Ep. 440 (8/28/26): Special Guest - Jack Hawke, Assistant Baseball Coach at Holy Cross

In this episode, Joey has the privilege and honor of being joined by a former teammate of his in the Yawkey Baseball League and a current assistant coach for the Holy Cross baseball team, Jack Hawke. Jack played college baseball at Bard College where he was a four-year starter and a three-year captain. He went on to be an assistant coach for two years at Bard College after graduation, before coaching at Post University in 2020, Vassar College in 2021, Harvard University in 2022, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 2023-2025, and the College of the Holy Cross from 2026 to the present day. Holy Cross won the Patriot League Championship this past spring and punched a ticket to the 2026 NCAA Tournament!At the start of the episode, Jack breaks down where his love for the game of baseball began (1:31), what appealed to him about Bard College as a high school recruit (2:53), what led to him being a pitcher and infielder as a freshman (6:13), how important being a reliable and top-tier defender was to him (8:00), and how much of an honor it was to be a three-year captain for the Bard Raptors (10:08). Then, Jack transitions to talk about his experience as an assistant coach at Bard for the 2018 and 2019 seasons (11:38), what it is like balancing the development of outfielders, hitters, and baserunners (13:11), the recruiting strategies of Bard (15:11), and where his interest in coaching began (17:49).After that, Jack reveals what the transition was like to a Division II school in Post University in 2020 (20:55), how difficult it was for the Eagles’ season to be shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic (22:35), what his experience was like at Vassar College for the 2021 season where he added the responsibility of developing catchers (24:13), and how special it was to work at Harvard University as a volunteer assistant coach during a 2022 season that included wins over the University of Miami and UCLA (26:54). Additionally, Jack discusses his takeaways from his time learning under Harvard head baseball coach Bill Decker (28:56) and reflects on his three years at MIT (2023-2025), where he worked under former MIT head baseball coach Andy Barlow. Following that, Jack looks back at the Engineers’ run to the NEWMAC Championship during the 2025 season (31:28) and outlines what the recruiting process was like at MIT (34:25). Next, Jack chats about his reunion at Holy Cross with his former Bard head coach Ed Kahovec (38:00), explains how the Crusaders stayed positive despite a rough 0-6 start to the 2026 season (39:40), and highlights the program’s Patriot League Championship victory over Bucknell University (42:45). Moreover, Jack analyzes how gratifying it was to play a role in the Crusaders punching a ticket to the 2026 NCAA Tournament (45:03), recaps the thrill of the NCAA Selection Show (47:13), and speaks about the recruiting strategy of Holy Cross (49:13), along with the team’s expectations heading into the 2027 season (51:58). To close the episode, Jack reflects on his time as the field manager for the North Shore Navigators of the New England Collegiate Baseball League this summer (53:39).