FLUSHING, N.Y. – Queens College assistant
vice president of athletics, China Jude announced recently that
Brian DeMasters has accepted a full-time administrative role in the
department he has served since 1978, effective immediately.
DeMasters, who amassed 527 victories in his 23 seasons as mentor of
the Knights’ softball program, will serve as both associate
director of athletics and head of the College’s highly
successful summer camp program.
A national search for DeMasters’s replacement as softball
coach is underway. Meanwhile, John Pisano, who served as associate
head coach to DeMasters during a 2011 campaign in which QC
registered a 23-24 record and was ranked for numerous weeks in the
NCAA East Region poll, will remain on staff as interim head
coach.
"I want to congratulate Brian on his wonderful career as an
outstanding coach, mentor and leader in the softball
program,” said Jude. “Although we can't find another
Coach DeMasters, I am confident that we can find a coach with some
similar qualities that will continue our success in the program. I
am excited that he chose to help lead this department on a
full-time basis. His leadership speaks volumes as we pursue future
championships in all 19 sports.”
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my 23 years as Head Softball Coach
here at Queens College,” said DeMasters – whose
experience in the athletic department dates back 33 years –
including full-time employment since 1980. “The experience
has provided great memories and friendships will stay with me
forever. My heart and support will always be behind Queens
College Softball! I am excited to be stepping into a new role
within the Athletics Department and am enthusiastic about having
the opportunity to work towards providing the ideal student-athlete
experience not only to members of the softball team, but to all of
our student-athletes.”
DeMasters coached the Knights’ softball program to a
527-471-1 record over the last 23 seasons and, starting in the
2010-11 academic year, DeMasters began a four-year term as chair of
the NCAA Division II Softball Committee’s East Region.
As a softball coach, DeMasters enjoyed a stretch from 1997-03 in
which six of his squads finished the season with a .600-plus
winning percentage – including a 31-14 mark in 1998 and a
career-best 37-16 ledger one year later. On three occasions he was
bestowed with conference Coach of the Year praise, and garnered one
Northeast Region Coach of the Year accolade. In the 1999 and 2001
seasons, DeMasters guided the Knights to New York Collegiate
Athletic Conference (NYCAC, now East Coast Conference) postseason
softball championship titles.
Throughout his tenure in Queens College’s athletic
administration, DeMasters’s other duties have included:
athletic purchasing; equipment manager; scheduling;
facilities/event management; as well as his duties as director of
the Queens College Summer Camp program.
DeMasters was a two-year pitcher (1978-79) for head coach Gary
Krupsky’s Queens College squad, after serving as a three-year
varsity pitcher at Newtown (Elmhurst, Queens) High School in which
his battery mate was none other than former New York Mets and
Montreal Expos general manager, Omar Minaya. He graduated from
Queens with a bachelor’s degree in physical education in
1982, before later picking up a master’s degree in sport
management from Brooklyn College. DeMasters resides in Flushing,
N.Y., with his wife, the former Jeanne Bauman (a four-year catcher
from 1977-80 for the Queens softball team). The couple has two
grown sons – Kyle (29) and Shane (27).
Provided by the Queens College Sports Information Department.
