Report: Mainland Regional baseball coach resigns, volunteer dismissed amid strip club allegation
According to an NBC10 story, the move came after a member of the coaching staff allegedly visited a strip club during a preseason trip to South Carolina.
The Mainland Regional High School baseball team, one of New Jersey’s top programs, is searching for a new head coach after Joe Smith resigned from his position on Saturday.
The sudden move came after a volunteer coach was dismissed from the staff on Friday because of concerns related to a preseason team trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C., where a member of the coaching staff allegedly visited a strip club, according to NBC10 Philadelphia.
The school district did not confirm the allegation. Smith did not respond to a request for comment.
The school’s athletic director, Billy Kern, who served as baseball coach from 2012 to 2024, will take over coaching duties temporarily until a head coach is named for this season.
“Our athletes deserve to be in an environment where they are safe, respected, and supported to achieve both on and off the field,” Mainland Regional superintendent Mark Marrone said in a statement. “When concerns are brought to our attention, we take them seriously and respond with the thoroughness they require.”
Marrone noted that no students were involved in the alleged incident or engaged in any wrongdoing. The district will continue to review the allegations and other changes may occur to the coaching staff, the statement said.
Smith was a longtime head coach at Delsea High School before joining the Mustangs last season. With the Crusaders, he won South Jersey Group 3 championships in 2005, 2022, and 2024. He also was the head coach at Williamstown.
He led Mainland to a 17-10 record and its first Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic title last season.
The Mustangs (2-0) earned their second win of the season on Monday against Hammonton and will face Vineland at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.