Puccio earned his degree at C. W. Post, and later added a pair of master's degrees from Dowling College. He served as a scout for the Seattle Mariners organization for many years, and as head coach at several levels of baseball. He began at Division III SUNY Old Westbury for five seasons before moving to his first Division I job at Manhattan. He helped develop a struggling program and registered 20 wins in 1998, the first time the Jaspers had accomplished that since 1903. He then coached at Suffolk County Community College for four seasons. He later led USCAABriarcliffe to five straight national tournaments, including a pair of national championships, from 2006–2010. He took over at Fairleigh Dickinson in the summer of 2010. Prior to taking over the Knights, he also taught math at Island Trees High School in Levittown, New York, coaching baseball while not working at the college level.[1]
Head coaching record
This table depicts Puccio's record as a head coach at the Division I level.
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
Conference regular season champion
Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion
Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion
^The top four finishers of the NEC's eight eligible teams qualified for the tournament in 2012. Bryant was ineligible as they transitioned to Division I.