VILLANOVA, Pa. — The Villanova University baseball program has announced the addition of two new assistant coaches, welcoming Michael Russo and Dusty Snyder to the Wildcats staff for the upcoming season.

Russo arrives at Villanova after three seasons at Monmouth University (2023–2025), where he played a key role in guiding the Hawks through their transition into the highly competitive Coastal Athletic Association (CAA)—one of the nation's top baseball conferences. Under his leadership, Monmouth achieved steady year-over-year improvement, highlighted by an increase in conference wins from six to eleven in his second season and a 24-win campaign in 2025, the program's best total in three years. His pitching staff produced three All-CAA selections, multiple CAA Pitcher of the Week honors, and three shutouts in 2025, finishing with the third-lowest team ERA in the conference (5.02).

Before Monmouth, Russo spent eight seasons at Princeton University (2015–2022), where he was instrumental in the Tigers' 2016 Ivy League Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. During his tenure, he developed 13 All-Ivy honorees—six of them First-Team selections—including 2016 Ivy League Pitcher of the Year Chad Powers. Eight of his players went on to sign professional contracts, with MLB draft selections by the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels, Houston Astros, and Cleveland Guardians.

As a player, Russo was a standout pitcher at Kean University, helping lead the Cougars to back-to-back Division III College World Series appearances in 2011 and 2012. He earned multiple major honors in 2011, including New Jersey Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year, NJ Collegiate Baseball Association Division II/III Pitcher of the Year, and ABCA All-America recognition. Prior to Kean, he began his collegiate career at NC State, where he was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 49th round of the 2008 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Russo holds a master's degree in athletic administration from Ohio University (2017) and a bachelor's degree in business management from Kean (2012).

Snyder joins Villanova following three years split between Pasco-Hernando State College and the University of South Florida, where he served as an assistant coach on both staffs. At Pasco-Hernando, he worked primarily with the pitching staff and served as the first-base coach, helping lead the Bobcats to the 2025 NJCAA Division II National Championship. That season, the team recorded 193 stolen bases, while the pitching staff posted a 3.54 ERA.

Before his coaching role at Pasco-Hernando, Snyder played at the University of South Florida. After an injury ended his playing career, he transitioned into coaching at USF, assisting both the infielders and outfielders.

A native of Coconut Creek, Fla., Snyder began his collegiate career at USF in 2021 and 2022 and earned his Bachelor of Arts in Criminology/Criminal Justice from the university.