John Downey Named Baseball Head Coach; Dino Mastropierro Tabbed as Softball Head Coach

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — John Downey and Dino Mastropierro have been named the head coaches of the St. Joseph's University, N.Y. (Brooklyn) baseball and softball programs, respectively. The pair come to Clinton Hill with a combined 20 years of coaching experience with stops in the little league, high school, and club ranks.

Downey's comprehensive baseball background includes coaching travel teams and Little League organizations; notably his seven-year stint at South Shore Little League on Staten Island from March 2019 to June 2016; which saw his All-Star team to multiple district and city championships in 2014 and 2015. South Shore's 11-year-old All-Star team also won a New York State title with Downey at the helm in 2015.

He entered the high school coaching ranks in 2017 as an assistant coach for the junior varsity squad at Saint Peter's Boys High School before joining the varsity coaching staff at McKee High School later in the year. Downey ultimately became the head coach of the Poly Prep Country Day School junior varsity team in September 2019.

Most recently serving as the head coach of the Jersey Shore Stallions of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League, Downey – a former pitcher at Molloy College – was also an associate scout with the San Diego Padres for three years; evaluating college and high school student-athletes in the New York metropolitan area as well as scheduling pro day workouts for college and high school student-athletes 

In addition to owning the SBC Travel Baseball Club, Downey -- a retired sergeant with the New York City Police Department -- is the current president of Stallion Security and Investigations LLC. He currently resides on Staten Island.

Mastropierro became the head coach of the junior varsity softball program at Sacred Heart Academy in 2019. Two years later, he was elevated to lead Sacred Heart's varsity team, holding the position for three seasons.

In addition to his tenure in Hempstead, Mastropierro served as the vice president of the Levittown Athletic Club (LAC). Since September 2017, he also coached the Force Fastpitch Travel Team. From 2018 to 2021, Mastropierro's U-12, U-14, and U-16 teams regularly took part in USSSA and USA Softball National Qualifier tournaments.

Away from the diamond, Mastropierro – a native of Seaford, N.Y. – is an administrator at the New East Side Nursing Home.