Kolasinski staying at Husson baseball post

Husson College won’t be in the market for a new baseball coach anytime soon.

John Kolasinski, who was one of two finalists for the recently expanded full-time position at Division III Western Connecticut State in Danbury, Conn., was informed Monday that he was not the school’s choice.

The 35-year-old Kolasinski, who has headed the Braves’ baseball program for the last 11 years, expressed relief that the decision had finally been made.

“I can understand the decision they made. They were very good with me,” said Kolasinski, who was asked by Western Connecticut officials not to divulge the school’s choice.

Kolasinski, who has only expressed interest in a couple of other positions during his tenure at Husson – including the University of Hartford job last year – couldn’t help but give serious consideration to the Western Connecticut post.

“What intrigued me is it was closer to home and it was full-time baseball,” said the Connecticut native, whose parents still live there.

Kolasinski, who was called back for a second interview, admitted the thought of becoming a full-time baseball coach, rather than trying to juggle it with other duties, was the primary attraction. He serves as Husson’s director of residential and recreational facilities in addition to his coaching job.

However, Kolasinski is grateful for the way the Husson administration dealt with his candidacy at Western Connecticut.

“I appreciate how supportive everybody was during the whole process,” Kolasinski said.

Now that he’ll soon be gearing up for fall baseball at Husson, Kolasinski plans to follow up on summer recruiting contacts in hopes of maintaining the Braves’ status as a perennial Maine Athletic Conference power and regional contender.

“I haven’t done any recruiting for two weeks and I’ll have to start hitting the phone again soon with all those kids I’ve seen this summer,” Kolasinski said. “I’ve still got a good job and a good baseball program.”

Ledbetter signs pro deal

Former University of Maine basketball player Allen Ledbetter has signed a deal to play with a professional team in Belgium, UMaine coach John Giannini confirmed Monday.

Ledbetter, a 6-foot-6 forward, finished his UMaine career as the No. 2 rebounder in school history.

Ledbetter finished his career with 1,258 points and 1,017 rebounds. He is the eleventh-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder in UMaine history.

“I’m very happy for Allen because he’s worked very hard to turn himself into a player who’s good enough to play professionally overseas,” Giannini said.

“I think it will be a great opportunity for him to see the world and have a very new and challenging basketball experience,” he said.

Giannini said Ledbetter is still eight credits shy of his degree, but the coach is confident he’ll return to Orono.

“Most importantly, Allen has always followed up and said things that he’s said he’s going to do,” Giannini said. “He has made a strong point to me that he will finish up his last few classes for his degree next summer.”