In his second season, and first full campaign with the Stags, Jordan Tabakman continued the program’s pitching dominance and guided the Stags to become one of the best pitching staffs, not only in the MAAC but in the country. Helping the Stags to their historic season in 2021, Tabakman was named the Collegiate Baseball News National Pitching Coach of the Year, as the Fairfield pitching staff finished second in the nation in: ERA (3.14), while leading the entire country in WHIP (1.09).
During the 2021 historical season, five pitchers earned All-MAAC honors including two First Team selections. Those accolades include the program’s first-ever MAAC Relief Pitcher of the Year as Bryson Cafaro received the award after pitching to a 1.66 ERA.
The success has been highlighted by a Fairfield starting rotation that tallied a 28-4 record in 2021 with nine shutouts and eight complete games.
Michael Sansone and Jake Noviello anchored the rotation with 18 combined wins and 2.19 ERA in over 120 innings. Both of those starters tied the program’s single season wins record with nine wins apiece and rank in the top-40 in the nation in ERA and in the top-15 in WHIP. Noviello ranked in the top-5 in the country with his 1.47 ERA, marking the third best starter’s ERA in Fairfield history.
The Stags advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals for the first time in program history after becoming the first MAAC team ever to receive an At-Large bid into the tournament in 2021.
All three of Fairfield’s weekend starters were noticed nationally as Noviello, Sansone, and Trey McLoughlin all earned invitations into the prestigious Cape Cod League following the 2021 season.
Tabakman spent the 2019 season as the pitching coach at UAlbany where he helped the Great Danes to 28 victories, their most since 2007 while earning the second seed in the America East Tournament. Two Danes’ pitchers earned First Team All-Conference honors under Tabakman, including: starting pitcher Dominic Savino who finished second in the America East in ERA and reliever Joe Kruszka who led the league with 10 saves.
Before heading to the Capital District, Tabakman spent one season with his alma mater UConn, serving as the Director of Player Development and Baseball Operations. The Huskies would finish No. 22 in the national polls and were also finalists in the Coastal Carolina Regional.
Tabakman’s first collegiate coaching position came at Amherst College where he led the pitching staff for two seasons. During his time at Amherst, Tabakman helped nurture the career of right hander Drew Fischer, who would be drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates after his junior season.
He spent his collegiate playing days as a team captain at UConn, finishing fourth all-time with 269.1 innings pitched. He led the Huskies to the 2013 Big East Championship where he was the winning pitcher in the conference’s Semi-Final contest. He also threw nine innings in a no decision in the NCAA Tournament against Oklahoma.
