Amherst College Men's Baseball

J.P. Pyne became the head coach of the Amherst baseball program in the summer of 2018. The 2026 season is his eighth with the Mammoths. Thus far, Pyne has had a stellar stint at Amherst, coaching players to 16 All-NESCAC selections, including nine first-team selections. The shortened 2021 season proved to be exemplary for the baseball program, finishing with a NESCAC title and a host of postseason awards. The team finished with a record of 10-3, defeating Tufts in two games in the final series. That year, Pyne saw two first-team selections and one second-team selection. Pyne coached Daniel Qin '22 to a NESCAC Player of the Year honor and Nick Giattino '24 to a NESCAC Rookie of the Year honor. Pyne additionally enjoyed his first NESCAC Coach of the Year honor.  Pyne, who became just the third coach of the program since 1966, brings over 17 years of baseball coaching experience to the Pioneer Valley, including his most recent three seasons as the Head Coach at Clark University in Worcester, Mass. His Division III experience also includes a six-year stint at Daniel Webster College (Nashua, N.H.) and time as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Saint Joseph's College (ME). With the Cougars, Pyne twice set the Clark University program record for wins in a season and helped the team advance to consecutive New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) championship tournaments for the first time in program history. He developed 7 All-NEWMAC selections and had ten players named to All-New England teams, including developing the 2017 D3baseball.com New England Player of the Year. From 2007 through 2013, Pyne transformed the baseball program at Daniel Webster to one of the powers of the New England Collegiate Conference (NECC). He turned a team that won seven games the year before into a four-time 20-game winner, claiming three NECC titles and winning NECC Coach of the Year in 2009, 2010 and 2013. Pyne has extensive coaching experience at all levels of the game, including a head coaching job at Saint Anselm College (Division II) and the pitching coach position at University of Maine (Division I). He has worked with the Toronto Blue Jays organization as the bullpen coach for the Double A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, where he won the 2011 Eastern League Championship, and as the interim pitching coach of the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays. He has also coached with professional organizations in the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball (Can-Am League), and led the Keene Swamp Bats and Nashua Silver Knights, two collegiate summer league teams. Prior to his coaching career, Pyne competed at the collegiate level at Saint Joseph's (ME), where he served as a team captain in 2001. He is a native of Milford, Massachusetts. 

Jack Cooney joined the Amherst baseball coaching staff in fall of 2025 with several different coaching experiences. The 2026 season will be his first with the Mammoths In the summer of 2025, Cooney served as an assistant coach for the Sherrill Silversmiths in the New York Collegiate Summer Baseball League. Cooney served as the teams Hitting Coach along with working with the infielders, outfielders, and baserunners. The Silversmiths were able to lead the league in OPS, Runs Scored, and Stolen Bases. In the 2024-2025 season, Cooney served as an assistant coach at Hamilton College, where he mainly worked with the Continentals’ hitters, outfielders, catchers, and baserunners.  Prior to collegiate coaching, Cooney worked as a player development coach at Powerhouse Training in East Longmeadow Massachusetts. Cooney played collegiate baseball at Springfield College where he finished as a three time captain of the program and had a .340 Batting Average, .433 On Base Percentage, tallying 128 Hits in 106 Games.

Kevin Murphy joined the Amherst baseball coaching staff in Fall 2023 with experience coaching at all levels. The 2025 season is his second with the Mammoths. In the summer of 2023, served as the head coach of the Norwich Sea Unicorns, a team in the Futures Collegiate Summer Baseball League. Murphy successfully led the team to a regular season championship and a postseason championship. Murphy earned Manager of the Year for his efforts. From Fall 2022 to Spring 2023,  Murphy served as a volunteer assistant coach at Quinnipiac University, where he mainly worked with the Bobcats’ catchers.  Before joining the QU staff, Murphy worked with several youth athletics organizations, including a year at Powerhouse Training, CT Crush, Complex Sports Academy, and Clubhouse CT.  Murphy played collegiate baseball at Eastern Connecticut University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in sports and leisure management. After graduating from Eastern Connecticut, Murphy spent a season as a graduate student at Nichols College while playing baseball.