College of Staten Island Athletics

One of the newest coaches to enter the CSI ranks, Eric Kraut was named CSI's Head Coach for Softball in October of 2019, doubling as the Dolphins' Student-Athlete Success Coordinator as well, a new position for CSI in their recent move to NCAA Division II.

A Connecticut native, Kraut had been traveling to New Haven, Connecticut, since 2016, for nine months out of the year to serve as the Assistant Coach for Softball at Yale University, where he had helped build a Bulldogs unit that has improved in a host of offensive and defensive categories since his tenure, and their best Ivy League win total in nearly a decade.  Kraut's primary responsibilities included devising game strategies and scouting, along with comprehensive recruiting in-line to meet the University's academic and athletic thresholds.  He is very excited to be closer to home, helping champion what is now a budding NCAA Division II program at the College of Staten Island.  

A new role within the department, as CSI's Student-Athlete Academic Success Coordinator, Kraut will be charged with monitoring and administering programs that assist the entire student-athlete body with good academic standing and successful progress towards degree requirements, to include academic tracking and progress reports, institution and monitoring of Study Hall, and academic advising specific for student-athletes.  

Well versed in the NCAA compliance world at the Division I level and the Ivy League, Kraut also has Division II experience as a former standout baseball player at St. Anselm College, where he set the NCAA Division I & II records for home runs in a single game with four.  The tremendous collegiate playing acumen landed him in the Cincinnati Reds' Minor League system post-graduation as well.  

Kraut immersed himself immediately in the softball world post-graduation as well, spending seven years as the head coach of the Arctic Blast club softball program in Minnesota. Kraut guided the Blast to four Minnesota state championships (2009, 2010, 2014, 2015) and two appearances in the national tournament (2014, 2015).  He also served as Director of Player Development for the Eden Prairie Fastpitch Association.  In addition, Kraut has experience in health and sports conditioning, working as the Manager of Group and Personal Training at the Elk River, Minnesota YMCA during his time there leading up to his appointment at Yale.