Lehigh announces addition to Coaching Staff

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FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh head baseball coach Sean Leary has announced the addition of Kyle Collina ’06 to the Mountain Hawks staff. Collina is entering his second stint as a member of the Lehigh coaching staff after serving as an assistant coach during the 2008 season. Collina, a former pitcher for the Brown and White, rejoins the staff after playing professional baseball in Italy last year. He will serve as an assistant, helping John Bisco with the pitching staff.

“I am really excited to be adding Kyle Collina back onto our coaching staff,” said Leary. “Kyle was an outstanding pitcher and leader during his four years at Lehigh and his knowledge of our program will help him make an immediate impact with our pitchers.”

The Easton native graduated from Lehigh in 2006, after leading the Mountain Hawks to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. He was second on the team with six wins that season and set a school record with 87 strikeouts for the year. His career total of 239 strikeouts is still a Patriot League record.

In June of 2006, Collina signed a contract to play with the Cleveland Indians, joining former battery mate Matt McBride in the farm system. He appeared in 16 games in 2006 in the New York-Penn League and Appalachian League, recording 40 strikeouts in 38 innings of work and a 3.79 ERA.

Collina started the 2007 season in the Carolina League before moving back up to the New York-Penn League for a majority of the season. In August, he got the call up to Class-A, making a start for the Lake County Captains and re-joining McBride. In four games for the Captains, he struck out 18 batters in 13.2 innings, while allowing just five hits and zero runs.

Kyle finished out his playing career with De Angelis Godo in the Italian Professional League. In his last start with Godo, Collina threw a no-hitter.

“Kyle’s experience playing professional baseball certainly provides an opportunity for our players to learn first hand what it takes to be a successful player beyond the collegiate level,” added Leary.