A native of Andover, Massachusetts, Kyle Pettoruto is in his fourth year at Rutgers and coaches outfielders, baserunning and hitting. He spent the previous six seasons with head coach Steve Owens at Bryant and was part of six-straight Northeast Conference regular season championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances. The Bulldogs led the conference in nearly every major offensive category during his tenure in Smithfield and that success has translated to the Scarlet Knights.
Under Pettoruto's guidance in 2022, Rutgers had one of the most prolific lineups in all of college baseball. The Scarlet Knights led the country with 9.6 runs/game, 565 runs and 147 doubles. They also led the Big Ten in batting average (.320), doubles (147), doubles/game (2.49), hits (701), runs (565) and offense (9.6 runs/game). These marks all proved crucial as Rutgers set a program record with 44 wins.
A pair of Scarlet Knight hitters etched their names in the record books in 2022, with Chris Brito setting the single-season RBI record with 74 and Ryan Lasko tying the single-season doubles record with 24.
Pettoruto mentored three All-Americans in 2022 with OF Ryan Lasko (Second Team), C Nick Cimillo (Third) and SS Danny DiGeorgio (Third) all being honored for their individual seasons. Pettoruto also coached five All-Big Ten players in C Nick Cimillo, 1B Chris Brito, 2B Josh Kuroda-Grauer, SS Danny DiGeorgio and OF Ryan Lasko.
Five difference Scarlet Knights had double-digit home runs in 2022 en route to a program-record 96 homers, Ryan Lasko, Chris Brito and Nick Cimillo all tied for the team lead with 16.
Under the tutelage of Pettoruto, Ryan Lasko put together one of the best individual seasons in Rutgers history. His All-America Second Team honor was the highest honor for a Scarlet Knight since Todd Frazier was First Team All-America in 2007. Lasko also received an invitation to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp and was named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, the top individual honor in collegiate baseball.
In playing a Big Ten-only schedule in 2021, RU earned its best placement in the standings and highest winning percentage within the league since joining. The offense clubbed 48 homers, including six grand slams, to place in the top five in the conference overall and per game. The number also ranked sixth-most in a season in program history and most since 2010, needing just seven games to shatter the previous mark of 12 homers in a season against Big Ten competition. The lineup also established new offensive team Big Ten highs in a standard season in runs, total bases, slugging percentage and on-base percentage.
Putting up at least 15 runs in a game three times, Ryan Lasko and Chris Brito became the first Scarlet Knight teammates to reach double-figure long balls in the same year. Lasko, the starting centerfielder, became the first Rutgers player in the Big Ten era to earn an All-America honor in being named to the Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American Team. In addition, Mike Nyisztor finished the year as the toughest hitter to strike out in the conference and placed fourth in batting average and fifth in on-base percentage. Brito posted 43 RBIs with a .923 OPS to garner a spot on the All-Big Ten Third Team.
Pettoruto played a role in producing 40 All-NEC selections, 46 All-New England selections, six ABCA All-Northeast selections, two NEC and New England Players of the Year, four NEC Rookies of the Year, two New England Rookies of the Year, one Collegiate Baseball Freshman Player of the Year and four Freshman All-Americans in his six seasons at Bryant. He helped the Bulldogs finish in the top 20 in the country in scoring and slugging percentage in four of his six seasons, and the team finished in the top 25 in a host of other categories over the six years.
Pettoruto helped put together one of the best offenses in program and NEC history in 2019. The Bulldogs set school and NEC records for home runs (81), hits (679), RBIs (455) and runs scored (487). Bryant finished the regular season seventh nationally in batting average (.311), fifth in hits (679), eighth in runs (487) and 10th in scoring (8.1). The Bulldogs placed eight on the All-NEC teams and 10 more on All-New England teams.
The highlight of Pettoruto's tenure occurred in 2018 as he helped Ryan Ward achieve the greatest season in program history. Ward set program records for hits (101), total bases (158) and finished with a .409 average on his way to earning 18 postseason recognitions. He was the first NEC player to earn player and rookie of the year honors and was also named the New England Player/Rookie of the Year and the National Freshman Player of the Year by Collegiate Baseball. Ward was named All-American by four outlets, a Freshman All-American by four others and was the first NCBWA District I Player of the Year in program history.
In 2014, the Bulldogs ranked seventh in the country in stolen bases (99) and also finished 14th in batting average (.302), 15th in scoring (6.7), 19th in runs (386), 20th in doubles per game (1.98), 23rd in home runs per game (0.67), ninth in slugging (.436) and 13th in OBP (.391). The team featured the NEC Rookie of the Year in Matt Albanese, five First Team All-NEC selections (Robby Rinn, John Mullen, Carl Anderson, Buck McCarthy, Dan St. George) and two Second Team All-NECers (Albanese, Tom Gavitt). Anderson, one of the top players in Bryant’s DI history, thrived under Pettoruto’s instruction, stealing a Division I-record 31 bases. He became the first player in program history to steal 30 or more bases in a season since 1998. Albanese enjoyed a stellar rookie season, scoring a freshman-record 53 runs while hitting .322 with 16 doubles and 36 RBIs. He went on to earn both NCBWA and Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America honors.
The trend continued in 2015 as Bryant finished in the top 25 in the country in doubles (25th, 121), doubles per game (12th, 2.24), scoring (19th, 6.9), slugging percentage (11th, .462), triples (seventh, 25) and triples per game (seventh, 0.46). Bryant had four players named First Team All-NEC and a fifth garnered second team honors.
In 2016, Pettoruto oversaw one of the best offenses in program history as the team earned a No. 2 seed at NCAA Regionals. The Bulldogs established program records for runs and RBIs in a season, while also setting DI program records for slugging percentage, home runs, hits and batting average. Bryant finished first in the country in sacrifice flies (41), fifth in OBP (.414), ninth in scoring (7.9), 10th in batting average (.318), 12th in slugging (.482), 13th in runs (465), 18th in doubles per game (2.19) and 20th in doubles (129).
That team earned a league-record 11 all-conference selections and 10 All-New England selections. Rinn was named the NEC and New England Player of the Year and, along with Albanese, earned All-America honors at the end of the season. Both players were drafted following the year. Under Pettoruto’s guidance, Albanese did not commit an error in center field over his final two seasons and finished his career with 11 outfield assists. Pettoruto also watched as Nick Angelini earned NEC Rookie of the Year honors and Freshman All-America honors.
The 2017 season saw Pettoruto work with one of the youngest rosters in DI program history. Under his guidance, Jimmy Titus put together one of the best rookie seasons in team history on his way to NEC Rookie of the Year honors and Freshman All-America status. Titus hit a freshman program record eight home runs and became just the second rookie in DI program history to have 40+ RBIs and 40+ runs scored.
Bryant's offensive success continued in 2018 as it led the NEC and finished 10th nationally in batting average (.303). The Bulldogs also led the NEC in hits (585), doubles (106), triples (18), home runs (45), RBIs (334), slugging (.446) and OBP (.390). In addition to Ward, the Bulldogs placed five on All-NEC teams and four more on All-New England teams in 2018.
Prior to Bryant, Pettoruto worked as an assistant coach with the North Shore Navigators in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League in the summer of the 2012, helping with the hitters and outfielders. Following the summer, Pettoruto was hired as an assistant coach at Merrimack. He worked with the outfielders and the hitters, helping the Warriors set a school record for wins in the spring of 2013.
Pettoruto was a four-year letterwinner at the University of New Haven and helped the Chargers earn a spot in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. He also played for the Joplin Outlaws of the MINK League and the Rome Thunderbolts during the summer.
Pettoruto, who earned a degree in communication from New Haven in the fall of 2012, resides in Washington Township with his wife Heather.
