Corey Muscara completed his fourth season at Maryland as an assistant coach after being named to the post in July of 2017. Muscara previously served as an assistant coach at St. John's for five seasons.
In his fourth season as the Terps’ pitching coach, Maryland’s pitching staff combined for a 4.76 team ERA, fifth in the Big Ten, and the lowest mark at Maryland during Muscara’s tenure.
The development of rotation arms Sean Burke, Nick Dean, and Jason Savacool was paramount during the 2021 campaign. Burke ranked second in the Big Ten in strikeouts with 107 in just 13 starts, ranking sixth all-time in Maryland single-season history. Burke’s status as a top draft prospect has only increased during his time in College Park working with Muscara. Undrafted out of high school, Burke has increased his stock to a unanimous Top-100 prospect despite only 17 career starts and just short of 100 innings pitched at the college level.
Meanwhile, Nick Dean – who was limited by injuries at the beginning and end of the 2021 spring season – finished the season with the fourth-best ERA among conference starters (2.87). Jason Savacool, Maryland’s crown jewel of the 2021 freshman recruiting class, spent the season in the weekend rotation where he earned a league-high seven wins on the mound and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times.
High-leverage reliever Ryan Ramsey also made massive strides on the mound during the 2021 campaign, earning Second Team All-Big Ten honors while also being named to the ABCA/Rawlings All-East Region squad. The Terps’ bullpen ace made a team-high 16 appearances, leading the team with a 1.67 ERA over 37.2 innings, which was the third-most innings pitched on the team and first among relievers. His batting average against (.176) led the team, while his 43 strikeouts was the third-most among the Maryland staff. A perfect 5-0 on the mound with two saves, Ramsey was the Terrapins most lethal option out of the bullpen, surrendering just seven earned runs in nearly 40 innings.
Muscara's work with Hunter Parsons propelled the senior to new heights in 2019. The Terps' Friday ace was named a third-team All-Big Ten selection after leading the Big Ten with nine regular-season wins along with notched a 3.45 ERA and 78 Ks in 104.1 IP. Parsons was drafted in the 19th round of the MLB Draft by the New York Mets. Muscara also tutored John Murphy to an 11-save year, the third-best total in Terps' history.
The Terps' assistant's efforts have also been felt on the recruiting trail. Muscara helped the Terps secure a program-record seventh-best recruiting class in 2020 after securing the services of a multitude of talented young pitchers.Â
In his first season with Maryland, Muscara helped Hunter Parsons go from unused starter to Friday ace. Parsons went from tossing 21 and two-thirds innings with a 12.05 ERA in 2017 to starting 13 games and tossing 89 innings in 2018. He went 5-2 with a 3.44 ERA with 61 strikeouts and a .225 batting average against.
Muscara helped the Red Storm advance to the NCAA Tournament in 2015 and 2017, including a 43-win season in 2017. The former college pitcher coached four All-Americans and two freshman All-Americans at St. John’s and had nine pitchers selected in the MLB Draft, including five in 2015. Two St. John’s hurlers signed free agent minor league contracts over Muscara’s tenure.
Muscara led one of the best pitching staffs in the country in 2017 as St. John’s ranked eighth in the country with a 3.11 ERA. The staff also ranked 18th in WHIP (1.24), good enough for 18th in the nation.
St. John’s boasted the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year in three consecutive seasons (2015-17). In 2017, Muscara guided RHP Sean Mooney, who was named both the Pitcher of the Year and Freshman of the Year in the conference. Mooney was named the National Freshman Pitcher of the Year by multiple organizations and was named to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.
Muscara helped reliever Thomas Hackimer take home BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year honors in 2016 after compiling a sub-one ERA during the regular season, finishing the year with a 7-3 record and eight saves. In 2015, All-American and BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year Ryan McCormick went 11-1, matching a 47-year old program record for wins in a single season, and led a staff that ranked second in the BIG EAST with a 2.66 ERA. Hackimer set a school record for saves (15) that season.
The Red Storm topped the BIG EAST with 406 strikeouts in Muscara’s second season in New York in 2014. He helped Joe Kuzia notch a league-high 13 saves. In his first season, Muscara helped a staff that was the third-youngest in the country, with 10 freshman combing throw 60 percent of the innings. The staff posted a 4.75 ERA.
Muscara came to St. John’s after spending the 2012 season at Southern New Hampshire where he helped the program reach the NCAA Division II College World Series and win a school record 43 games. The program’s pitching staff led the nation in both ERA (2.41) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.3). He also served as the recruiting coordinator. Muscara had previously coached at Southern New Hampshire in 2010, his first coaching role, before heading to Binghamton for the 2011 season where he helped three Bearcat pitchers earn American East All-Conference honors.
As a player, Muscara spent his final two seasons at Franklin Pierce and captained the 2009 squad. Franklin Pierce won the Northeast-10 tournament crown both of Muscara’s seasons and captured an NCAA Northeast Regional title in 2008. He had previously spent three seasons at Siena, earning letters in 2005 and 2007 while sitting out 2006 as a medical redshirt.
Muscara graduated from Franklin Pierce with a degree in history in 2009. He and his wife Suzie have two sons, Theodore and Thomas.
