseling from Bridgewater State University (Mass.) in 2008.