Baseball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- muscarc@wfu.edu
Corey Muscara finished his second season with the Demon Deacons in 2023 along with taking home D1 Baseball’s Assistant Coach of the Year. Muscara works directly with the Wake Forest pitching staff.
The Wake Forest arms continued their drastic improvements into his second season in Winston-Salem. Pitching played a vital part in securing a record for wins in a season (54) and the Deacs first College World Series appearance since 1955. The Wake pitching staff put up the lowest ERA ((2.83), WHIP (1.05), and hits-per-nine innings (6.59) in the nation. Muscara’s pitching staff led the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.26) and strikeouts-per-nine innings (2.83)
The Demon Deacons led the ACC and finished second in the nation in shutouts (10) and walks-per-nine innings (2.83). Along with that the Muscara’s Staff helped the Deacons win every ACC series this season.
The Deacs made their 15th appearance in the NCAA Baseball Tournament as a No. 1 seed. After posting the program’s first 50-win season the Deacons went on to win all three of their games in the Winston-Salem Regional. After a sweep of Alabama in the Super Regional the Deacs went on to beat Stanford and LSU in Omaha during opening weekend of the College World Series.
Rhett Lowder (1.87), Sean Sullivan (2.45), Seth Keener (2.69), and Josh Hartle (2.81) posted the four lowest ERAs in the ACC this past season. Also all four of these pitchers finished top 30 in the nation in each statistical category. Finally, all four pitchers including the closer Camden Minacci were named to the All-ACC team.
Under the coaching of Muscara, Rhett Lowder continued his success for the Demon Deacons. Lowder ended the 2023 season setting records in wins (15), strikeouts (143), and win-loss percentage (15-0). Lowder also led the nation in wins (15) along with ranking fourth in the country in strikeouts (143) and ERA (1.87) while finishing eighth in WHIP (.95). He finished off the season leading the ACC in ERA (1.73), wins (12), innings pitched (88.2), and strikeouts (108). To top off a successful season, Lowder became the second-highest drafted player in Wake Forest History. After showing dominance for the Deacs, the Cincinnati Reds drafted Lowder with the seventh overall pick.
Muscara helped Sean Sullivan find instant success in just one season with the pitcher. Sullivan broke the program record in single-season strikeouts-per-nine (14.34),
Under Muscara’s guidance, Rhett Lowder posted one of the best seasons by a Wake Forest pitcher in program history in 2022. Lowder became the first pitcher and the third Deac ever to be named an Unanimous All-American and the first Demon Deacon ever to be named ACC Pitcher of the Year. Additionally, Lowder was selected as a finalist for the Collegiate National Pitcher of the Year Award as well as a First Team All-ACC and ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-Region selection. The sophomore finished the season with a 11-3 record in 99.1 innings, becoming just the fifth pitcher in program history and the first since 2002 to reach 11 victories in a season. Overall, Lowder entered the NCAA Tournament as one of four pitchers in the nation with 11 wins, which was also an ACC best.
Lowder struck out a career-high 105 batters, the 10th most in program history, and ended the regular season as the only pitcher in the ACC to rank in the top three in wins, strikeouts, ERA and innings pitched.
Muscara also instructed Josh Hartle to one of the best freshman seasons for a Wake Forest pitcher ever. Hartle made 14 starts as Wake Forest's Saturday starter, just one of two pitchers in program history to do so and became just the sixth freshman in program history to earn seven victories in a season. Hartle conceded just one earned run in six starts, while fanning at least six batters in five outings.
Muscara guided Teddy McGraw's seamless transition to the weekend rotation as the sophomore earned a career-high five wins, good for third on the team, and held opponents to a batting average of .203, the lowest on the squad. McGraw ended the 2022 campaign on a high note, allowing one run or less in six-straight appearances to end the season.
After fantastic sophomore campaigns, both Lowder and McGraw were selected to the 2022 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, the first time in program history a pair of Demon Deacon teammates represented the Red, White and Blue.
Out of the bullpen, Camden Minacci became one of the best closers in the nation, finishing with lowest ERA on team (2.18) as well as six saves. Minacci was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason and Midseason Watch Lists.
Minacci and McGraw were joined by relievers Gabe Golob and Crawford Wade as the quartet of arms held opponents to a batting average less than .230 at the conclusion of the 2022 season.
After one year under the close guidance of Muscara, Eric Adler became the 21st Wake Forest pitcher drafted since 2010 as the Chicago White Sox selected the right hander with the 191th pick of the sixth round of the 2022 MLB Draft.
Prior to Winston-Salem, Muscara had over a decade of collegiate coaching experience, elevating multiple program’s pitching staffs to new heights. Under Muscara’s leadership, his teams have finished in the top 10 in ERA and strikeouts on the conference and national level on several occasions, while developing numerous MLB draft prospect at every stop throughout his career.
Most recently, Muscara served as Maryland’s pitching coach from 2018-21. In 2021, the Terps’ pitching staff registered a team ERA of 4.76, the fifth-best in the Big Ten and their lowest mark during Muscara’s tenure. The success on the mound was crucial to the team's overall success as Maryland won multiple NCAA Tournament games for the first time since 2015, defeating Norfolk State and Charlotte in back-to-back games at the Greenville Regional.
In 2020, Maryland earned a program record seventh-best recruiting class in the country, highlighted by Muscara’s efforts to secure a number of highly-regarded pitchers.
He tutored Hunter Parsons to Third Team All-Big Ten accolades in 2019 as the right hander led the conference with nine wins before. Parsons went on to be drafted in the 19th round by the New York Mets and is currently in the High-A affiliate within the organization.
During the 2013-17 seasons, Muscara coached four All-Americans, two Freshman All-Americans and three-straight BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year honorees as an assistant at St. John’s. Nine of Muscara’s Red Storm hurlers were selected in the MLB Draft during his tenure, while a duo signed free agent minor league deals.
St. John’s posted the eighth-lowest team ERA in the country during the 2017 campaign while fanning a conference-best 406 batters during Muscara’s second season in 2014. As a team, the Red Storm made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2015 and 2017.
Prior to St. John’s, Muscara was an assistant coach at Southern New Hampshire during a historic 2012 season as the program advanced to the College World Series and won a school-record 43 games. On the hill, his pitching staff led the nation in ERA (2.41) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.3). He also served as the recruiting coordinator.
Muscara began his coaching career at Southern New Hampshire in 2010 before moving onto Binghamton for the 2011 campaign.
As a player, Muscara played his final two seasons at Franklin Pierce and was named a team captain during his senior campaign in 2009. Franklin Pierce captured the Northeast-10 tournament both of Muscara’s seasons and secured a 2008 NCAA Regional title. He had previously spent three seasons at Siena, earning letters in 2005 and 2007.
Muscara graduated from Franklin Pierce with a degree in history in 2009. He and his wife Suzie have two sons, Theodore and Thomas.
