The Westfield State athletic department announced last week that it was hiring Seth Kaplan as the new head coach of the baseball programs. Kaplan, who walked on to the UMass baseball team before earning a scholarship and becoming a captain under coach Mike Stone during his playing days, will begin his duties at Westfield next week in preparation for the spring 2024 season.

“I can’t wait to meet the guys to get this thing going,” Kaplan said in a release to Westfield State. “The beauty of baseball is that it’s every day, and the best part about the game is ‘how do you get guys better every day,’ that’s the fun of it.”

Kaplan graduated from UMass with a bachelor’s degree in sport management, then earned a Master’s degree in teaching at Sacred Heart University. Originally from New City, N.Y., Kaplan now lives in Northampton with his wife and two children.

The UMass alum has coached baseball for 21 years, and has plenty of experience at his previous stops. Before taking the job at Westfield State, Kaplan served as the head coach of Lesley. He also coached at Dean College for five years and became the second-winningest head coach in program history. His biggest accomplishment came in 2016 when he led Dean to its first NJCAA Region 21 championship in 50 years. Prior to Dean, he had stints as an assistant at UMass-Dartmouth and Sacred Heart.

At Sacred Heart, where he was part of the athletics staff for a decade, Kaplan helped the Pioneers win the Northeast Conference championship. They went on to compete in the NCAA Division 1 Regionals in Georgia.

“I think the head baseball coaching position is an important hire for us,” Westfield State athletics director Richard Lenfest said. “It’s no secret that Westfield is a big baseball town with some of the historical success of the programs from the high school and legion, right down through Babe Ruth and Little League, and of course having the Starfires in town now as well.    Seth brings some local connections with him, and will be able to keep our program engaged in the local community as well.”

First-year shatters Mount Holyoke's 60-meter hurdles record

Last weekend, the Lyons competed in the Branwen Smith-King Invitational at Tufts University, and the team had a strong day highlighted by one exceptional performance in particular.

Mount Holyoke first-year Ioanna Tsoni shattered the track-and-field program record in the 60-meter hurdles, as well as won the jong jump, as the Lyons finished seventh on Saturday. Tsoni crossed the line in 9.17 seconds, taking second and beating the previous record by 0.24 seconds.

In the long jump, Tsoni beat out the field of 32 participants with a jump of 17-1.25, or 5.21 meters. That jump moved Tsoni, who is from Athens, Greece, into the Mount Holyoke top five in the long jump at No. 4 all time. 

Mount Holyoke competes next Saturday at the Wesleyan Invitational in Middletown, Conn..

Hockey East schedule stiffens for Minutemen

After the UMass hockey team enjoys a nice bye this weekend, the Minutemen are going to be tested with their toughest stretch of the year to close out their regular season slate. That stretch starts with Merrimack – a team UMass lost 4-1 to just two games ago – next Friday. The next day, the Minutemen return home to host No. 6-ranked Maine for their first of three matchups with the Black Bears. 

The following weekend (Feb. 9-10) brings a home-and-home with UConn, a team UMass struggled with in a 3-3 tie in the only meeting with them this season back in early January. Then comes two games with No. 2 Boston College, two with No. 17 New Hampshire, and two more later on with Maine.

UMass has some impressive wins as part of its 12-6-3 record (6-4-2 HE), and the 11th ranked team in the country has a terrific opportunity to build on its already strong resume.

An off weekend couldn’t have come at a more perfect time as the Minutemen gear up for a physically and emotionally exhausting next month-plus of hockey.