Former major-league catcher Devin Mesoraco joins Pitt staff

Former All-Star catcher Devin Mesoraco joined the Pitt baseball coaching staff as a volunteer assistant. He will work primarily with catchers.

Mesoraco, a native of Punxsutawney, played eight years in the major leagues after joining the Cincinnati Reds in 2011. He was drafted by the Reds with the 15th overall choice in 2007.

Mesoraco was named to the MLB All-Star Game in 2014, finishing that season leading all major league catchers with 25 home runs and a .534 slugging percentage while driving in 80 runs. He retired after spending the second half of the 2018 season with the New York Mets.

At Punxsutawney High School, he set school records for walks, runs, hits, doubles, home runs and stolen bases while leading the Chucks to the PIAA Class AAA championship. He was named Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year.

“We are extremely excited and very fortunate to welcome Devin to the Panther family,” Pitt coach Mike Bell said. “His knowledge and experiences will be a great asset to the development of our student-athletes.”

Also, former All-ACC Pitt player Nick Yarnall will join Bell’s staff as a student assistant. He will help assistant coach Ty Megahee with outfielders and first basemen.

“As we always say, ‘Once a Panther, always a Panther.’ ” Bell said. “It’s great to have Nick back finishing what he started here at Pitt. Just another example of our commitment to excellence and providing opportunity for our student-athletes.”

Yarnall was a starting outfielder for Pitt from 2014-16. As a junior, he was All-ACC third team while leading Pitt in home runs (11). He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 35th round in 2016.

He spent the past four years in the Dodgers’ organization, advancing to the Single-A Advanced level in 2018 and ‘19. He finished his minor league career with a .255 batting average, .446 slugging percentage, 31 homers and 121 RBIs.