Playing History:

A graduate of Driscoll Catholic High School in Addison, Illinois, Aspito was a four-year starter at shortstop, with two state championships. He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 45th round of the 1997 draft, but opted to attend the University of Texas where he was named most valuable player of the 1998 NBC World Series. After a transfer to Loyola Marymount University, he was named to the WCC All-Conference team. Drafted once again by the White Sox in the 9th round in 2000, he was later traded to the Angels in 2003. He was named to the Texas League All Star team in 2006 and then played for Anaheim at their Triple A level in Salt Lake City. A prospect in the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels organizations, Jason arrived in York during the York Revolution’s inaugural season and helped lead the club to its first playoff and second-half division title in 2008. Aspito hit a combined 42 homers in his 21/2  seasons with the York Revolution. 

Coaching History:

Jason Aspito, former York Revolution baseball player, has been the head coach of the Penn State York baseball team. Aspito, 33, has taken over the head coach position and has high hopes for the six-year-old team. Jason was also recently named an associate scout for the Milwaukee Brewers. He is also the Head Coach of the 12 and under Backyard University Gamers.

Josh Hildebrand is a 2006 graduate of Red Lion High School, in Red Lion Pennsylvania. After high school, he attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania, which was the beginning of a successful baseball career. Hildebrand won the PSAC West Coast Championship in 2010, where he threw a two-hit shutout against California in the Championship Series. Josh then went on to play baseball at the professional level for the Normal Cornbelters of Normal, Illinois, the Lake County Fielders of Deerfield, Illinois and the White Sands Pupfish of Alamogordo, New Mexico. During a game for the Lake County Fielders, Hildebrand was faced against Jose Canseco, and he struck out the former MLB player.  Hildebrand is a certified instructor of the Ripken Way of Baseball Coaching and has coached for Cal Ripken Jr. at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen,Maryland.

Clay Smeltzer began his baseball career at a young age, and pursued it as he moved on to high school at Red Lion Area Senior High, where he was a catcher and pitcher. Clay was recruited by 75 different schools, with the majority of schools recruiting him for pitching. He chose Kutztown University, where he became the starting catcher as a freshman. Clay excelled on the Kutztown Baseball Team until injuries forced him to retire as a sophomore. The turn of events lead Clay to take a step toward coaching, as he began assisting his father, who was the pitching and catching coach at Red Lion and York Suburban high schools. Clay has also coached Kennard-Dale Varsity Baseball.

Backyard University is proud to announce our newest staff member, David Kloser!

Certified Mental Game Coach (graduate of Dr. Patrick Cohn's, Peak Performance Sports), works with teams and athletes of all ages on overcoming negative, defeatist self-talk, keeping proper focus and building confidence to develop a winning mindset for success. He is the author of, “Stepping Up to the Plate: Inspiring Interviews with Major Leaguers” where he personally met with Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols, Roy Halladay, Tony LaRussa, Al Kaline and more than 300 current and former MLB players, coaches, managers and Hall of Famers. They revealed to him tons of useful information on the type of character and mental approach it takes to achieve success, handle adversity, and a lot more! Coach Kloser has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, MLB.com, and numerous national radio shows. He's spoken throughout the country; most notably at the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is currently the pitching coach at Penn St. York.

Daryl played college ball at San Diego State University under head coach Tony Gwynn. During his college career, he was an All Conference pitcher and was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 23rd round of the 2004 draft. He made his way to AA level in 2008 for the New Hampshire Fishercats, leading the league in appearances and holds. Harang pitched for the York Revolution in 2009 and ended the season with a team leading 10 wins. In 2010, he split time between single A and double AA in the Cincinnati Reds Organization, and the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. 
Along with pitching, Harang is also going to teach hitting. He is the head coach of the 16u Backyard University Gamers.