Hardy Named Director of Player Development
12/6/2021 2:35:00 PM | Baseball
Rob Hardy, who has served as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Siena since the fall of 2019, has been named Rice's new Director of Player Development.
"A guy like Rob will not only benefit from being at Rice, but we as a team will benefit from having him here," said Rice head coach Jose Cruz, Jr. "He is another expert eye, like Coltor Bostick, in how they teach pitching is very similar. He also has a keen eye when it comes to analytics and motion capture, which is going to help us be more efficient. He will be able to put together all of the data on the scouting side so he'll be a part of the game-planning as well. He is going to really help with the development of our players and we're excited to have him."
"I am beyond blessed and thankful to be joining such a prestigious program. I can't thank Coach Cruz enough for entrusting me with this position. I have been following the direction of the program since Coach Cruz was named Head Coach and I can truly say that we will be doing something incredibly special here."
Hardy will serve as the key liaison between the Owls analytics and coaching staff to disseminate actionable and useful data as well as join pitching coach Colter Bostick in launching and implementing the Owls new state-of-the-art pitching lab. He will also serve as the Owls' bullpen coach on game days.
Under Hardy's direction, Siena's pitching staff was a key factor in the Saints reaching the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament for the first time since 2017. He led a data driven approach to develop the pitching staff which included tools such as Rapsodo, Trackman and Synergy. Under Hardy's direction the Saints saw two pitchers named All-Conference in John Lumpinski and Connor Bovair.
As the pitching coach at Bloomsburg from 2018 to 2019, Hardy's pitching staff improved its ERA by more than two full runs, leading to the school's first PSAC title since 1965, which culminated in an NCAA Tournament berth. It was also the first time that Bloomsburg had gone to back-to-back regionals. Much of this success was driven by ball flight development and advanced scouting that led to better positioning in the field.
Hardy played his final two collegiate seasons at Binghamton, where he was named a unanimous America East First Team selection after recording a 3.88 ERA and seven saves while helping guide the Bearcats to a conference championship and NCAA Regional appearance in 2016. Hardy began his collegiate playing career at Herkimer Community College, which he helped advance to the NJCAA World Series and a third-place finish his sophomore season. In both seasons at Herkimer, the baseball team ranked in the top-10 nationally with a peak ranking of No. 2.
"A guy like Rob will not only benefit from being at Rice, but we as a team will benefit from having him here," said Rice head coach Jose Cruz, Jr. "He is another expert eye, like Coltor Bostick, in how they teach pitching is very similar. He also has a keen eye when it comes to analytics and motion capture, which is going to help us be more efficient. He will be able to put together all of the data on the scouting side so he'll be a part of the game-planning as well. He is going to really help with the development of our players and we're excited to have him."
"I am beyond blessed and thankful to be joining such a prestigious program. I can't thank Coach Cruz enough for entrusting me with this position. I have been following the direction of the program since Coach Cruz was named Head Coach and I can truly say that we will be doing something incredibly special here."
Hardy will serve as the key liaison between the Owls analytics and coaching staff to disseminate actionable and useful data as well as join pitching coach Colter Bostick in launching and implementing the Owls new state-of-the-art pitching lab. He will also serve as the Owls' bullpen coach on game days.
Under Hardy's direction, Siena's pitching staff was a key factor in the Saints reaching the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament for the first time since 2017. He led a data driven approach to develop the pitching staff which included tools such as Rapsodo, Trackman and Synergy. Under Hardy's direction the Saints saw two pitchers named All-Conference in John Lumpinski and Connor Bovair.
As the pitching coach at Bloomsburg from 2018 to 2019, Hardy's pitching staff improved its ERA by more than two full runs, leading to the school's first PSAC title since 1965, which culminated in an NCAA Tournament berth. It was also the first time that Bloomsburg had gone to back-to-back regionals. Much of this success was driven by ball flight development and advanced scouting that led to better positioning in the field.
Hardy played his final two collegiate seasons at Binghamton, where he was named a unanimous America East First Team selection after recording a 3.88 ERA and seven saves while helping guide the Bearcats to a conference championship and NCAA Regional appearance in 2016. Hardy began his collegiate playing career at Herkimer Community College, which he helped advance to the NJCAA World Series and a third-place finish his sophomore season. In both seasons at Herkimer, the baseball team ranked in the top-10 nationally with a peak ranking of No. 2.
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