Player Bio 

Over the years, the State University of New York at New Paltz has had student-athletes that not only have had success with their athletic careers, but also in their careers after New Paltz. An example of this would be 2015 graduate, Mike Sparacino '15, a former baseball player at third base and pitcher.

Growing up on Long Island and a graduate of Commack High School, Sparacino was not only recruited by New Paltz, but also by Division-1 programs. Sparacino was impressed with New Paltz during his visit.

"When I was deciding on a college, I took a good amount of visits and tours to schools. The only college that I stayed overnight at was New Paltz," Sparacino said.

This reason, as well as the location being relatively close to his home in Long Island, became the deciding factor of why he became a Hawk.

Throughout his youth baseball days, Sparacino was mainly a pitcher and appeared out of the bullpen for the Hawks during his first two seasons. However, after his sophomore year, Sparacino underwent a second shoulder surgery and realized that a position change was necessary.

"I underwent my first shoulder surgery when I was 13 as I messed up my shoulder playing football. I had to get another procedure after my sophomore year but my experience playing infield as a youth made the transition to another position more feasible," Sparacino explained.

Entering his junior season, though not receiving much playing time, Sparacino spent the year playing catcher and first base, as he started in 21 of the 30 games he appeared in.

"The season began with trips to Myrtle Beach (S.C.) and Florida. I wasn't originally starting, but I felt I performed well during the Florida trip," Sparacino said.

Sparacino broke into the starting lineup in Florida on March 18 against Nichols College. He went 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI and following this performance, Sparacino became a consistent starter.

Entering his senior year in 2015, Sparacino was named a team captain as he started 26 games at third base while finishing with a .323 batting average and a team-high 32 hits.

Sparacino's signature moment came during his senior campaign as he went deep for his first-career home run against Salem State on March 18.

"It was a pretty cool moment," Sparacino said on his home run. "That was the first home run hit by a New Paltz player in over a year at that point, which made the homer even more special."

Since graduating in 2015, Sparacino has worked in the financial field, earning a position with Morgan Stanley. Sparacino is currently working as a financial consultant with E-Trade and feels that his experience of being a student-athlete at New Paltz has helped him in his current career in finance.

"I've been on two interviews in my life and I got hired for the job on both occasions," Sparacino expressed. "I believe that was largely in part to my experience of being a student-athlete at New Paltz.

"Being a student-athlete is desirable for jobs as every interview I've been on, I've discussed my experience as a student-athlete and employers like the fact that I was in a leadership role at one point."