Jerry Vasto’s ascendance as a pitcher coincided with the Golden Falcon baseball team’s emergence as a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference and East Region power.
Vasto appeared in seven games, starting five, for the 2012 Felician team that won the CACC regular-season title and was the runner-up in the conference tournament. The next year, the left-hander was a regular in the starting rotation, but it was his redshirt junior 2014 campaign that attracted the attention of professional scouts.
In 15 games (12 starts) that year, Vasto was 6-3, plus a save, with a 1.84 earned-run average and a .214 opponent batting average. He struck out 79 batters and walked 28 in 68 1/3 innings. He was chosen the CACC Pitcher of the Year, consensus First Team All-Region, and a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Honorable-Mention All-American. Felician captured its first CACC championship and played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
Vasto was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 24th round of the 2014 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. A move to the bullpen as a professional suited him well, and he progressed through the Rockies’ minor-league system. In 2018, he became the first former Golden Falcon to play in MLB, appearing in one game for Colorado and five more for the Kansas City Royals.
Vasto left professional baseball during 2021 spring training while a member of the Chicago Cubs’ organization. A graduate of Henry Hudson Regional in Atlantic Highlands, he was a two-time Academic All-CACC honoree while a Golden Falcon before completing a B.S. degree in business administration from Felician in 2014.
Vasto was 10-6 with a 3.14 ERA during his Felician career. His 159 strikeouts are still sixth on the all-time list and his 9.23 strikeouts per nine innings are second.
Vasto now lives in Red Bank with his wife, the former Jessica Coscia. He is an account manager for Financial Partners Group and a strength & conditioning coach for Warehouse Strength. He is also the strength & conditioning and pitching coach for Team Invictus.
