Merrimack College Men's Baseball

Brian Murphy starts his 4th season at the helm of the Warriors, a 2003 graduate of Merrimack returns to guide his alma mater.  Murphy—who becomes the seventh head coach in program history—returns home to North Andover after eight seasons at William & Mary. In that time with the Tribe, Murphy’s programs had four 30-win seasons, five CAA-Tournament appearances and its first NCAA Tournament at-large bid. Murphy was recognized as CAA Coach of the Year in 2014 after winning 34 games in his first year at the helm for the Tribe. In 2016, Murhpy was named VASID Coach of the Year after a CAA Tournament Championship and NCAA Regional Final Appearance. William & Mary turned four 30+ win seasons under Murphy’s tutelage. Nine players who have competed for Murphy’s teams have been taken in the MLB Draft, with two players taken in the first five rounds. Programs under the Easton, Mass. native have also seen outstanding academic achievement in addition to the team’s on-field success. William & Mary teams earned three-straight Team Academic Awards by the ABCA, with three student athletes recognized as CoSIDA Academic-All Americans and a CAA Scholar Athlete of the Year. Prior to his tenure in Williamsburg, Va., Murphy served as Recruiting Coordinator and Hitting Coach for the Brown University Bears, with ten student-athletes earning All-Ivy League Selections in his three years on the staff. At the Division II level, Murphy had a successful run with the Bryant Bulldogs as an assistant coach where he served as Recruiting Director and oversaw catchers, outfielders and hitting. From 2006-09, the squad earned two 30-wins season, and a record 43 win season in 2008 that culminated in an NE-10 Regular Season title and an NCAA Tournament berth. During Murphy’s time with the Bulldogs, the team earned 132 wins and appeared in two NCAA Tournament Regional Finals. Hitters under Murphy showed consistent improvement, with the team’s batting average and runs per game increasing in each of his three seasons. After earning his degree in business management from Merrimack, Murphy went on to earn Master’s Degree in Sports Management from California University of Pennsylvania in 2009. He returns to North Andover with his wife, Karen, son Connor and daughter Maggie.  

Pat McKenna joined the Warriors in January 2022 and will assist with the development of the Position Players. McKenna spent the 2017 – 2021 seasons as Assistant Coach at William & Mary and served as the Interim Head Coach in the Fall of 2021.  He was instrumental in the program’s success featuring several 30-win seasons, MLB draft picks, and postseason appearances.     Prior to joining William & Mary, McKenna spent 8 years in professional baseball.  After being drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 2009 draft, joined the San Diego Padres organization, reaching the AAA level.  McKenna was a 4-time Frontier League All-Star with the Normal (IL) Cornbelters.   McKenna played collegiately at Bryant University, earning a bachelor’s degree in business management and having a record setting career on the diamond for the Bulldogs.  A three-year captain, McKenna was Bryant’s Male Athlete of the Year and was named to Bryant’s All Decade Team in 2010.   A native of Orange, CT, McKenna resides in Derry, NH with his wife Kristina and daughter Delaney.  

John Keane joins the Merrimack baseball staff as the pitching coach after serving as the assistant pitching coach for Old Dominion University during the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Keane graduated from Old Dominion and was a part of the 2021 Conference USA Championship team that hosted an NCAA Regional at South Carolina.

Ryan Caulfield joins Merrimack for his first season as an assistant coach, working with the Warriors’ outfielders and hitters. He most recently served as hitting coach for the New Britain Bees of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League, helping the team reach the 2025 Championship Series. A native of Simsbury, Conn., Caulfield played at Clark University, where he was a three-year captain, All-Conference outfielder, and hit .330 over 145 career games. He also competed in the FCBL with the Nashua Silver Knights and Westfield Starfires. Caulfield earned both his bachelor’s degree in Business Management (2023) and master’s in Sports Administration (2025) from Clark.