Summer Spotlight: Vinny Rossi, Baseball and Men's Soccer
Vinny Rossi is a three-year starter on the Bears Baseball team with a career .313 average and just knocked his 100th career hit -- the eighth Bear to reach the mark -- in the final game of the season at USCAA Nationals in May. Rossi was an AD3I First Team and Second Team All-Independent selection in his first two seasons. On the soccer field, the to-be-senior has played the last two seasons, starting in all 22 games played, primarily at defense and was an AD3I All-Academic Team honoree in his sophomore season.
About you
I came to St. Joseph's because…
I came to St. Joseph's because I wanted to play baseball with my friends from school and stay in a small school atmosphere.
Your major…
Therapeutic Recreation
Career goals after graduation…
After graduation I plan on either going to work at a long term care facility as a recreational therapist or go back to grad school for physical therapy.
My dream job is…
My dream job is being a college baseball coach that gets paid 6 figures (But that won't happen)
Summer plans…
For the summer, I am run a Counselor in Training program at Queens College, I also volunteer at Margaret Tietz Center for Nursing and Rehab, and play in 2 baseball leagues. In August, me and [my girlfriend] Shannon are going to Baltimore to watch the Orioles play.
A unique/interesting talent of mine…
A talent that I have is that I can balance things on my chin.
On being a Bear…
Best moment in a Bears uniform…
The best moment that I had so far as a Bear would have to be beating Penn State [Greater Allegheny] in the first round of the USCAA Nationals considering that last year we lost to them. It was a great feeling because we came so far as a team.
Funniest moment in practice/pre-game with Coach…
Funniest moment so far is any time Coach Scott say "that's a big time comment" and every time that gets said everyone starts dying.
Pre-game rituals or superstitions…
I don't really have any pre game rituals anymore but I try to be a clown as much as possible to stay loose.
My pump up song before a game is…
My pump up songs before a game consists of some Paramore. I'm a huge fan and I wanna marry Hayley Williams.
Favorite road trip so far…
The trip down to Illinois was a pretty fun road trip, playing mafia with the team, having Coach Jack [Hans] saying "stop playing that stupid game." It was such a long trip, the fact that no one killed each other made it great.
Favorite place/food to eat on team trips…
We pretty much eat everywhere but Steak and Shake was a personal fav getting a hot dog burger and a shake always hits the spot.
My goal(s) for next season is/are to…
My goals for next season are to have more than 30 wins, destroying teams that we play and going back to the USCAA Small College World Series and making it to the finals.
On being social media famous…
Twitter or Facebook?
I prefer Facebook
Number of…
Twitter followers: 231
Facebook friends: 1357
Instagram followers: 872
The most likes you've received on an Instagram photo and what was the photo of?
The most likes I've gotten on Insta was 172 for a video when me and Flip [Anthony DeFillippo] got interviewed for Channel 12 News.
True or false? I overuse hashtags.
False.
Your favorites…
Favorite sports team(s)…
Favorite professional athlete (past or present) …
Jim Abbott, one handed pitcher
Favorite TV show…
Blue Mountain State
Favorite SJC Professor…
Juan Franquiz
Favorite SJC Staff member…
There's way too many to have favorites, so the athletic staff as a whole
Favorite quote/motto…
When you want to succeed more than you wanna breathe, that's when you'll be successful.
Final thoughts…
Anything you'd like to share with all the fans out there …
Previous Summer Spotlights:
David Louison, Men's Basketball
Anna Carbone, Women's Volleyball and Swimming
Kyle Johnson, Men's Soccer and Tennis
Morgan Summers, Women's Swimming and Softball
Vinny Rossi, Baseball and Men's Soccer
Shannon Rom, Women's Soccer, Softball and Swimming (on July 28)
Our Summer Spotlight feature runs on Mondays and Thursdays. Check back on Monday, July 28th for our next student-athlete and don't forget to follow our summer Top 10 list every Tuesday!