Bio

Niagara Falls native Matt Clingersmith, Athletic Recruitment Coordinator, has built the Thunderwolves into one of the top NJCAA Div. III baseball programs in the country during his 20 seasons at the helm.

Clingersmith has led SUNY Niagara (formerly known as Niagara County Community College) to its only 10 NJCAA Div. III World Series appearances, finishing as National runner-up in 2012, 2017 and 2021. Those 10 teams were all crowned Region III champions as well. He's had three other teams finish as Region III runners-up (2008, 2011 & 2018) and several teams ranked in the top 10 nationally. Clingersmith himself has been honored as Region III Coach of the Year on eight separate occasions (2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2016 & 2017, 2024, 2025).

Clingersmith has coached eight MLB draft picks (Sean Jamieson - 2011 16th Round - Oakland Athletics; Christian Barczykowski - 2012 27th Round - Atlanta Braves; Christian Lindsay-Young - 2016 23rd Round - Oakland Athletics & 2017 21st Round Cincinnati Reds; Matt Cross - 2018 19th Round - Oakland Athletics; Ryan Birchard - 2023 5th round - Milwaukee Brewers; Brendan Morse - 2023 18th round - Texas Rangers; Zach Evans - 2024 9th Round - San Diego Padres; Matt Barr - 2025 5th Round - Minnesota Twins ), 24 NJCAA Div. III All-Americans (Matt Whidden, 2010; Calvin Sluberski, 2012; Chris Beer, 2014; Michael Colosi & Matt Matre, 2016; David Lyskawa & Christian Lindsay-Young, 2017; Vincent Chiarenza, Joe Kruszka & Matt Cross, 2018; Vincent Chiarenza & Erik Johnson, 2019; Ryan Peterson & Scottie O'Bryan, 2021; Kyle Finn, 2022; Ryan Birchard, Alexander Minnehan & Nicholas Castellana, 2023; 2024 - Andrew Stillinger, Andrew Johnson, & Gavyn Boyle; 2025 - Matt Barr, Dalton Harper & Cooper Rossano), five Rawlings Gold Glove winners (Sean Jamieson, 2009; Calvin Sluberski, 2012; Chris Beer, 2014; Michael Colosi, 2016; Matt Cross, 2017; Andrew Damiani, 2024; Nigel Sebastianelli, 2025), three Academic All-Americans (Devon Carlson, 2009; Sean Jamieson, 2009; Pat Quinn, 2014), an NJCAA Defensive Player of the Year (Michael Colosi, 2016; Nigel Sebastianelli, 2025) and four SUNY Chancellor's Award winners (Chris Sharkey, 2013; Trace Gillis & Casey Gruarin, 2018; Alexander Minnehan, 2023). Clingersmith has also produced more than three dozen first team All-Region III and first team All-Western New York Athletic Conference picks and nearly a dozen NJCAA World Series All-Tournament choices.

During the past 20 years, well over 100 players have moved on to four-year NCAA or NAIA colleges or universities with a large portion earning scholarships. Clingersmith's teams have also been recognized several times for holding the highest cumulative GPA among NCCC's intercollegiate athletic teams.

Following a standout career at Niagara Catholic, which included first team All-Western New York honors, Clingersmith moved on to Erie Community College. He helped the Kats to a Region III runner-up finish during his freshman campaign and then led them to a Region III title and a berth in the NJCAA Div. III World Series as a sophomore. The lanky right-hander then earned a scholarship to NCAA D-I Canisius College and pitched two years for the Golden Griffins. Upon graduation, Clingersmith spent two years as an assistant on Mike McRae's staff at Canisius.

Clingersmith holds an associate's degree in liberal arts and sciences from Erie CC and a bachelor's of science in physical education from Canisius College. He is currently working towards a master's degree in sport administration. He also continued to play competitively, leading his MUNY teams to four consecutive World Series appearances and championships in 2011 and 2015. Clingersmith has previously pitched for the Welland (Ont.) Jackfish of the Intercounty Baseball League.

*Covid-19 pandemic canceled remainder of season.

^Season shortened and condensed due to Covid-19 pandemic.