GLASSBORO, NJ – Rowan University introduced new director of athletics Shawn Tucker today as University president Dr. Ali Houshmand, provost Tony Lowman and Board of Trustees member Joe Cosgrove led the event that welcomed Tucker and his family to the campus community.

VIDEO (to come) 

Tucker comes to Glassboro after serving as Rutgers’ vice president for Athletic Development, where led a comprehensive fundraising program that supports athletics’ priorities through engagement and stewardship.

Tucker thanked Houshmand, Lowman and Cosgrove, as well as the members of the search committee. “This entire process has been first class from the beginning… I stand here before you just very proud to be a Rowan Prof.”

Tucker recognized the tremendous success of Rowan’s programs, which includes 34 conference championships since 2019, and particularly the current spring sports teams. The Profs’ softball and baseball teams are competing in the NCAA Super Regionals this week and are one step away from the College World Series in their respective sports. The men’s and women’s track teams will have 27 student-athletes competing in this weekend’s NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships while the women’s lacrosse team set a school record for victories and advanced to the NCAA round of 16.

Speaking to a crowd of more than 200 student-athletes and Rowan well-wishers, Tucker spoke of what attracted him to Rowan and what he expects in the future. 

“There were numerous boxes for me, checked for ‘why Rowan’… From my initial conversations with Rowan officials, coaches and student-athletes, it was abundantly clear that Rowan University not only desires to be a premier destination for academics and elite athletics, but there’s an internal drive to be a national leader, one of one, across all disciplines,” Tucker said.

“I love the conference championships— (winning) Super Regionals, is a job well done. But the mindset that we’re going to have here is national championships.” Tucker continued, “You need an athletics department filled with high achieving, relentlessly pursuing, integral professionals and student-athletes who are determined to put forth their very best, day in and day out, to execute on that very vision. You need a Rowan community of alumni, donors, parents, friends of this beloved institution growing together to reach each milestone along this success journey.”

He played an instrumental role in securing a $15 million gift—the largest in Rutgers University Athletics history. Tucker planned and managed a campaign that raises approximately $20 million annually through engaging nearly 75,000 Rutgers supporters, including multiple seven-figure gifts and corporate opportunities. He also worked directly with NIL partners and the corporate sponsorship team to increase brand visibility and direct student funding for more than 700 student-athletes. 

Tucker joined the Rutgers athletics administrative team in April 2010 as assistant director of student-athlete development. His most significant achievement was the development and launch of the Rutgers Leadership Academy (RLA). 

Through programming and counseling, RLA helps support student-athletes at Rutgers with valuable information and tools to guide decision-making in critical life-shaping areas such as career choice, personal enrichment, leadership, community and civic engagement and professional growth. 

Through RLA, his team offered specialized programs and career, leadership and personal enrichment events for more than 650 student-athletes annually.

Earlier in his career, as associate athletic director of student-athlete development at Rutgers, he also oversaw the Rutgers Athletics Internship Program and helped launch R Care—a program dedicated to providing a comprehensive care and communication system in the areas of academic support, sports medicine, sports performance and the RLA. He had staff oversight in the areas of career enrichment, leadership training, personal development and community engagement.

Between his two most recent appointments at Rutgers, Tucker, from 2018-2022, served as associate vice president and director of Athletics at New Jersey City University. There, he led the transformation of its athletic department, doubling the number of athletics programs to 24 and tripling the number of student athletes.

He also increased private and corporate giving which supported the Rising Knight Institute for student success. Under his leadership, facilities were improved and the department’s operational budget increased by more than 100 percent.

Tucker’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for Rowan, a top 100 public research university that has doubled enrollment over the past decade and is ranked as the third fastest growing research university in the nation. During this time of great transformation, Rowan Athletics has grown to become one of the most successful DIII athletic programs in the nation.

Rowan competes in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC), offering 18 programs. The University has captured 26 NJAC team championships and has had 19 appearances in the NCAA Championships in the last five years. Last year, it was ranked 21st nationally in the Learfield Division III Directors Cup. Rowan Athletics earned its fourth consecutive NJAC cup in 2023-24, making it the most successful program in the NJAC five times over the past six years.

Tucker comes to Rowan after the retirement of Dr. John Giannini, who was athletic director from 2020-2024. Longtime athletic department leaders Penny Kempf and Gabby Lisella served as co-directors during the national search for the new director.

As a former standout wide receiver and team captain for Rutgers Football, Tucker will bring a unique perspective and passion for athletics to Rowan. He was a four-year letter winner and three-year starter for Rutgers and was a key member of two bowl squads, including the 2006 Texas Bowl champions. Tucker earned three Preseason All-BIG EAST honors and had 115 receptions for 1,559 yards and four touchdowns in his career.

Tucker earned a master’s degree in City & Regional Planning from the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers. He earned a pair of Bachelor of Arts degrees in Geography & Labor Studies from Rutgers.

Tucker was joined at the event by his wife, Mary, and sons, Miguel, Javier and Mario. He will officially begin his post at Rowan on June 16th.

 

 

NATICK – The last time the Natick boys volleyball team had beat Bay State Conference foe Needham was back on senior day in 2019, and the long and winless years since added another chapter in April with a four-set loss that dropped the RedHawks to 0-2.

No better time than senior night to finally get revenge and end the drought.

Behind impressive runs midway through the first and third sets, and standout performances from its seniors, No. 2 Natick (15-2) took down the No. 5 Rockets with a 3-0 win (25-15, 26-24, 25-14) to extend its win streak to 15 games.

The whole lineup chipped toward the winning formula, its four seniors in middle Simon Pedrelli (nine kills, three blocks), middle John Carroll (five kills, block), Branch Barnes (10 kills, three assists, two aces) and Cody Gibendi (eight kills) anchoring an emotional victory in potentially their last chance to beat Needham.

“Of course (we talked about it),” Pedrelli said. “I had this circled on my calendar in football season. I’ve been thinking about this for a real long time. The first game, they got it from us. But there was no question in our mind that we were about to bring it to them today.”

“We believed more in winning than I think Needham, our team played very well all around,” added Natick head coach Peter Suxho. “We played very well on the defense, we played very well especially in blocking. … It’s a good time for our team.”

The first 10 points in each of the first and third sets looked much like that of a top-five matchup, both of which Needham built a very early lead on.

Natick’s ensuing runs proved too much to overcome, though.

Junior Redhawks setter Luke Dratch (32 assists, two kills, block) orchestrated the attack well, connecting with Pedrelli, Gibendi, Barnes and Carroll in a 10-3 run for a 15-9 lead in the first set. Gibendi followed a Needham side-out with consecutive kills for a 17-9 advantage. Needham traded 10 straight side-outs with Natick from there on kills from Andrew Kurdziel, Thomas Klein, Will McDonald and setter Nate Ross (12 assists, four kills, block), but Gibendi and sophomore Evan Katz (eight kills, two aces) combined to close out a 25-15 win.

In the third set, after Needham rallied to trail just 12-10, Natick ripped off an 11-3 run with more balance. Barnes, Gibendi, Carroll, and Pedrelli all earned kills in the stretch, while libero Dhruv Sirigiri and Dratch set them up to separate for a 23-13 lead Needham couldn’t bounce back from.

“It’s just lifting each other up,” Pedrelli said. “Every play, we bring the energy. It’s a team sport. You win with all six guys on the court. When you’re all playing together, playing for each other, you’re able to get off those big runs.”

The exception in an otherwise dominant showing was a tight second set, in which teams traded runs all the way to extra points. Matt Cloonan (seven kills), Will Rozman (five kills) and Kurdziel led the attack for Needham to keep it in the set for a potential 1-1 tie.

Katz came up clutch for Natick in a 4-1 run to close it out, finishing the set with six kills. Pedrelli also erupted with four kills and two blocks in one of his best performances against a fellow Div. 1 power.

“We told (Dratch) from the beginning and we said, ‘You have to play the middle,’ ” Suxho said. “You have to play (Pedrelli), you have to play (Carroll). (Pedrelli), lately, he started playing very well. … He believes more in himself now, and our setting has (been at a) better level.”

“A lot of these kids play club volleyball,” Pedrelli added. “I feel like I come in with something to prove every year because I don’t. It just really boosts my confidence. And when I see my teammates, it’s really exciting for me.”

Natick now has revenge against both teams (Brookline and Needham) that beat it early on, including handing Brookline its only loss this year.

“Going into the playoffs, we’re really at our peak right now,” Pedrelli said. “We’re just coming together as a team and I’m really excited for the playoffs.”

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The562’s baseball coverage in 2025 is sponsored by the Millikan, Long Beach Poly, Lakewood and Wilson baseball boosters.

The562’s coverage of Long Beach Poly is sponsored by Bryson Financial.

The famous expression goes, “once is a mistake, twice is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern.”

So what do you call it when Long Beach Poly Baseball wins four consecutive home playoff games via walk-off? Jackrabbit Magic, perhaps.

History repeated itself once again on Tuesday afternoon at LBCC, where the Jackrabbits earned another thrilling playoff win, this time over Riverside Poly by a score of 4-3.

The dramatic conclusion almost felt inevitable as senior Deven Munoz stepped into the batter’s box with a chance to win it, and he came through with a line drive to center field to set off another celebration on Joe Hicks Memorial Field. The same way the last three games Poly’s played on that field have ended.

“That was actually my first walk-off I ever hit, and it felt amazing,” said Munoz after getting mobbed by his teammates. “When I hit the ball, I already knew it was getting down. I was just pumped. And all my guys running towards me, it’s a feeling I’ve never felt before.”

Tuesday’s game wasn’t a perfect performance from the Jackrabbits, who committed three errors during the game and fell behind 2-0 in the first inning. But they didn’t panic and made enough plays to win, earning a trip to the CIF-SS Division 5 quarterfinals.

“I think that was the best version of Poly Baseball,” said Jackrabbit head coach Solomon Williams.  “It doesn’t have to be pretty, it doesn’t have to be home runs and triples. It can be the dirty stuff of reading balls in the dirt, wearing pitches, and taking another 90 feet, and that is Poly Baseball. So, yeah, it wasn’t our cleanest, but we’re happy with it.”

Ryan King got the start on the mound for LB Poly, and pitched well across six frames. He ran into some trouble in the first after a one-out walk and an error put two Riverside Poly runners on base. That set the table for a two-run double by Lucas Burton to make it 2-0 Bears.

But from there, King allowed just one more run in the third, after a pair of infield singles set up Burton with another RBI opportunity. His run-scoring single put the Riverside Poly lead back to 3-1, and King didn’t allow another hit the rest of the game. In total, the righty allowed a pair of earned runs on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

Senior Daylen Carey came out of the bullpen to work the top of the seventh inning, working around an error and striking out a batter to pick up the win in relief.

“We’ve had two horses all year. It’s been Carey and King, and that was exactly what we expected from him,” Williams said of his starter. “After those two runs that the team gave up, we needed him to get kind of mad. I think you saw him get fired up a couple times, get mad, and kind of take this game under control.”

The Jackrabbits were able to respond to the early deficit with a run in the bottom of the first. Leadoff man Tate Hammond ripped a single up the middle on the first pitch he saw, then moved around to third base before scoring on a two-out throwing error by the Bears.

Long Beach Poly was then able to rally for a pair of runs to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth, starting with a leadoff base hit from Fausto Gaxiola. After a sacrifice bunt, Riverside Poly elected to intentionally walk Hammond to put the tying run on base.

Izaiyah Gutierrez followed that up with a bloop single to right field, loading the bases with just one out. Matthew Garcia then lined a single into right center to score the second run for the Jackrabbits, trimming the deficit to 3-2.

After a popout, catcher Caleb Safotu stepped in for a lengthy plate appearance, eventually working a walk to bring home Hammond and tie the game.

That’s where things remained until the bottom of the seventh, when Gutierrez lined a one-out base hit to center. He would promptly steal second base, then move to third on a wild pitch to get in prime scoring position for Munoz’s walk-off.

“Before going up, I asked God, I was like, ‘Please, if you give me this moment, I’m gonna make the most out of it,” said Munoz of his game-winning hit. “And I got the moment, and I didn’t let it go to waste. Confidence-wise, I always go up thinking I’m better than the other team–I try to be a dog, and I hope everyone has the same mindset. Because honestly, a lot of these guys on our team can hit, we just need to stay clean and consistent throughout the game.”

The Jackrabbits will be on the road for the quarterfinals on Friday when they visit Camarillo High School for a 3:15 p.m. first pitch.

Here’s a look at how the girls water polo sectionals went for the Journal-area:
 
Saturday, May 17 (sectional finals)
 
Stevenson 8, Libertyville 6: No. 1 Stevenson (33-0) won its 55th game in a row with an exciting victory over No. 2 Libertyville (24-4) to head to state for the 19th time since the IHSA started sponsoring the sport in 2002. Stevenson has won a state trophy each of the last 10 seasons, including six state titles. Victoria Duncan (2 goals) gave Stevenson a 7-4 lead with …