Kean baseball mourns loss of longtime assistant coach
By Zoe Strozewski | Published by October 29, 2019
Jack Nagy was a Kean baseball coach for over 20 years.
Photo Courtesy of Kean Athletics
John “Jack” Nagy, a longtime assistant coach for Kean’s baseball team, passed away Oct. 14 at the age of 80. The Woodbridge native left behind a community of mourning coaches and players and a legacy of mentorship and dedication.
Nagy had been coaching the team for over 23 years. He, along with Head Coach Neil Ioviero, helped to kickstart Kean baseball’s transformation into the nationally-recognized program it is today.
“He was with me every step of the way building this program. If you saw Jack, you saw Neil,” Ioviero said.
It was under the leadership of Nagy and Ioviero that the program made six NCAA Division III World Series appearances and won its first-ever national championship in 2007.
While Nagy specialized in coaching the catcher position, Ioviero said that he also became a father figure and mentor to his players. He was named the 2008 Kean University Assistant Coach of the Year for his contributions to the team.
Kean’s 2019 baseball roster.
Photo Courtesy of Kean Athletics
“He very rarely in all his years raised his voice. His style was to reason with them and show them what to do, and they did it,” Ioviero said. “There was a tremendous amount of respect.”
Austin Arndt, a Kean student who formerly played for Jack Nagy, described Nagy as the face of Kean baseball for his impact on the program.
“He was one of those coaches you always went to for a laugh or smile,” Arndt said. “His career here as an assistant coach was unbelievable and he will forever be a legend.”
Before coming to Kean, Nagy coached the Woodbridge Recreation team. Under his guidance, the team won two consecutive state titles in 1995 and 1996.
While Nagy found success in coaching baseball, he also found success playing in his youth. He was part of Woodbridge High School’s state championship football and baseball teams in 1958, and he played football and baseball for the U.S. Army from 1962 to 1964.
A visitation was held for Nagy Oct. 17. His funeral mass took place the next day at St. James RC Church in Woodbridge and was attended by generations of players and coaches who had been part of his life.
“All of the current players for baseball went together and I saw a lot of older players who already graduated there,” Arndt said. “To me, it was wild to see his impact on so many players and the amount of respect he’s earned throughout his years at Kean.”
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