In nine years as head coach, Joe Spano has directed the Mercyhurst baseball team to an overall mark of 251-213-3.

On the final weekend of the 2008 season, Spano became the second coach in school history to win 250 games when the Lakers topped Northwood on May 4. Only one year earlier, on March 10, 2007, he won his 200th game.

He has guided his squads to four-straight winning seasons, a feat has been accomplished only one other time in school history. During that span, his teams have posted a 122-92-1 record and have won no fewer than 25 games in any of the four years.

Spano was named the GLIAC Coach of the year after he guided the 2006 squad to a 38-15-0 mark and a 23-9-0 record in the GLIAC, which tied for second place. The 2007 team followed that up with a 32-win performance and a 17-11 mark in the conference, earning the team's second consecutive bid to the GLIAC Championship Tournament.

Spano also won the GLIAC Coach of the Year award in 2000, his first year as head man, when the Lakers finshed 35-18-1, took second in the GLIAC, and hosted the NCAA Division II North Central Regional.

The 2006 team's 38 wins were the most for a Laker squad since 1997. Mercyhurst qualified for the GLIAC Tournament for the first time since the conference initiated playoffs in 2003. The Lakers hit .315 as a team in 2006, 28 points higher than 2005, and the staff ERA of 3.01 was more than a run lower than both the 2005 team's and the next best mark in the GLIAC. Mercyhurst won 13 more games this year than last and finished three spots higher in the GLIAC than a pre-season coaches' projection. Nine players were named all-conference.

His 2007 team produced five all-conference honorees, two players earned various all-region awards and the squad had the program's first All-American since 1998. That squad also featured a pair of players drafted in the 2007 MLB Draft, David Lough and Brian Espersen. Lough, an outfielder, was the highest selected player in program history as an 11th round pick by Kansas City. Espersen, a pitcher, was the third highest pick in school history, going in the 18th round to Houston.

Spano came to Mercyhurst in January of 1998 after former head coach Joe Jordano and former assistant Joel Dombkowski were hired by the University of Pittsburgh. Spano worked for Dan DeCaprio (19-23 overall; 11-13 GLIAC) for one year and then for Scott Norwood (26-18; 19-11), before assuming the head job.

He played for two years at Division I Boston University. When university officials decided to terminate the program in 1995 because of gender equity considerations, Spano moved to Division II Lewis University where, in two years, he hit a combined .360.

He made the Great Lakes Valley All-Conference and North Central All-Region teams as a left fielder and third baseman in 1997, batting .383, hitting 14 home runs, and knocking in 51 runners. His Lewis University teams went a combined 77-36 in two years, made the NCAA Regional Playoffs in 1996 and won the GLVC North his senior year. He also saw time on the mound for the Flyers, appearing in four games. He finished with a 2.45 ERA over his 3.2 innings of work.

While at Lewis, Spano spent three summers in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League, an NCAA-sanctioned wooden bat league. In 1996 he finished fifth in the league in batting with a .342 average. Following his days at Lewis, he played one season with the DuBois County Dragons of the independent Heartland League.

Spano holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Lewis University and earned his master's certificate from Mercyhurst in 2000. Spano's wife, the former Tina McMahon, attended Lewis University with him. The Spano's have two daughters and a son. Daughter Jillian was born in May of 2001, son Joseph was born in December 2005 and Natalie was born in October 2007.

Spano's Record At Mercyhurst

	Overall				GLIAC
Year	W	L	T		W	L	T
2000	35	18	1		24	6	1
2001	28	23	1		19	11	0
2002	25	28	0		11	14	0
2003	21	32	0		10	18	0
2004	20	28	0		13	17	0
2005	25	24	1		11	16	0
2006	38	15	0		23	9	0
2007	32	20	0		17	11	0
2008	27	25	0		13	19
Career	251	213	3		141	121	1
	.540				.537

Mercyhurst's Top 10 Winningest Seasons:
Wins		Head Coach		Year
40		Joe Jordano		1997
38		Joe Spano		2006
36		Joe Jordano		1996
35		Joe Spano		2000
32		Joe Spano		2007
31		Joe Jordano		1995
30		Joe Jordano		1994
28		Joe Spano		2001
28		Joe Jordano		1990
27		Joe Spano		2008
27		Joe Jordano		1991