New Paltz Sports Information Department
NEW PALTZ, NY - The State University of New York at New Paltz Director of Athletics, Wellness & Recreation, Stuart Robinson, announced the hire of Thomas Seay as new head baseball coach.
Seay joins the Hawks after three seasons with Virginia Wesleyan College as the assistant coach. This past season, Seay helped push the Marlins to a 31-16 record, their first 30-win season since 2004. Virginia Wesleyan also picked up a program record three wins in the NCAA tournament in 2018. The Marlins finished with a winning record all three seasons and an overall record of 70-51
"I want to thank the search committee," said Seay. "Kyle Clancy was the head of the committee, so I'd like to thank him and Athletic Director Stuart Robinson, and Associate Athletic Director Brian Williams for entrusting me with this position and with the opportunity to be the head coach here."
Seay was also in charge of scheduling with the Marlins where the team ranked seventh in the country and first in the south region in strength of schedule in 2017.
Prior to Virginia Wesleyan, Seay also spent time across the Hudson River at Marist College as the assistant baseball coach/recruiting coordinator. Seay has also coached at Young Harris College, Slippery Rock University, Louisburg College, and Old Dominion University.
During his coaching career, Seay has coached three players that have reached the majors (Dan Hudson, Matt Adams, and Kevin McCarthy) and 17 players that have been drafted. He has totaled 27 All-Conference players as well as one conference player of the year, rookie of the year, and a Division II Player of the Year.
"I'm excited to see what Thomas does as the head coach of our program," said Robinson. "What stood out about him during the interview process was his discipline, his drive, and his desire to get after it in a way that doesn't settle just to be a part of something, but instead sets a high standard of excellence that I think will benefit our students and our program in the long run."
Seay plans to bring a new energy and offensive mentality to the baseball program, which won its first playoff game in 17 years this past season.
"First and foremost, I'm going to bring energy," said Seay. "I think secondly, I'm an offensive guy and being explosive is the biggest thing that I want to be able to do with the offense."
The Hawks graduated 10 student-athletes from their 2018 roster and will have a big offensive void to fill losing their top two bats in Chris Moran and Jake Williams. However, SUNY New Paltz saw a lot of promise in the depth on its roster throughout the season and will look to continue to improve under the direction of Seay.
"I think the biggest thing we can do as a coaching staff is a reinvestment in the student-athletes and helping them achieve their goals and their expectations both on and off the field," said Seay. "We also want to help them do some things that have never been done in this program before. I want to win a conference championship, I want to attend an NCAA regional, and I think that those things are attainable here."
