J. Messina enters his tenth season as head coach of the Cougar baseball program in 2018. In nine seasons leading the Cougars, Messina has compiled a 108-239 record and has led Caldwell to two CACC Tournaments.
Messina became the Cougars' head coach in 2009 after serving five seasons as an assistant coach at Caldwell. An excellent teacher of the game, Messina has played a major role in the Cougars’ success, especially at the plate. Since his arrival, the Cougars have batted over .300 as a team three times while leading the CACC in batting twice, in 2005 and 2007. Also, under Messina’s tutelage, Hasani Whitfield was named the CACC Player of the Year in 2005 and Adric Saxon led the nation in runs batted in per game in 2007. Also, Joe O’Donnell was the toughest player in Division II to strike out in 2013, as he fanned just three times in 150 at-bats. The Cougars' success at the plate led to a pair of CACC titles and three appearances in the NCAA Northeast Region Tournament during Messina's tenure as an assistant.
Messina joined the Cougars in 2004 after serving as head baseball coach at Essex Catholic High School for seven years until the school closed in 2003. He also has been involved in coaching Little League and American Legion baseball for 22 years.
Messina graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1977 with a degree in accounting. In addition to his coaching responsibilities with the Cougars, Messina works as a certified public accountant in Bloomfield, N.J. He currently lives in Belleville, N.J.
