Longtime Bombers baseball coach George Valesente ’66 , M.S. ’75 celebrated his 1,000th victory last spring with a win over Pomona-Pitzer in California. Valesente is only the sixth NCAA Division III coach to reach the milestone. In his 34-year career as head coach at IC, he has guided the Bombers to two national championships, nine World Series, and 27 NCAA postseason berths.

Valesente was named coach-of-the-year, along with Kristaps Aldins of Stevens College, by the Empire 8 conference in May. On July 20, the baseball diamond and backstop at IC was dedicated to him and named the Valesente Diamond at Freeman Field during the baseball reunion.