Ocean County College Announces New Hires Ahead of 2017-18 Season

Toms River, NJ – Ocean County College Executive Director of Athletics Ilene Cohen has announced the hiring of five coaches and an Assistant Athletic Director, as the Vikings look ahead toward the 2017-18 season. 

Cross Country (M/W) – Ocean County College Hall of Famer (2016, Cross Country) Jennifer Nelson has returned to campus to serve as Head Coach for the Vikings Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams. Nelson, an OCC graduate, was part of (and an individual champion) of the 2009 National Championship-winning Women’s Cross Country team, under Head Coach Eddie Baynes, and was named All-American, Academic All-American, and Female Athlete of the Year over the course of her two years. Coach Nelson earned her Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2015 from Stockton University.

Men’s Basketball – Patrick Boylan and James Stockton have joined OCC as Head and Assistant Coaches, respectively, of the Men’s Basketball team. Coach Boylan spent 2013-17 on the coaching staff at EPAC/Region XIX's Montgomery County College in Blue Bell, PA, being named Associate Head Coach in 2015. Prior to his coaching career, Boylan played basketball at Bucks County College and Delaware Valley University, playing in the Division 3 NCAA tournament and winning the MAC Freedom Conference championship in 2010-11 with the latter. A graduate of Ocean County College and The College of New Jersey, Coach Stockton began his collegiate basketball-playing career at Ocean, where he received All-Conference and All-Region honors, along with being named an Academic All-American. Upon graduating from OCC, he was recruited by The College of New Jersey, where he received a degree in Exercise Science. He was hired previously to assistant coach at Ocean County College, and did so for two seasons (2014-15).

Women’s Soccer – Jennifer Ritter begins her first season as Head Coach of the Vikings Women’s Soccer team this fall. Coach Ritter earned her degree in Health and Physical Education at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania where she played for the Women's Soccer team. Her team won the first-ever PSAC Championship, and she is the record holder for most assists and most points in a career. Ritter is a two-time East Stroudsburg Hall of Fame Inductee, in 2008 and 2012. Coach Ritter coached at Point Pleasant Borough High School and led the Girls Soccer Team to the school's very first Group 3 Sectional Championship. She was named The Star Ledger Coach of the Year in 2009. Coach Ritter is also a Health and Physical Education Teacher in Point Pleasant. NJ, and is involved in coaching a U-12 travel team for the Brick Township Soccer Club.

Men’s Soccer – Kevin Istvanditsch is the new Assistant Coach of the Men’s Soccer team. Coach Istvanditsch was an All-American athlete in Men’s Soccer at Ocean County College, earning 1st Team accolades in his two years of play. He then moved on to Georgian Court University, where he featured as a starter in each of his two years, under an athletic and academic scholarship, graduating in the spring of 2016.

Finally, Tricia Carroll has joined Ocean’s Athletic department in the position of Assistant Athletic Director. Carroll arrives at Ocean with over 20 years of experience in coaching and program development at the NCAA Division I level (Rider University). “We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Tricia Carroll on board,” remarked Cohen. “Her decades of experience on the collegiate level will be invaluable to our program, and most importantly, to our student athletes.”

An announcement regarding Ocean's Women’s Basketball Head and Assistant Coaches is forthcoming.