CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. – Last week, the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball announced the signing of current Maritime Baseball Assistant Coach Jon Kourie to a professional contract.
 
Kourie, who previously played with the Ducks in 2011 will see time in the outfield and will also play first base for the three-time Atlantic League Champion Ducks, who have already clinched a berth in the 2016 playoffs with its first-half title.

"I'm very excited for the opportunity the Long Island Ducks have provided Jon to continue his professional baseball career," said Maritime Head Baseball Coach Charlie Barbieri. "Jon is one of the hardest working people I've had the pleasure of being around, so there is no doubt in my mind he'll be successful."
 
The Oceanside, New York native played collegiately at Briarcliffe College on Long Island and later played at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. After graduation, Kourie played for the Washington WildThings of the Frontier League in Pennsylvania for the 2010 season before joining the Long Island Ducks in 2011 for his initial stint in the Atlantic League.
 
Kourie will join a Ducks team packed with talent, including former Major Leaguers Danny Herrera, Danny Burawa, Todd Coffey, Ruben Gotay, and Tyler Colvin. The team is managed by former New York Met Kevin Baez, with Mets icon and Ducks co-owner Bud Harrelson serving as first base coach. Former Major Leaguers Lew Ford and Marty Janzen round out the coaching staff.
 
Under the tutelage of Kourie in his first season with the team, Maritime scored a program-best 229 runs while collecting 192 RBIs in 2016, which was also a program record. The team also clobbered a Privateer-best 22 round-trippers this season, smashing the previous single-season mark.
 
As a team, the Privateers set a program-record with 22 overall and 11 Skyline Conference victories en route to its highest-ever finish in the regular season standings as the third seed.