FROM PRESS RELEASE
Staten Island, NY – Wagner College Director of Athletics Walt Hameline has announced the promotion of Craig Noto as Wagner’s 14th head baseball coach. Noto’s promotion follows the departure of longtime Seahawk head coach, Jim Carone, who announced his resignation on Monday.
“Craig has been a valued member of the baseball program for the past six seasons and we are excited to have him step into the head coach role and lead the program,” said Hameline. “He and Jim (Carone) have done a wonderful job building the program and we are thrilled that Coach Noto will continue the work.”
Noto, the top assistant under Carone and no stranger to the Northeast Conference (NEC), helped guide the Seahawks to three league tournament appearances in 2017, 2018, and 2019.
“I’d like to thank President Martin, Walt Hameline, Brendan Fahey, and the entire Wagner College campus community for the opportunity to lead the Seahawk baseball program to even greater heights,” said Noto. “I’d like to also thank Jim Carone for extending the invitation to me to join his coaching staff six years ago. I am forever grateful for his guidance, mentorship, and his friendship. I wish him the best of luck on the rest of his journey. Leading a Division I program has always been a goal of mine. Having the opportunity here at Wagner with the student-athletes we have in this program is truly a blessing. We will strive for success in the classroom, be great members of the campus community, and will always compete at a high level on the field with class and dignity. Go Seahawks!”
This will be Coach Noto’s first head coaching position at the Division I level. He is no stranger to leading a team, as Noto has served as the head coach of the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters of the Northwoods League since 2015, where he has accumulated 249 wins and a winning percentage of .621, the best winning percentage among all Northwoods League members.
In 2020, Noto moved past four coaches to become the seventh winningest coach in Northwoods League history. The Rafters finished the season with a 35-11 record. In 2019, he led the team to its fifth division title and third postseason appearance. In 2018, Wagner ranked among the top three in eight conference statistical categories. The Seahawks finished second in the league in hits (505), total bases (751), and stolen bases (61). The Green & White also ranked third in the following categories: slugging percentage (.401), on-base percentage (.363), runs scored (318), RBIs (284), and walks (239).
Before arriving on Grymes Hill, Noto spent nine seasons as an assistant coach with LIU Brooklyn. On the field, he recruited and coached 14 All-NEC selections to go along with six All-Region honorees. He was instrumental in the development of James Jones, who became the program’s first MLB player when he was selected in the fourth round of the 2009 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners.
Noto worked for the Bergen Beach Youth Organization before his tenures with LIU and the Rapids Rafters. He was an assistant, head coach, and recruiting coordinator for the organization from 1993 to 2005. During his time, he coached/recruited over 120 MLB draft picks, 27 of which reached the majors and six who were on active 2016 MLB rosters.
Coach Noto has strong ties to Staten Island. He attended St. Peter’s Boys High School and returned to the school as the assistant coach from 1993-96 and again in 2001. Noto spent two seasons at St. Joseph by the Sea High School under Gordon Rugg Sr. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology from John Jay College while playing for legendary New York City coach Louie DeMartino.
Coach Noto will be inheriting a team that has recorded 115 wins over the last six seasons.
One of the top coaches in the Northeast, Carone finished his tenure on Grymes Hill with a 207-266-1 overall record and a 110-128 mark in league games. He is only the second Wagner coach to collect 200 victories, as he garnered the milestone win back on March 21, 2021.
“We are appreciative to Jim for his many years of dedicated service and leadership to the Wagner College baseball program and the Wagner community,” commentedHameline. “His tenure will be remembered for his unwavering commitment to our student-athletes, not only on the field but in the classroom as well. He has worked tirelessly in bringing the program to the top of the Northeast Conference (NEC). We wish Jim continued success in all his endeavors.”
In his decade patrolling the Green & White dugout, he saw five players selected in the annual Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft since 2013. In total, Carone has guided over 40 players to earn Northeast Conference (NEC) weekly honors, 30 All-NEC selections, seven all-tournament picks, and a Player of the Year recipient, back in 2015.
“Thank you to Walt Hameline, Brendan Fahey, President Guarasci, and President Martin for the opportunity to lead the Wagner baseball program for the last ten years,” said Carone. “Thank you to my staff, both past and current, for all of your hard work. To the student-athletes: Thank you for your dedication and commitment to our baseball program. I am grateful to have been part of your journey. Once a Seahawk, Always a Seahawk!”
Additionally, Carone has seen eight players collect All-Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) honors, four Johnny Bench Award Watch List nominees, five ABCA/Rawlings All-Northeast Region teams’ selections, two, Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I Freshman All-American, and a Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I All-American Third Team recipient.
2018 proved to be a banner year for the program as Wagner concluded the regular season winning 13 of its final 17 games to finish the year with a new program record of 38 wins (38-18). The Seahawks racked up a new school mark for conference victories with 21 (21-7) as the Green & White were named Co-Regular Season champions. Wagner posted a robust 13-1 home record while leading the entire NCAA with 23 road triumphs and finishing the year among the top-30 in the nation in winning percentage and 75th out of 297 Division I programs in the final RPI ranking.
Individually, Wagner had a program-high six All-NEC selections, four of which being named to the First Team. Carone garnered the second of his two NEC Coach of the Year awards, becoming the first baseball coach in program history to win the honor multiple times.
In 2017, Wagner qualified for the postseason for the third time under Carone, and first since the 2015 campaign. The Seahawks ranked among the top-three teams in several offensive categories while pacing the league in home runs with 42. On the mound, the Wagner pitchers ranked second in opposing batting average (.257) strikeouts (341), and earned runs. The season also marked the first NEC Tournament victory for Carone, as the Green & White upset the No. 1 seeded Bryant, 6-5, in walk-off fashion.
Before accepting the heading coaching position at Wagner, Carone spent three seasons as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Villanova. In 2010, Carone’spitching staff posted Nova’s lowest ERA in over a decade while ranking 32nd nationally at 4.37.
