POUGHKEEPSIE, New York – Marist graduates Ricky Pacione and Travis Miller were recently featured in The Athletic's "35 Under 35" series, which focused on young talent shaping baseball from behind the scenes.

Pacione is in his sixth season as a bullpen catcher for the Cleveland Indians. He has been a member of the staff of manager Terry Francona, and was part of Cleveland's 2016 American League championship team. As a result, the Cleveland staff represented the American League in the 2017 All-Star Game, during which Pacione served as a catcher during Home Run Derby. 

Pacione played baseball at Marist from 2008-11, and was a star on the Red Foxes' 2009 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship team. In his senior year, he became the first player in program history to be named a CoSIDA Academic All-American. Eight years after graduating, Pacione still ranks in the program's top 10 in nine career statistical categories. He is a native of nearby Newburgh.

Pacione's story is available here (subscription required).

Miller is a 2008 Marist graduate who is currently manager of in-game coordinators for Major League Baseball. In this role, he has been the voice of the Chicago Cubs' Twitter account (@Cubs) since 2015, which included the team's World Series championship run of 2016.



Miller is a native of nearby Red Hook. He was selected to participate in the Major League Baseball "Fan Cave" in 2013.    

Miller's story is available here (subscription required).

Pacione and Miller are two of several Marist graduates who have shined in professional baseball. The list includes:

• Matt Bourne (Class of 1995) was promoted this spring to Senior Vice President of Communications for Major League Baseball.
• Kevin McCarthy, who played baseball at Marist from 2011-13, is in his fourth season as a relief pitcher for the Kansas City Royals.
• Scott Boches, who played at Marist from 2014-17, is in his third season in the Seattle Mariners' organization.
• Jonathan Schwind, who played at Marist from 2009-11, is in his first season as assistant hitting coach and third base coach for the Indianapolis Indians, the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Schwind, who pitched to the Pirates' Josh Bell in this year's Home Run Derby, played in the Pirates' organization from 2011-17.
• David Hochman (Class of 2008) is Senior Manager, Business Communication for Major League Baseball.
• Overall, the Marist baseball program has had 19 draft selections in its history.