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Jason Rathbun enters his first season as Bonnies Baseball head coach in 2023 after an incredible run at the junior college level.
Rathbun turned Herkimer Community College baseball into one of the most successful and consistent junior college programs in the country during his 17 years at the helm, moving to Bona’s after winning the 2022 national championship.
In Rathbun’s time at Herkimer, he guided the Generals to a 556-180 overall record while averaging over 30 wins per season.
Rathbun’s squads were nationally ranked in 16 out of his 17 seasons in charge and made eight trips to the NJCAA World Series. His teams enjoyed unprecedented success in the region, winning 15 conference championships and advanced to the regional final 12 times. He also led 75 All-Region players, 25 All-Americans and a trio of Major League Baseball Draft selections.
Three of Rathbun’s Herkimer teams finished third nationally in the NJCAA World Series before his crowning achievement this past June when the Generals captured their first national title.
Herkimer won this year’s national championship in convincing fashion, outscoring teams by a 37-14 margin in the World Series. Rathbun was named Coach of the National Tournament following the championship victory.
In Rathbun’s seasons leading Herkimer, the Generals won over 75 percent of their games and he was crowned NJCAA Region III Coach of the Year four times as well as Mountain Valley Conference Coach of the Year following seven seasons. In 2014, he was named to the Mohawk Valley Baseball Hall of Fame.
He took his alma mater to new heights immediately after taking the job in 2005, leading Herkimer CC to its first-ever 20-win season and a trip to the Region III Final Four for the first time in 15 years. In just his second season, he led the Generals to their first Region III title and inaugural trip to the Division III NJCAA College World Series.
From there, Rathbun made winning on the national level routine at Herkimer.
The Generals finished third at nationals in 2007, at the time the best finish ever for a Region III, Division III team, and achieved a No. 4 national ranking two years later. After another regional championship and third-place finish at nationals in 2010, the Generals rose to No. 3 in the national polls in 2012 and No. 7 in 2013. In 2014, Herkimer set a new program record with 41 wins and another trip to the World Series before winning 48 games including a 33-game win streak and a No. 1 overall national ranking in 2015.
Rathbun’s winning ways only continued as Herkimer rose to top-five in the national polls again in 2016, capturing conference crowns every year from that point through this past spring. In the past two completed seasons, Herkmier won the regional title each year on either side of the pandemic-canceled 2020 campaign, taking a No. 6 national ranking into the World Series this year before running the table as a Cinderella story in the national tournament.
It marked the first junior college national title for any team from the state of New York.
A Central New York native, Rathbun served a three-year commitment in the U.S. Army, after which he played collegiately at Herkimer as a two-way player. Upon his graduation from Herkimer, he moved to Division II Erksine College in South Carolina where he posted a 2.64 ERA on the hill as a senior. He holds an associate’s degree from Herkimer CC, a bachelor’s in sports management from Erksine and a master’s degree in sports psychology from Capella University. He and his wife Melissa have two daughters, Alivia and Alexandria, and a son, AJ, who is a fifth generation family member to serve the United States military as a member of the U.S. Coast Guard.
During the summer of 2022, Rathbun coached in the most prestigious summer league in the country as pitching coach for the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod League.
B.J. Salerno, ’09, serves as the Bonnies Baseball Associate Head Coach and will be entering his 10th season on staff with the program in 2023.
Salerno served as interim head coach during the 2022 season.
As a successful starting catcher during his undergraduate days, Salerno helped lead the Bonnies to the A-10 Tournament three consecutive years (2006-2008). He was also a part of the 2006 Atlantic 10 Tournament runner-up team. Salerno started 152 consecutive games behind the plate for the Brown and White and was a senior co-captain.
In his role as an assistant coach, Salerno worked closely with Bonnies pitchers and catchers and took the lead in recruiting efforts.
With Salerno on staff, the Bonnies were far and away the Atlantic 10’s top pitching staff statistically in 2016, recording a 2.79 team ERA. That total ranked first in the A-10 by over a full run and fourth in all of Division I. Sophomore Brandon Schlimm was named Second Team All-Atlantic 10 while senior Connor Grey set Bona’s all-time season record for strikeouts with 95 and was drafted in the 20th round of the MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks following the season.
In 2017, Salerno oversaw the development of junior Aaron Phillips who became St. Bonaventure’s second player to earn Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year honors after going 9-1 with a 2.77 ERA and was drafted in the ninth round of the MLB Draft by the San Francisco Giants. Freshmen Casey Vincent and Donovan Moffat were each named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team as well. In all, the Bonnies ranked fourth in the A-10 with a staff ERA of 4.03.
In 2019, the Bonnies pitching staff set a program record for season strikeouts with 344.
During Salerno’s time on staff, he has helped recruit and oversee multiple All-Americans. During the four-year stretch between 2017 and 2020, the Bonnies had an All-American selection each year: Phillips (2017 ABCA Third Team All-America), outfielder Sam Fuller (2018 CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team, 2019 First Team) and outfielder Brendyn Stillman (2020 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Second Team All-America). Following the 2021 season, outfielder Tyler Kelder was named Atlantic 10 All-Conference while pitcher Donovan Moffat and shortstop Branden Myers were selected to the A-10 All-Academic Team.
Before joining the Bonnies, Salerno was an assistant baseball coach at Jamestown Community College where he was in charge of the hitters, catchers and outfielders. Salerno also assisted with recruiting.
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