A 2002 graduate of St. Bonaventure and Bona baseball alum, Nick LaBella enters his seventh season as an assistant coach with the Bonnies.

LaBella has served as the club’s pitching coach since the summer of 2005, helping the Brown and White win 107 games and make three Atlantic 10 Tournament appearances. The St. Bona pitching staff has thrived since LaBella’s arrival, combining for 29 complete games over the last four seasons compared to just 11 from the opposition.

Under LaBella’s guidance, five different pitchers have won six or more games in a season, while three of them garnered A-10 All-Conference honors. In 2009, LaBella’s work with junior right-hander Dennis Sherba helped him equal the program single-season record with eight victories after winning just three games over his previous two years.

The Eldred, Pa. native was a four-year letter-winner on the Bonnies’ pitching staff under head coach Larry Sudbrook. During St. Bonaventure’s 2000 Atlantic 10 Conference East Division title season, he made a team-high 18 appearances on the mound during the program’s only 30-win season. Over his career, LaBella was a part of 106 wins and two A-10 Tournaments.

LaBella was the head coach at Port Allegany High School in 2004 and 2005 and is currently a mathematics teacher at the school.