Cocolin begins his eighth season as Gannon’s head baseball coach in 2015. His hiring was announced July 17, 2007 by former Director of Athletics Bill Elias.
The former McDowell (Pa.) High School standout continues to make strides with the Gannon program, putting the Golden Knights in postseason contention the last five years. The Golden Knights finished the 2013 season 24-19 overall, concluding one of the best seasons in school history that included the program's first-ever divisional crown. The program has reached double digits in league victories the last three seasons and recorded at least 24 overall wins twice during the last three seasons, qualifying for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament both years.
Cocolin turned the Gannon baseball program completely around from a 5-43 record the year before he arrived into the 2013 PSAC Western Division regular-season champions. The Golden Knights increased their victory total during each of the first three seasons under Cocolin and during five of the last seven campaigns.
A plethora of postseason awards came with the 2013 campaign’s success. Shayne Herold and Aaron Cox were named PSAC Western Division Pitcher and Freshman of the Year. The duo became the first Golden Knights in the program's history to be named either a conference pitcher or freshman of the year. Other accolades included five all-conference selections, six all-region honors, one All-American and one Gold Glove winner. The five All-PSAC selections tied a school record.
Thirteen Golden Knights were named PSAC Scholar-Athletes and three received the Division II Athletics Directors Association (DII ADA) Academic Achievement Award in 2013.
Last season, Gannon placed Cox and Zack Ranta on the All-PSAC Western Division postseason teams. Cox went a step further with a Daktronics All-Atlantic Region selection.
Gannon has excelled on the field and in the classroom throughout Cocolin’s tenure and the 2014 season was no different. Thirteen Golden Knights were named PSAC Scholar-Athletes, bringing the total of PSAC scholar-athlete awards to 85 over the last six seasons and the total number of student-athletes to receive conference academic honors to 92 over the last seven campaigns. In addition to the PSAC honors, three Golden Knights received the Division II ADA Academic Achievement Award.
Cocolin was named PSAC Western Division Coach of the Year in 2012 after the Golden Knights qualified for the league tournament, before finishing 25-23 overall and 14-10 in the PSAC West. He became the first baseball coach in school history to be named a conference coach of the year.
Gannon's appearance at the 2012 PSAC Tournament represented the program's first postseason appearance since the 1970 team played in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Tournament. The Golden Knights entered the tournament as the Western Division's second seed after recording their first winning season since 1985.
The 2012 squad surpassed the previous year's victory total by 10 games. In addition to producing the first-ever winning conference record in school history, Gannon set new school single-season records for overall victories (25) and conference wins (14). The Golden Knights had the most triples (14), lowest ERA (3.85), lowest opponent batting average (.271), most saves (7), most complete games (19), fewest runs allowed (201) and fewest earned runs allowed (145) in program history since at least the 1999 campaign. Five Golden Knights were named to the 2012 All-PSAC Western Division teams, setting a school record at the time.
Eric Bradley led a large group of 2012 postseason award winners by becoming the first Gannon student-athlete to receive the PSAC Baseball Champion Scholar Award reserved for the player with the highest cumulative grade point average at the conference championship. Michael Tomko was named to a pair of all-region teams, landing a spot on the Daktronics second team and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) honorable-mention squad.
Gannon played PSAC opponents on even terms throughout most of the season in 2011, producing a 7-7 conference record with 10 games to play. The Golden Knights entered the final weekend with a chance to make a PSAC Tournament appearance, but finished one game out of the postseason for the second consecutive season.
Kolten Hoffman captured a plethora of individual awards in 2011, being named to the PSAC Spring Top 10 for the second consecutive season. He became only the second player in school history to become an Academic All-America first-team selection after earning his third straight Academic All-District first-team honor. On the field, Tomko landed a spot on the All-PSAC Western Division second team.
In 2010, the Golden Knights were in postseason contention the entire year until being eliminated on the final day of the regular-season with a 12-12 conference record. It represented the program’s most conference victories since 2002. The squad recorded an 11-game improvement from the previous season, winning 21 games for the first time since 2004.
Eighteen Golden Knights were named PSAC Scholar-Athletes after the 2010 campaign. Hoffman was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II first team for the second consecutive season, as well as being named to the PSAC Spring Top 10.
On the field, three Golden Knights hit .300 or better as the squad recorded the program’s highest team batting average (.286) since 2003. Gannon produced its highest on-base percentage (.386) since at least 2000, its highest slugging percentage (.385) since 2003 and its highest fielding percentage (.951) since 2004.
The Gannon pitching staff was superb, ranking fourth among all PSAC teams in earned run average. The staff recorded its lowest ERA since 2004.
Results during the 2009 season were similar as three Golden Knights hit .300 or better. Hoffman was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II first team and 16 Golden Knights were named PSAC Scholar-Athletes.
Cocolin made an immediate impact during his first season with the Gannon baseball team in 2008, tutoring two All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) selections. In addition, five starters hit .300 or better for a team with a .277 average. In the classroom, seven Golden Knights were named to the GLIAC All-Academic team.
The Erie, Pa., native spent the previous two seasons (2006-07) as an assistant coach at Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach, Florida. He helped lead the NAIA school to a 92-26 record over two seasons. The Eagles won a Region XIV Championship and a South Atlantic Super Regional Championship, along with making their fifth consecutive NAIA World Series appearance in 2006.
During Cocolin’s tenure as an assistant coach, Embry-Riddle ranked second in the final 2006 national rankings and 11th in the final 2007 poll. In 2006, the Eagles posted a 49-15 record en route to the Florida Sun Conference Championship. Three players earned all-america honors.
In 2007, Embry-Riddle went 43-11 and was the Florida Sun Conference and Region XIV runner-up. Seven players earned all-conference accolades.
Cocolin worked mainly with the outfielders in practice, as well as providing hitting instruction and serving as the first base coach during games. He also assisted in recruiting, scouting and pitching charts.
“Gannon is glad to be able to bring in a head coach of Nate’s caliber,” said Elias upon his hiring. “In addition to having local ties, Nate brings a winning attitude from a winning program at Embry-Riddle. He has a positive vision and exciting plan for Gannon baseball.”
Cocolin was a team captain and a two-time All-American during his playing days at Embry-Riddle, helping the Eagles make back-to-back World Series appearances in 2002 and 2003. As a junior, he led the Florida Sun Conference in RBIs (62) and was among the league’s top 10 in home runs (7), total bases (110) and runs scored (56). One of his most memorable performances came against Eckerd (Feb. 10, 2002) when he hit for the cycle with a grand slam and seven RBI.
In 2003, Cocolin took on an expanded role as a two-way player, adding relief pitcher to his list of duties. In addition to hitting .300 with 12 doubles, six homers and 46 RBI, Cocolin posted a 4-3 record with a 3.03 ERA, 27 strikeouts and a save in 19 appearances.
During his time in Daytona Beach, Cocolin worked with area youth as the head coach of the Ormond Beach Golden Spikes AAU team and as an instructor at the TeamGuill baseball camps.
Cocolin graduated from Embry-Riddle with a degree in Aviation Management in 2003. His older brother, Nick, played for Gannon during the 2001 season.
