 |  |
Click here to read Coach Sanborn's "Chalk Talk" feature
Head Coach Will Sanborn '86 has built the Saint Joseph's baseball program into a consistent winner. In recent years, Sanborn has guided the Monks into the upper echelon of one of the country's toughest regions, the Northeast. Saint Joseph's is one of just five New England teams to have won at least 30 games in four of the last five seasons and one of four programs to have made three New England Regional appearances in the last four years.
Sanborn's accomplishments at Saint Joseph's have been numerous. During his 17 years as head coach the Monks have won 30+ games in six seasons and 20+ games 13 times. Along the way, Sanborn has collected four Coach of the Year awards. He is the winningest coach in SJC Baseball history, and heads into the 2010 campaign with a 436-260-6 (.626) career record.
The 2009 season should be remembered as a very successful one, save for the premature ending, as the Monks went 31-13 overall and posted a 13-1 record in conference play en route to capturing the #1 seed in the GNAC Tournament. Despite herculean comebacks in several of the playoff contests, St. Joe's lost to Suffolk University in the GNAC title game. Two-way player Pat Moran '10 became the fifth-straight SJC player to earn conference player of the year honors and added GNAC Pitcher of the Year, All-ECAC, D3Baseball.com All-America and All-New England awards to his trophy case with a fine season as a pitcher and slugger for the Monks.
In 2009, the SJC offense proved to be one of the best in program history. Last year's squad set new team records for runs scored (431), runs per game (9.8), hits (523), doubles (116) and runs batted in (401). As a team, the Monks ranked 10th in the country in doubles, 14th in batting average (.353), 15th in runs per game, 16th in runs scored, 18th in triples (21) and 19th in slugging percentage (.531). With so many returners, it's reasonable to expect similar production this spring. The pitching staff ranked 7th in the country with 2.61 walks allowed per nine innings last year and returns all but one member of a unit that accumulated 287 strikeouts in 328 innings. Royal Blue followers should anticipate improved numbers across the board for this talented staff, as a first-rate group of new faces should push the veterans for innings immediately.
2008 was the team's first year in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference and the Monks set the tone by winning the GNAC Championship and once again advancing to the NCAA New England Regional - finishing with a 28-18 record. St. Joe's upset top-seeded Suffolk University - twice - in the GNAC Tournament and Enman was recognized with the GNAC Player of the Year honor, meaning the Monks had one of their best earn the same accolade for four straight seasons. Sanborn captured his 400th career victory with a 7-1 conference quarterfinal victory over Suffolk on April 24th.
The Monks reached the 30-win plateau for the third-consecutive season with a 30-12 overall record in 2007. Saint Joseph's went 9-3 in NAC play and won the team's third conference championship in as many years as a league member. As a result of the NAC crown, St. Joe's, which was awarded an automatic berth, made the team's second-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Regional. Shortstop Luke Enman '08 was named as the NAC Player of the Year, becoming the Monks' third individual in three years to earn the accolade, and also captured D3Baseball.com and All-ECAC honors.
The 2006 campaign proved to be one of the finest in program history, as the Monks racked up a 34-10 record, went 11-1 in NAC play, captured the NAC Championship and earned the #2 seed in the NCAA DIII New England Baseball Tournament in Harwich, Massachusetts. The win total tied the 1986 team's mark for the second-highest in team-history and St. Joe's defeated Bowdoin College, 9-7, in the Monks' opening game of the New England Regional to notch the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Once again, Furbush collected NAC Player of the Year honors, as well as D3Baseball.com All-America and NCBWA New England Pitcher of the Year awards.
In 2005, Saint Joseph's College Baseball began a new era as an associate member of the North Atlantic Conference and Sanborn guided the Monks to a 32-10 record, including a 14-1 mark in NAC play en route to the team's first conference title since the 2002 campaign. Saint Joseph's was rewarded with the program's first-ever ECAC DIII Championship tournament appearance following the NAC Tournament title and two of Sanborn's best players - catcher Derek McIntosh and pitcher/DH Charlie Furbush -earned Co-NAC Player of the Year accolades.
Prior to these most recent NCAA accomplishments - Saint Joseph's
College baseball set the standard for NAIA New England baseball
under Sanborn's direction. In 2002, Saint Joseph's completed its
NAIA New England dominance by once again winning the NAIA New
England Championship. The Monks then moved on to capture the NAIA
Region X Championship in Orangeburg, New York. Sanborn has led
Saint Joseph's to New England championships on five different
occasions (1994, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2002) and has three Maine
Athletic Conference titles under his belt (1999, 2000, 2001).
"It's a tribute to the continued commitment that Saint Joseph's has
made to our baseball program. The College has given us the tools to
build a winning program. The foundation of our program has been the
fine young men we have been able to attract to our campus," says
Sanborn of his success with the Monks. "We have had outstanding
groups of student-athletes, assistant coaches and support staff who
have all contributed to our success, so I don't think of this as a
personal accomplishment as much as it is a Saint Joseph's
accomplishment."
Since arriving at Saint Joseph's as head coach for the fall of
1992, Sanborn has made tremendous improvements to the baseball
facilities. Larry Mahaney Diamond is one of the finest baseball
facilities in the Northeast and includes a new wooden fence,
lights, press box, hitting area, bleachers, locker room and an
inning-by-inning electronic scoreboard, making every baseball game
at Saint Joseph's a first-class affair. Mahaney Diamond was
recognized nationally in 2008 when the park was named ABCA/Turface
College Division Field of the Year.
Will Sanborn's drive to win first became evident during his playing
career at Saint Joseph's from 1984-86 when he was a member of some
of the programs' finest teams. During that time, the Monks averaged
just over 20 wins per season, including 25-plus wins in 1985 and
1986. In 1986, his senior season, Sanborn played an integral role
in leading Saint Joseph's to their second highest win total in
program history (34) and their first-ever New England championship.
Sanborn is still part of the SJC single-season record book for
games played (48), runs scored (59) and walks (51).
Prior to taking over as head coach at Saint Joseph's, Sanborn
coached at many levels. He has held coaching positions with Bonny
Eagle High School, Bar Mills American Legion and the Portland
Twilight League. He is also Director of the Saint Joseph's College
Baseball Camp, and currently serves as the Associate Director of
Athletics at Saint Joseph's College.
Will resides in Standish with his wife, Lynn Brown, and their two
children, Morgan and Lincoln.
Corey McCarthy is entering his seventh season as a member of the
Monks' coaching staff. Corey is a 1993 graduate of Midway High
School in Inkster, North Dakota. Following High School, Corey went
on to play college baseball as an infielder for NAIA Schools
Mayville State University, University of Minnesota-Crookston, and
University of Mary.
Corey began his coaching career in 1994 and has coached at all
levels, including Little League, Babe Ruth, Legion, Senior Babe
Ruth, and Twilight League. In 2001, he accepted the position of
Assistant Coach for Marshwood High School's baseball squad. While
there, Corey worked with Head Coach Doug Lewis for 4 years
including the 2003 season when the Hawks advanced to the Western
Maine Class A Semi-Finals.
Coach Sanborn comments on Coach McCarthy, "It is no coincidence
that one of the most successful and consistent periods in St. Joe's
baseball history has come to our program since the addition of
Coach McCarthy. Corey is not only well respected but he is well
liked by our players. He is a fine teacher of the game who brings a
great deal to the program - both on and off the field. Corey has
also become a great scout and recruiter - helping to bring many
talented players to our program. Perhaps most importantly Coach
McCarthy has added a great deal to our team chemistry and team
culture. His unselfish commitment to St. Joe's baseball has been a
real key to our success."
Corey serves as the Sports Information Director for Saint Josephs'
College. He resides in Standish, Maine with his wife Katie and his
son Cameron.
