Shawn Gilblair will enter his third season as head coach of the Mitchell College baseball program in the 2025–26 academic year after guiding the Mariners to continued success in his first two seasons at the helm.
During his second season leading the program in 2025, Gilblair guided Mitchell to a 25–18 overall record and a berth in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship Series. Under his leadership, seven players earned All-Conference recognition while two garnered All-Region honors.
In his first season as head coach, Gilblair led the Mariners to an overall record of 34–13, matching the single-season wins record during the Division III era of the program. Mitchell posted a 14–2 mark in conference play, and Gilblair was named GNAC Coach of the Year after the Mariners defeated Johnson & Wales in a best-of-three championship series to claim the conference title. Mitchell advanced to the final day of the NCAA Tournament Regional Round before falling to nationally ranked Salisbury.
Under Gilblair’s guidance in 2024, eight players earned All-Conference recognition, including freshman Michael Ficocelli, who was named GNAC Rookie of the Year. Additionally, two players earned All-Region honors from D3baseball.com, while three received All-Region recognition from ABCA/Rawlings.
Gilblair made his collegiate head coaching debut with the Mariners after returning to New London in June 2023. He previously served as Mitchell’s pitching coach and recruiting coordinator from 2019–22. Prior to his return, he spent one season at his alma mater, Eastern Connecticut State University, as pitching coach. Gilblair replaced Travis Beausoleil, who compiled a 306–131–2 record over 12 seasons leading the Mariners before accepting the Athletic Director position at UConn Avery Point.
A 2011 graduate of Eastern Connecticut State University, Gilblair enjoyed tremendous success as a student-athlete. He was a three-time First Team All-America selection, a two-time New England Player of the Year, a two-time Co-National Player of the Year, a three-time New England Collegiate Baseball League Top Pitcher of the Year, and was named to the D3baseball.com All-Decade Team.
Before arriving at Mitchell in July 2019, Gilblair served as pitching coach at Eastern Connecticut State University, Montclair State University, and with the New Britain Bees. During his first stint with the Mariners, he helped develop a pitching staff that entered NCAA regional play ranked among the top 10 nationally in major statistical categories, including ERA, strikeout-to-walk ratio, and strikeouts per nine innings. He also recruited 19 players to the program who went on to earn All-Conference and All-Region recognition.
In addition, Gilblair has organized showcase camps and clinics while playing an active role in the team’s strength and conditioning efforts, particularly in the physical development of pitchers, many of whom saw significant increases in velocity.
“I’ve been so fortunate to have great mentors and coaches in my life,” said Gilblair. “Many times, learning about the game of baseball came secondary to preparing for life and growing into young professionals in the real world. Because of this, I take great pride in developing players into respected, reliable, and disciplined competitors beyond the game of baseball.”
During the 2022–23 season at Eastern Connecticut State, Gilblair recruited 80 percent of the incoming 2023 class and guided a pitching staff that ranked 13th nationally in ERA entering NCAA regional play. Three pitchers earned All-Conference recognition, the staff received D3baseball.com Team of the Week honors, and Eastern players were named Little East Conference Pitcher of the Week and Rookie of the Week. Additionally, one pitcher earned D3baseball.com All-America Fourth Team honors.
A native of Windham, Connecticut, Gilblair holds a bachelor’s degree in Sport and Leisure Management from Eastern Connecticut State University.
