Mont Alto Athletics Announce Hiring of Shawn Kissel as New Head Baseball Coach

By: Frank Maira, Assistant Director of Athletics/Sports Information Director

MONT ALTO, Pa. – Shawn Kissel has been named the head coach of the Penn State Mont Alto baseball program as announced by Director of Athletics Staci Brennan on Monday, August 6.

"I am pleased to announce Shawn Kissel as the new head baseball coach at Penn State Mont Alto," commented Brennan.  "Shawn's knowledge and passion for the game, previous coaching experience, and his commitment to student-athlete success, both on and off the field, make him the ideal person for this position."

Kissel joins Mont Alto with over 15 years of coaching experience; having most recently co-founded and coached for the Renegades Athletic Club (RAC) of Chambersburg, Pa. for the past five seasons.

"I'm very excited to be afforded this opportunity to coach at the collegiate level," said Kissel. Growing up and living within this area, I've followed the Mont Alto baseball program from a distance and know that there is a solid foundation that has been left for me to build upon," remarked Kissel.

Penn State Mont Alto was crowned PSUAC Conference Champions and earned a berth in the USCAA Small College World Series following the 2017 season. The program followed that up with a 14-17 overall record and 8-7 mark within the PSUAC, just missing out on the postseason tournament.

Being a native of the Franklin County area, Kissel believes that his knowledge and rapport with the surrounding high school coaches will work towards his benefit.

"Franklin, Fulton and Adams counties are loaded with baseball talent," remarked Kissel. "The high school coaches in our area do a really good job of preparing the local athletes for the collegiate level."

Kissel mentioned, "I was drawn to Penn State Mont Alto because of the great people and the core values of the university."

"As the baseball coach, I will help my student-athletes become the best versions of themselves while preparing them to be leaders and contributors once they walk across that stage and receive their diploma."

While coaching within the Renegades organization, Kissel has coached at almost every age range where he trained, developed, and prepared each student-athlete for the highest level of competition. Many of his teams have participated and won several competitive tournaments throughout the east coast including the Ripken Experience, Sports at the Beach, and Perfect Game tournaments.

Kissel competed on the baseball team at Virginia Wesleyan before transfering and finishing off his degree in business at Hagerstown Community College.

The Penn State Mont Alto baseball team open the 2019 season on the road against Southern Virginia on Saturday, February 9.