TOWSON, Md. – The Towson University baseball team has made three staff additions ahead of the 2025 baseball season, announced by Head Coach Matt Tyner Friday afternoon. Former Towson coach J.D. Pulfer, Joel Aviña and former Tiger Justin Rebok complete the additions to the staff.
 
J.D. Pulfer, who worked under Coach Tyner as a volunteer assistant with the Tigers from 2019 to 2021, has rejoined the staff in a full-time role. His most recent stop was in Charleston, Ill., where he was an assistant coach for the Eastern Illinois Panthers of the Ohio Valley Conference. There he was the co-hitting, first base, catching and base-running coach, among other duties during his stint.
 
Before that, he had various stops in similar roles at Hendrix College, in collegiate summer leagues and served as the head coach of a 15U travel team for Action Baseball in the summer of 2022.
 
During his playing career, Pulfer was a three-year starter at the collegiate level for the Oregon Ducks under Head Coach Greg Horton. In 2011, he was named the team MVP and an All-PAC 10 first team selection. Pulfer stands among program leaders in multiple offensive statistical categories for the Ducks, including the sixth-most hits in Oregon program history (193).
 
In the 2011 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, Pulfer was selected in the 19^th round (pick 574) by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played in the Diamondbacks' minor league system for two and a half years before joining the American Association of Professional Baseball (AAPB), an independent league, to play four more years.
 
"Whenever you leave a place, you never know if you'll get the chance to come back. I am extremely grateful and blessed to have the opportunity to return as a Towson Tiger under Coach Tyner. Thank you to Steve Eigenbrot, Lauren Hoskins, and Geoff Gordon for the chance to come back and represent the Black and Gold. I consider Coach Biagini a friend and was saddened but excited for him to move on. He has been very helpful in my late transition back.  I am excited to get to work on and off the field. Goh Tigers!" added Pulfer.
 
Joel Aviña joins the staff after most recently working as an assistant, working primarily with infielders, for the Bristol Blues of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL). There he coached current Tiger and 2024 NECBL Defensive Player of the Year Jordan Peyton.
 
At Post University, Aviña led the Eagles to a .974 fielding percentage in 2024, which was a Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) record and the 16^th best mark in Division II. The team's fielding percentage increased year-over-year in each of Aviña's three seasons at Post.
 
During his playing days, Aviña posted a .310 career batting average at Bethesda University of California. He also had a later stop at Clarke University at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) level.
 
"I would like to thank God, my faith, my wife, and my family for their support and guidance through these years. I would like to also thank Ray Skjold and Tim Binkoski for giving me my start to my coaching career. Without those three years full of hard work, consistency, development and success I wouldn't be in this position. I'm truly blessed for the opportunity I have been given to develop Towson infielders and hitters. Thank you to Coach Tyner for this opportunity and the guidance he's given me throughout this whole process. I can't wait to get to work for him, the coaching staff, the players and Towson University!" noted Aviña.
 
Justin Rebok will step into a newly added position for the Tigers, the Director of Pitching Development. He stands eighth all-time among pitching appearance leaders in Towson history with 66, including leading the team with 24 outings in 2024, and tied for the team lead with three saves. His 13 starts from 2023 are the tenth-most in a single season in program history. In four total seasons with the Tigers, Rebok posted a 4-7 record with a 7.30 ERA over 66 pitching appearances.
 
"I'm excited to start as the Director of Pitching Development at Towson since it is the same school where I played all four years. I'll be a big help to the players as I've been in those shoes before and know what goes on in this program. It's a great university, and I can be a big part of turning this program around and getting us to the conference tournament this year," said Rebok.
 
The staff under Head Coach Matt Tyner is now comprised of Pitching/Assistant Coach Mike Ruppenthal, Assistant Coach J.D. Pulfer, volunteer Assistant Coach Joel Aviña, Director of Pitching Development Justin Rebok and Director of Operations Ben Spector