Shawn Gilblair will enter his second season as head coach of the Mitchell College baseball program in the 2024-25 academic year.
During his first season as the head coach of the Mariners, Gilblair guided the team to an overall record of 34-13, matching the single-season wins record during the Division III era of the program. Gilblair guided his squad to a 14-2 mark in conference play and was named Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Coach of the Year for his efforts, as the Mariners defeated Johnson & Wales in a best of three championship series to claim the GNAC title. Mitchell then made it to the final day of the NCAA Tournament Regional Round before falling to nationally ranked Salisbury.
Under Gilblair's guidance, eight players earned All-Conference recognition in 2024, with freshman Michael Ficocelli taking home Rookie of the Year. Additionally, two members of the baseball team earned All-Region honors from D3baseball.com, and three players earned All-Region honors from ABCA/Rawlings.
Gilblair, who made his collegiate head coaching debut with the Mariners, returned to New London in June of 2023, where he served as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for the Mitchell College baseball team from 2019-2022. Most recently prior to Mitchell, he spent a year at his alma mater, Eastern Connecticut State University, where he held the role of pitching coach. Gilblair replaced Travis Beausoleil, who compiled a record of 306-131-2 during 12 seasons leading the Mariners before recently accepting the Athletic Director position at Uconn-Avery Point.
Gilbalir has encountered nothing but success during his time on the diamond both as a player and a coach. A 2011 graduate of Eastern Connecticut State University, 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 of 2019, Gilblair served as pitching coach for Eastern Connecticut State University, Montclair State University, and for the New Britain Bees. During his first stint with the Mariners, he worked to develop a pitching staff that entered NCAA regional play ranking top 10 in the country among all major statistical categories including ERA, strikeout to walk ratio, and strikeouts per nine innings. Gilblair also recruited 19 players to program and watched as they received All-Region and All-Conference recognition.
In addition, Gilblair orchestrated showcase camps and clinics and played an active role in the strength and conditioning of the team, specifically all aspects of physical development for pitchers, many of whom saw significant jumps in velocity.
"I've been so fortunate to have great mentors and coaches in my life," shared 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, disciplined and competitors beyond the game of baseball."
After transitioning back to Eastern Connecticut for the 2022-23 season, Gilblair recruited 80% of incoming 2023 class while guiding a pitching staff which ranked 13th nationally in ERA heading into NCAA regional tournament. Three pitchers from the Eastern staff received All-Conference recognition, while also earning D3baseball.com Team of the Week honors, and were named Little East Conference Pitcher of the Week and Rookie of the Week. Additionally, a pitcher on the Eastern staff was named to the D3baseball.com All-America Fourth Team.
A native of Windham, Connecticut, Gilblair holds a B.S. Degree from Eastern in Sport & Leisure Management.
