:Laura Messina enters her fifth season as Seton Hall University’s pitching coach in 2026, continuing to shape one of the BIG EAST Conference’s most competitive pitching staffs. Since joining the Pirates in August 2021, Messina has guided the development of standout arms and helped engineer some of the strongest team pitching performances in recent program history. In 2023, Seton Hall led the conference with a 2.81 team ERA, powered by BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year Kelsey Carr, who recorded the program’s lowest ERA since 2005. The staff also topped the league in strikeouts and fewest home runs allowed. The following season, the Pirates posted the second-best ERA in the conference (3.44), with Carr earning All-BIG EAST First Team honors after throwing the 22nd no-hitter in program history. In 2025, despite a young rotation, Messina guided the staff to the third-best ERA in BIG EAST play.
Prior to Seton Hall, Messina served on the staffs at UMass, Connecticut, Fordham, and Rutgers, beginning her collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant and pitching coach at Rutgers. A standout pitcher at Central Connecticut State, she led the Blue Devils to two NEC Tournament championships and NCAA appearances. The 2014 NEC Pitcher of the Year, Messina finished her career with a program-record 100 wins and holds top marks in strikeouts, innings pitched, and complete games. A Marlton, New Jersey native, she earned her bachelor’s degree from Central Connecticut State in 2015 and a master’s degree from Rutgers in 2017.
