St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Edison has named Matthew Silvestri as its new Athletic Director, the Trojans’ successor to Jerry Smith, who announced his retirement in early June after six years at the helm.

Silvestri comes from Pioneer Academy in Wayne, where over the past three years he helped launch and expand the athletic department to 14 teams, including varsity, JV, and middle school boys’ and girls’ basketball and volleyball, boys’ soccer and wrestling. According to a release from St. Thomas Aquinas, he has also led varsity programs in swimming, water polo and soccer, “consistently emphasizing student participation, discipline, and team culture.”

A 2015 graduate of Howell High School, he later attended Manhattan College, and participated in swimming at both. He’s also a certified emergency medical responder, and serves as a sergeant with the Sea Girt Beach Patrol.

St. Thomas notes that more than 80 percent of its student body participates in its 22 sports, including football, a program Pioneer Academy doesn’t have at the moment.

“We are excited to welcome Mr. Silvestri to the Trojan family,” St. Thomas President Kevin Sacco said in a release. “We knew it would take the right leader to guide our well-established athletic program, and we are confident that he will help it reach new heights. Our student-athletes are an essential part of our faith-based community and we look forward to seeing this program thrive under his leadership.”

In addition to overseeing its athletic programs, Silvestri also will manage STA’s athletic facilities, including an ongoing renovation of the main gymnasium where the basketball teams play. An original part of the school, which opened in 1969, the gym recently got upgraded scoreboards with shot clock capabilities. A new track is also being installed at the football stadium as well.

His predecessor, Smith, has long been a household name in Middlesex County high school athletics. He’s in the Woodbridge Township Athletics Hall of Fame, having coached baseball at JFK in Iselin, where he was 248-119 in 15 seasons and remains one of the winningest coaches in the GMC; they won eight division titles and two state sectional championships under his mentorship. Smith also coached basketball and track at multiple schools, and will turn 79 in late August.

Click below to hear new St. Thomas Aquinas Athletic Director Matthew Silvestri talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko: