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River Hawks Add Zachary Gitschier to Coaching Staff

10/1/2025 2:28:00 PM

LOWELL, Mass. — UMass Lowell Baseball Head Coach Nick Barese has introduced the newest addition to the coaching staff for the 2026 season. Assistant Coach Zachary Gitschier joins the River Hawks baseball program after previously coaching with the Norwich Sea Unicorns and at Saint Anselm College. 

"We are thrilled to have Zach join us as our pitching coach," said Barese. "It was incredibly important for this group of players who have a lot of potential, to get someone like Zach who is going to develop and help each player grow. He's a Lowell native and knows the pride and tradition that comes with this program. We couldn't be more excited to have him on board." 

Gitschier recently worked for the Norwich Sea Unicorns as a pitching coach in the spring/summer of 2025. His main priority was managing a roster of 40 players alongside the manager, focusing on optimizing playing time and development for players across New England. Discussing individual player strengths and weaknesses, lineups, pitching rotations and strategies with the head coach, as well as working with players on pitch design and mechanical adjustments daily were also within his duties. During his time with the Norwich Sea Unicorns, Gitschier helped guide the team to a FCBL championship this past summer. 

"I am honored and excited to join UMass Lowell and to be part of a program with a strong tradition of excellence," said Gitschier. "I have lived in Lowell my whole life and it has always been a dream of mine to come home and be a part of the UMass Lowell baseball family. I am committed to developing our athletes as pitchers, competitors and leaders both on and off the field. I look forward to working alongside Coach Barese, the staff, and our student-athletes to continue building a culture of hard work, discipline and championship-level baseball." 

Before working with the Norwich Sea Unicorns, Gitschier was an assistant coach at Saint Anselm College from 2024-25. He primarily worked with the outfielders and pitchers in their daily development. Additionally, he designed and developed scouting reports on opposing teams and practice plans for both position players and pitchers. He also helped assist in recruiting players to the team, and organized and ran Prospect Camps in conjunction with other college coaches. During the 2025 season, he helped coach the baseball program to their highest win total and first conference playoff game since 2022. 

Gitschier was also able to gain experience working as pitching coach for the Westfield Starfires, having started his tenure with the team during his time at Saint Anselm College. Beginning in March of 2024, he assisted the manager in a variety of operational measures for the team and helped collaborate with the head coach to discuss individual player strengths and weaknesses, game plans and strategies. Gitschier would help coach the team to a 34-20 regular season record and a FCBL runner-up after missing the playoffs in the previous season. 

Gitschier was also a former collegiate athlete, as a pitcher and outfielder at Clark University for four years from 2018-22 before attending graduate school at Southern New Hampshire. At SNHU, he served as a relief pitcher and played in two NCAA Division II Baseball Championships while part of the Penmen's baseball program from 2022-23. Gitschier had also played in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League during his collegiate career, becoming a FCBL Champion in 2022 while playing for the Nashua Silver Knights baseball team. 

Gitschier earned his bachelor's degree in mathematics and Spanish from Clark University in 2022 and received his master's of education in secondary mathematics from Southern New Hampshire University in 2023.

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