A Family Legacy Built on the Field: Honoring the Career of Longtime Iona Baseball Coach Al Zoccolillo
Iona Baseball’s soon-to-be renovated home field will be named in honor of the record-setting head coach who led the Gaels for 18 seasons
"When I got the job [at Iona], I wasn't going anywhere else."
Bronxville, N.Y. – To most people, it looks like just another baseball field. But to the Zoccolillo family, it feels like home.
Long before the diamond and dugouts became part of Iona University's Bronxville campus, the baseball field along White Plains Road was the backdrop of countless family memories. Al Zoccolillo—affectionately known as Coach Z—spent seven seasons building Concordia College's baseball program there. His sons, Alan and Peter, were never far behind.
This was where two young boys grew up chasing fly balls. Where players became family. And where baseball became more than just a game, it became a way of life.
Now, the soon-to-be renovated home field of Iona Baseball will be named in honor of Al Zoccolillo, the record-setting head coach who led the Gaels for 18 seasons. Reflecting on the recognition during an interview on the pitcher’s mound—his sons by his side—the legendary coach was nearly rendered speechless.
To the Zoccolillo family, this field feels like home.
“To have where you really started your college career and then to come back and have a ballpark named after you—I mean, how do you do better than that?” he said.
For the brothers, the dedication of Al Zoccolillo Park is a full-circle moment.
“We grew up here,” Alan F. Zoccolillo Jr. said. “To be part of bringing it back and doing it in a way that honors our father, it just ties everything together.”
"It was pretty special to come back here and see basically our childhood on this field,” Peter Zoccolillo said. “I’m just so proud of my dad, and I think this is so well deserved. We reached out to some of the former players—you have guys who won World Series championships and guys who played in the Big Leagues for a while—and just to have them reflect back on how he affected their careers is really special.”
A STORIED CAREER
Coach Zoccolillo led the Gaels for 18 seasons.
For decades, baseball was woven into nearly every aspect of the Zoccolillo household. Al, a New Rochelle native who now lives in White Plains, built a coaching career that stretched from Yonkers High School to Concordia College and ultimately to Iona College, where he became the winningest coach in program history. The brothers also remember their mother, Terry, playing a big role, creating media guides by hand at their dining room table and selling ads to fundraise for teams’ spring trips.
But long before the championship titles and Hall of Fame inductions, there was simply a young boy who loved the game.
"As a kid growing up, I had a love for the game and it never died," Al said.
That passion became the foundation of a remarkable coaching career.
At Yonkers High School, Al led his teams to three Section 1 championships, four league titles and two state regional championships while compiling a 90-37 record.
Under his leadership, Iona Baseball had 378 overall wins and 206 MAAC wins, records that stand to this day.
At Concordia, he inherited a struggling program and turned it around to leave with a 160-72 record. Over seven seasons, his teams recorded seven consecutive 20-win seasons, captured three Knickerbocker Championships and were nationally ranked in Division II during the 1987 season. Along the way, he helped develop future Major League playersWillie Fraser, John Doherty and World Series champion Scott Leius.
When Iona came calling in 1987, it was the opportunity he had always dreamed of.
“I always wanted the Iona job. I had my eye on that field as a high school kid going there to watch games," Al recalled. "When I got that job, I wasn't going anywhere else."
Over the next 18 seasons, he built one of the most successful eras in Iona Baseball history. His 378 overall wins and 206 MAAC wins both remain school records across all sports. His teams reached a record-setting eight consecutive postseason appearances, including a single season record of 31 wins in 1990. At Iona, he inspired future Major Leaguers Mike Bertotti and World Series champion Jason Motte.
“We are incredibly excited and grateful to celebrate the naming of Al Zoccolillo Park. The field will not only provide a real home for our team, it will also connect the past to the present and aid our ability to develop, recruit and retain quality student-athletes,” said Conor Burke, head coach of Iona Baseball. “I can’t wait for our players to experience the best home environment in the Metro Conference, and every time we step out on the field and see the Zoccolillo name, we will proudly share in the legacy of the winningest baseball coach in Iona history.”
MAJOR LEAGUE MEMORIES
Although the years have passed, the close-knit bonds formed through baseball have not. The Zoccolillo family still keeps in touch with many former players, and if you ask what they remember most about their days together on the field, the conversation rarely starts with the wins.
At Iona, Al inspired a number of players who went on to successful careers in the Major League.
Former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jason Motte, who helped the team win the 2011 World Series by pitching a perfect Game 7 ninth inning, said he was grateful for the opportunities Coach Z gave him. “Coach Z was more than just a baseball coach to me and so many others. Yes, he taught us how to handle our business on the baseball field, but those lessons often carried over into life off the field as well... He helped shape me into the baseball player I became, but more importantly, the man I am today.”
Former Detroit Tigers pitcher John Doherty remembered a coach who relentlessly advocated for his players, saying: “Coach Z set a high standard for his teams and got the most out of his players. He went above and beyond to make sure his players got a chance at the next level.”
Former Los Angeles Angels pitcher Willie Fraser credits Coach Z with helping to fuel his dreams of playing professional ball, saying he was glad to hear the field they all played on will be named in his honor. “Coach Z was instrumental in my growth, on and off the field... He created a culture of winning baseball, year after year. This environment helped push me to be better every day. Many things I learned while pitching at Concordia, I used while reaching my goal of playing in the Major Leagues and the driving force behind it all was Coach Z.”
Former Minnesota Twins player Scott Leius, who hit a game-winning home run during the team’s 1991 World Series championship, said: “Coach Z built a solid program and I was honored to be a small part of it. Thank you to Coach Z for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to continue to play the game I loved.”
BEYOND BASEBALL
The Zoccolillo family still keeps in touch with many former players.
It’s clear the lessons Al taught on the field extended well beyond baseball, and they inspired both his players and his sons to achieve at the highest levels.
"Baseball is full of failure," said Alan, who earned a baseball scholarship to Wake Forest University and built a successful career as a lawyer in New York City. "You have to learn to embrace that failure. It makes you better, it drives you to work harder. And the people who can deal with that often succeed both on the field and off the field."
“My dad always had his players play hard because they didn't want to let him down," said Peter, who earned a baseball scholarship to Rutgers University, played in the Major Leagues and now operates a baseball training facility in New Jersey. “They respected him. He cared about them. And that's why they played so hard for him."
For the Zoccolillos, the naming of Iona’s baseball field is both a return and a renewal—giving players something Iona Baseball has long deserved.
"Once they're here, they’ll feel like they have a home,” Al said.
The naming of Iona’s baseball field is both a return and a renewal—giving players something Iona Baseball has long deserved.
At Iona, Coach Z inspired future Major Leaguers Mike Bertotti and World Series champion Jason Motte.
For the Zoccolillo family, the baseball field along White Plains Road was the backdrop of countless family memories.
ABOUT IONA
Founded in 1940, Iona University is a master's-granting private, Catholic, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Iona's 45-acre New Rochelle campus and 28-acre Bronxville campus are just 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. With a total enrollment of over 4,000 students and an alumni base of 55,000 around the world, Iona is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona is highly accredited, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. Iona students enjoy small class sizes, engaged professors and a wide array of academic programs across the School of Arts & Science; LaPenta School of Business; NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Nursing & Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona also continues to be recognized in prestigious national rankings. Most recently for 2025, Iona has been named one of the nation’s best colleges by The Princeton Review, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and others. Additionally, U.S. News & World Report recognized Iona as one of top for social mobility in the country, while Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) ranked an Iona degree in the top 6 percent nationally for long-term return on investment. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business, meanwhile, is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just 6 percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review once again named Iona to its “Best Business Schools for 2025,” recognizing both its on-campus and online MBA programs. Connecting to its Irish heritage, Iona also opened a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland, located on the historic 400-acre Westport House Estate. A school on the rise, Iona officially changed its status from College to University on July 1, 2022, reflecting the growth of its academic programs and the prestige of an Iona education.