TROY, N.Y. – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Vice President and Director of Athletics Dr. Lee McElroy has announced the appointment of Keith Glasser as head baseball coach. A five-year assistant with the program, he takes over for Karl Steffen, who spent the previous 34 years at the helm.
"We are pleased to introduce Keith as the next head baseball coach," said McElory. "He has served with distinction as an assistant for many years and understands the attributes and values scholar athletes need to succeed at Rensselaer in academics and athletics. We look forward to the continued tradition and standards of excellence for our baseball program for years to come."
"I am excited to follow in Coach Steffen's footsteps," said Glasser. "He built a championship program starting back in the '80s and I am humbled that Dr. Jackson and Dr. McElroy believe I can continue the tradition of success. I very much look forward to continuing to work with our student-athletes in this new capacity, competing for championships with great young men."
A native of Rensselaer, N.Y., Glasser has helped the Engineers to a 105-98 record in his time as an assistant coach. He has been in charge of RPI's batting and baserunning, while also coaching third base. He has helped 27 players earn Liberty League All-Academic, while 29 have been anmed All-Liberty League, including Sean Conroy '15, the 2015 conference Pitcher of the Year. Six have earned All-Region recognition, while three have been All-Americans.
Glasser has evaluated and trained RPI's hitters, catchers, outfielders and infielders on a daily basis. The team's recruiting coordinator, he has also worked as an admission's associate, giving presentations and communicating with prospective students and their families.
Prior to joining the RPI staff, Glasser spent the summer of 2013 as an assistant coach for the Saratoga Brigade of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. He was an assistant at his high school, Columbia, from 2012-13, helping the team to a Section II title in 2012.
Glasser served as an assistant at Siena College from 2009-11, where he was in charge of the team's offense, as well as fielding positioning. He assisted with recruiting and coached third base as the Saints set six program records during the 2010 season, including hits, runs, home runs, RBI, total bases and at bats. Four players he coached were selected in the Major League Baseball amateur draft.
As a graduate assistant at the University of West Alabama from 2008-09, Glasser coached the outfielders and was the team's first base coach. He also supervised the Tigers' strength and conditioning programs and aided the program's recruiting efforts.
Glasser is a 2008 graduate of Marist College, where he received a Bachelor's Degree in History. A catcher for the Red Foxes, he is fourth in school history in fielding percentage (.988).