William & Mary hired Jamie Pinzino as its new head coach Monday. Pinzino spent 2012 as the Tribe's pitching coach under Frank Leoni, who resigned after the season.

Pinzino is a proven winner who successfully shepherded Bryant from Division II to D-I during his five seasons as head coach. In Bryan't second season at the D-I level in 2010, Pinzino earned Northeast Conference coach of the year honors after leading the Bulldogs to a 25-7 record in conference play, taking home the NEC regular-season title (they were not yet eligible for the conference tournament).

But he was forced to resign under bizarre circumstances after the season. Following a postseason banquet, Pinzino and assistant Andy Koocher were arrested for fighting with each other on the field in an alcohol-fueled incident.

Pinzino landed as the pitching coach at Northeastern in 2011, leading the Huskies to the best ERA in the Colonial Athletic Association (4.26) in his only season. He joined Leoni's staff last July.

Now Pinzino gets another crack at being a head coach, and he figures to make the Tribe competitive in short order. Pinzino excels at teaching a fundamentally sound, aggressive style of play, and getting the most out of his pitchers.

"I feel fortunate to be given the opportunity as the head baseball coach at William & Mary," Pinzino said in a release. "I want to thank athletics director Terry Driscoll, associate athletics director Steve Cole and the search committee for believing in me to lead this program moving forward. It's exciting to work with the type of student-athletes that we have in the program and can attract to this fine institution. Given its advantages and potential, the program has a bright future, and I cannot wait to get to work."