Stony Brook Baseball head coach Matt Senk earned his 750th collegiate victory on Sunday, after coaching his team to a 7-0 win over the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Senk has been the team’s head coach since 1991. The Seawolves have won five America East Championships since his team joined the conference in 2002, including a trip to the College World Series in 2012. He is also the America East’s all-time record holder with 456 managerial wins. The program, originally known as the Stony Brook Patriots, was a Division III program when Senk took the helm. In 27 years, he has transformed the program from a D-III school into a Division-I program that has four alumni in Major League Baseball.
Joe Nathan was the first alumnus to play in the MLB when he made his debut in 1999. He holds the Minnesota Twins all-time record with 260 saves, and is still trying to play at 42 years old after signing a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals prior to spring training, according to the team’s official transactions log. The other alumni include Miami Marlins starting pitcher Tom Koehler, Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Nick Tropeano and San Diego Padres outfielder Travis Jankowski.
“We have come very far very fast here at Stony Brook in a lot of things. I think our baseball program is a reflection of that,” Senk said. “The university has given myself and our program the opportunity to grow and what makes that happen is not only the support of the athletics administration and the university administration, but also because of the terrific young players that have played here.”
The program reached new heights prior to the 2017 season. Senk and his recruitment team were able to pry Michael Wilson, a 15th round pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, from the Boston Red Sox. Wilson is the highest-drafted Stony Brook Baseball player to be selected out of high school.
Senk and the Seawolves will begin their search for a sixth America East Championship when the team opens conference play against the Hartford Hawks at home this weekend.
