BENNINGTON, Vt. – Adam Skonieczki has been hired as Southern Vermont College’s 11th all-time head baseball coach as announced by Director of Athletics Sharief Hashim on Wednesday
The new Mountaineer skipper comes to SVC from the State University of New York at Buffalo—his alma mater—where he was an assistant coach since November of 2015.
“We are excited to welcome Adam and his family to Southern Vermont College,” Hashim said. “His attitude and passion are a natural fit for our baseball program and athletic department. An experienced coach and recruiter, Adam will implement a culture of excellence that allows his student-athletes to win both on and off the field.”
Skonieczki graduated from Buffalo in 2010 with his Bachelor of Arts in Communications degree. While a student there, he was a four-year outfielder for the Bulls—starting in 186 of the 193 games in which he appeared.
“I am extremely excited to take over the reins of the baseball program at Southern Vermont College,” Skoneiczki said. “I want to thank [SVC] President [David Rees] Evans and Sharief Hashim with entrusting me to lead this team. I am eager to get started with the student-athletes and help make SVC a household name in the Division III baseball world.”
After graduating, Skonieczki spent the summer of ‘10 in South Carolina as the head assistant coach for the Florence RedWolves of the Coastal Plain League. He then went to the Lone Star State that fall to be an assistant for Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi for the next two springs.
In July of 2012, Skonieczki became the head assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Georgetown College in Kentucky; he spent three seasons with the Tigers before heading back to Buffalo in the fall of 2015. In his time with the Bulls, the assistant coach saw three of his players either get drafted or sign contracts with professional affiliates.
“It is evident that SVC is investing in the student-athlete, and the future is immensely bright in Bennington,” Skonieczki added. “My family and I couldn't be more grateful to become a part of the Mountaineer community.”
The Binghamton, N.Y. native was a standout player for the Bulls as his name is peppered throughout the program’s record book. Upon graduating, he had registered the second-most games played (193), the third-most hits (231), and the third-most total bases (320). He still owns the team’s top mark of the most runs scored in a game (6) and had the most runs scored in a single season (50) before that was eclipsed in 2010 and then again in 2012.
Skonieczki notched 74 hits in both 2009 and ‘10—a mark that was the third-most for Buffalo after his senior season (now at sixth). His 130 career runs scored are the fifth-most in Bulls history, and his 111 runs batted in are tied for ninth; he also had 40 doubles (T-7) and eight triples (T-9) during his collegiate tenure. His best season at the plate came in his senior year when Skonieczki went a stellar 74-fo-200 to register a .370 batting average. He was also solid on the defensive side of things for the Bulls—recording a .969 fielding percentage through 490 total chances while chalking up 18 assists from the outfield.