ST. BONAVENTURE BASEBALL

Get to know the coaching staff

Head Coach Jason Rathbun

Jason Rathbun enters his third season as Bonnies Baseball head coach in 2025.

Rathbun's Bonnies showed great improvement in his second season at the helm, doubling their win total year-to-year with the most wins for the program in seven seasons. St. Bonaventure scored two wins at Power 5 opponents during the 2024 campaign with victories at Louisville and Penn State. The Bonnies showed marked improvement across the board, lowing the team ERA by nearly three runs and setting the program record for staff strikeouts (359) while offensively watching the team batting average raise by 27 points over the previous year. Following the season, outfielder Adam Rankie was named First Team Atlantic 10 All-Conference while shortstop David Marshall earned Second Team honors. In the classroom, the team produced a 3.30 cumulative GPA during the Spring semester and earned the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Team Excellence Award.

"Coach Razz" came to St. Bonaventure after an incredible run at the junior college level.

Rathbun turned Herkimer Community College baseball into one of the most successful and consistent junior college programs in the country during his 17 years at the helm, moving to Bona's after winning the 2022 national championship.

In Rathbun's time at Herkimer, he guided the Generals to a 556-180 overall record while averaging over 30 wins per season.

Rathbun's squads were nationally ranked in 16 out of his 17 seasons in charge and made eight trips to the NJCAA World Series. His teams enjoyed unprecedented success in the region, winning 15 conference championships and advanced to the regional final 12 times. He also led 75 All-Region players, 25 All-Americans and a trio of Major League Baseball Draft selections.

Full bio

Associate Head Coach B.J. Salerno

B.J. Salerno, '09, serves as the Bonnies Baseball Associate Head Coach and will be entering his 12th season on staff with the program in 2025.

Salerno served as interim head coach during the 2022 season. 

As a successful starting catcher during his undergraduate days, Salerno helped lead the Bonnies to the A-10 Tournament three consecutive years (2006-2008). He was also a part of the 2006 Atlantic 10 Tournament runner-up team. Salerno started 152 consecutive games behind the plate for the Brown and White and was a senior co-captain.

In his role as an assistant coach, Salerno worked closely with Bonnies pitchers and catchers and took the lead in recruiting efforts.

With Salerno on staff, the Bonnies were far and away the Atlantic 10's top pitching staff statistically in 2016, recording a 2.79 team ERA. That total ranked first in the A-10 by over a full run and fourth in all of Division I. Sophomore Brandon Schlimm was named Second Team All-Atlantic 10 while senior Connor Grey set Bona's all-time season record for strikeouts with 95 and was drafted in the 20th round of the MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks following the season.

Full bio

ABOUT ST. BONAVENTURE

The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship.

Built on a foundation of compassion, wisdom and integrity, our Franciscan community affirms the unique dignity of everyone and invites all of our sisters and brothers to forge bonds of mutual acceptance and understanding that create a true sense of belonging.

The university’s most popular undergraduate academic programs are: Accounting, Biology, Criminology, Cybersecurity, Education, Finance, Health Science, Journalism, Marketing, Sport Studies, and Psychology. A full range of programs complement these enrollment drivers, with almost 100 majors and minors available to students at the undergraduate level. Combined degree programs in health care professions, including with George Washington University’s medical school, draw high-quality students from across the United States. 

UNIVERSITY QUICK FACTS

Location: Southwestern New York — 1.5 hours from Buffalo and Erie, Pa.; 2 hours from Rochester; 3 hours from Toronto, Syracuse and Cleveland; 6 hours from New York City, Hartford, Philadelphia and D.C.

Student/Faculty Ratio: 12:1

Rankings: No. 6 in North on 2024 U.S. News & World Report value list; Princeton Review Top 390 Colleges; Kiplinger’s Best National Values

Affiliation: Catholic (Franciscan)

Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,015

Graduate Enrollment: 745

Transfers: Generous policy of accepting course credits from other institutions

Credit Policy: SBU accepts CLEP, AP and International Baccalaureate credits

Living: 75% live on campus, including 98% of freshmen

Food: 98% satisfaction rate for dining services

Undergraduate Degree Programs: 60+ majors

Schools: Arts & Sciences, Business, Communication, Education, Health Professions Outcomes: 97% in grad school or in career field within six months of graduation

Retention: 86% freshman-to-sophomore (2024)

Combined Degree Pre-Health Programs: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy, Daemen College, Duquesne University College of Osteopathic Medicine, St. Francis (Pa.) University Physical Therapy

Students from Outside New York State: 26%

Foreign Countries Represented: 31

Fred Handler Park at McGraw-Jennings Field

The newly-renovated Fred Handler Park at McGraw-Jennings Field was officially dedicated on September 9, 2006 and serves as the new and improved home of St. Bonaventure baseball.

Named after longtime Bonnies baseball coach Fred Handler, the field was converted from natural grass to state-of-the-art Sport Turf XP.  The McGraw-Jennings name comes from Bona's two members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown: John McGraw and Hugh Jennings who each had a part in the program's formative years in the late 1800s before going on to legendary Major League careers.

The project also included new 50-foot long sunken dugouts, new bullpens and new fencing around the entire facility, including an extended backstop behind home plate.

A new mound and home plate area was added during summer of 2018, a new backstop installed in 2019 and a new scoreboard put in place during 2020. In the summer of 2024, all new padding was added around the outfield fence. 

Thomas Marra '80, who played baseball under Handler and is a current member of the University's Board of Trustees, donated $900,000 to The Anniversary Campaign for St. Bonaventure which was embarked for the baseball program, enabling the renovation to become a reality.

In 2024, St. Bonaventure announced plans for a $1.5 million project to greatly upgrade the facilities at the park.

The baseball complex also features an elevated press box behind home plate, in which game operations personnel as well as radio talent work on game days. The dimensions of Fred Handler Park stretch 330 feet down the left and right field lines, 367-foot power alleys and 403 feet to straight away center field.

St. Bonaventure baseball fans are recognized as some of the best in the Atlantic 10 Conference as hundreds of students, faculty and staff as well as members of the community flock to the hillside seating during the spring. Their creative brand of support includes game day tailgate parties and boisterous, but respectful cheers for their Bonnies. The environment at Fred Handler Park provides a terrific atmosphere to watch collegiate baseball and plays a major role in the club's success.

The Buffalo News recognized Handler Park by naming it one of the Top 10 most beautiful settings to watch a baseball game in New York State. With views of the Enchanted Mountains in the backdrop, it's hard to argue with that claim.

Program Success

St. Bonaventure Baseball joined the Atlantic 10 Conference in 1983. Since then, the Bonnies have won the A-10 Regular Season Title twice and the A-10 Tournament once in 2004, making it to the NCAA Regional Tournament. 

46 Atlantic 10 All-Conference Selections

49 A-10 Academic All-Conference Selections

2 A-10 Players of the Year

2 A-10 Pitchers of the Year

1 A-10 Rookie of the Year

The Bonnies scored multiple Power 4 wins in 2024, taking victories on the road at Louisville and Penn State. In 2025, the Bonnies will play more marquee opponents, including games at Vanderbilt and Tennessee.

Next Level Bonnies

A total of 14 Bonnies players have been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft during St. Bonaventure's Division I era while 22 players have played professionally. Since 2015, four players have been picked in the MLB Draft and five began the 2020 season playing in MLB farm systems. 

Academic Excellence

The St. Bonaventure baseball team has earned accolades from the American Baseball Coaches Association, receiving the 2023-24 ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award.

The Bonnies garnered a cumulative team GPA of 3.30 during the academic year. A total of 29 Bonnies Baseball student-athletes own cumulative GPAs of better than 3.0 while 16 members of the team have accumulated a GPA of better than 3.5.

Read the full release here.

Coverage on ESPN+

The majority of Bonnies Baseball games throughout the year are streamed live through ESPN+ with many additional home games streamed with a free audio broadcast on the Bonnies Online Network.

Be Part of the Tradition

St. Bonaventure Baseball Alums and Bonnies in general have a bond like no other. A strong connection of Bonnies Alumni across the country can help you achieve your goals after graduation.

One of the longest lasting traditions of Bonnies Baseball is the ‘last lap,’ held each senior day for graduating members of the program. A ceremony that has gained notoriety throughout social media for its uniqueness, it is one that sums up why it is so special to be a Bonnie and why those bonds last long beyond the last time around the Handler Park bases.