GCU Athletics

Jake Salvatore

Head Coach | 1st Season

Georgian Court Athletics and Director Dan Sempkowski welcomed the next Head Coach of GCU Softball, Jake Salvatore, Monday, August 3, 2026.

Salvatore has more than a decade of coaching experience in the Garden State, both collegiately and with youth leagues. His last four years he's been in collegiate dugouts serving a variety of roles including hitting and catching coach. 

Salvatore has worked his way up the collegiate ranks in recent years. He started coaching collegiately spending two seasons at Montclair State working as a hitting and catching coach. He then moved on to his most recent spot, spending two seasons with CACC foe, Caldwell, working primarily with the catchers. In Salvatore's time with the Cougars, Caldwell posted a 53-45 record and went 28-12 in conference play. This past season, the Cougars finished the league schedule at 15-3, winning the regular season and advancing to the CACC Championship game as the No. 1 seed. The Cougars also qualified for the NCAA Division II East Regional in 2026 and earned the No. 4 seed. 

His coaching experience extends beyond college campuses. Salvatore has worked with the New Jersey Breakers organization, serving as Head Coach and Program Director. NJ Breakers is a fastpitch youth travel organization featuring teams from 10u-18u. In addition to developing the necessary skills for competitive fastpitch softball, NJ Breakers assists players throughout the college recruitment process, setting up players for success at the college level. 

This past year with the Cougars, Caldwell catchers played a big role in the pitching staff's 3.67 team ERA, second-best in the league. They were among the league leaders in strikeouts and were in the top half in fewest wild pitches and passed balls. Sophomore Emily Kurth was named to the All-CACC Second Team as a catcher after hitting .302 with 36 RBI in 49 games played. 

Salvatore has a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts from Thomas Edison State University. He is currently completing his Master's Degree in School Counseling at Saint Peter's University. Salvatore comes to Georgian Court along with his recently married wife, Rebecca.