Saint Joseph's College Men's Baseball

Sanborn's "Chalk Talk" feature Head Coach Will Sanborn '86 has built the Saint Joseph's baseball program into a consistent winner. In recent years, Sanborn has guided the Monks into the upper echelon of one of the country's toughest regions, the Northeast. Saint Joseph's is one of four New England teams to have won at least 30 games in six of the last seven seasons and one of just three programs to have made five New England Regional appearances in the last six years. Sanborn's accomplishments at Saint Joseph's have been numerous. During his 19 years as head coach the Monks have won 30+ games in seven seasons and 20+ games 15 times. Along the way, Sanborn has collected four yearly coach honors and has become the winningest coach in SJC Baseball history with a 503-288-5 (.636) record. Entering the 2012 campaign, Sanborn needs just two victories to become the winningest coach in Saint Josephs Athletics history. The 2011 season was another to remember for the Monks Baseball program, as the team went 32-15 overall with a 12-2 record in conference play and advanced to the NCAA DIII Tournament for the fifth time after collecting the programs third GNAC Championship crown in four years. St. Joes defeated #3 Wheaton College and #1 Tufts University in the New England Tournament and earned votes in the final 2011 D3baseball.com/NCBWA Poll. The spring of 2011 was filled with milestones and personal accolades. Coach Sanborn collected his 500th victory when the Royal Blue notched a GNAC Championship win over Suffolk University on May 1st and senior outfielder Todd Keneborus becoming the fifth player in program history to reach the 200-hit plateau with a single against Gordon College on April 25th. Keneborus garnered GNAC Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive season making 2011 the seventh straight year in which Saint Josephs has had a player earn the honor. Just moments after the Monks suffered a season-ending loss in the New England Regional, the team learned that former standout Charlie Furbush had been called up to the Major Leagues by the Detroit Tigers. Furbush, a left-handed pitcher who played at St. Joes in 2005 and 2006, is not only the first former Saint Josephs College athlete to make it to the big leagues, but also the first to play in any of the four major professional sports leagues. The 2010 campaign will go down as one of the most memorable seasons in St. Joes Baseball history. The Monks posted a 35-13 record, including an 11-3 mark in GNAC play, and captured the programs second Great Northeast Athletic Conference title in three years as a league member.  The Royal Blue defeated top-seeded Suffolk University in the GNAC Championship and went on to record the programs fourth NCAA DIII Tournament berth in the last five seasons. While at the New England Regional, hosted by Eastern Connecticut State University, the Monks posted three losers bracket victories with triumphs over #5 Worcester State, #3 Western New England and #2 Wheaton. The Monks historic run ended with an 11-inning loss to #1 Tufts University on Championship Saturday. Several individuals registered stellar personal efforts and were rewarded with regional and national recognition. Junior outfielder Todd Keneborus hit .464 (77-166) with 52 runs, 65 RBI and a .783 slugging percentage and became the sixth consecutive SJC player to garner Conference Player of the Year honors. He also collected D3baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings All-America as well as First Team All-New England accolades last spring. Junior southpaw Sam Murray earned GNAC Pitcher of the Year honors and also received All-New England mention and Coach Sanborn became the winningest single-sport coach in Saint Josephs Athletics history with the Monks title win over Suffolk on May 2nd. The 2009 season should be remembered as a very successful one, save for the premature ending, as the Monks went 31-13 overall and posted a 13-1 record in conference play en route to capturing the #1 seed in the GNAC Tournament. Despite herculean comebacks in several of the playoff contests, St. Joe's lost to Suffolk University in the GNAC title game. Two-way player Pat Moran '10 became the fifth-straight SJC player to earn conference player of the year honors and added GNAC Pitcher of the Year, All-ECAC, D3Baseball.com All-America and All-New England awards to his trophy case with a fine season as a pitcher and slugger for the Monks. In 2009, the SJC offense proved to be one of the best in program history. Last year's squad set new team records for runs scored (431), runs per game (9.8), hits (523), doubles (116) and runs batted in (401). As a team, the Monks ranked 10th in the country in doubles, 14th in batting average (.353), 15th in runs per game, 16th in runs scored, 18th in triples (21) and 19th in slugging percentage (.531). With so many returners, it's reasonable to expect similar production this spring. The pitching staff ranked 7th in the country with 2.61 walks allowed per nine innings last year and returns all but one member of a unit that accumulated 287 strikeouts in 328 innings. 2008 was the team's first year in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference and the Monks set the tone by winning the GNAC Championship and once again advancing to the NCAA New England Regional - finishing with a 28-18 record. St. Joe's upset top-seeded Suffolk University - twice - in the GNAC Tournament and Enman was recognized with the GNAC Player of the Year honor, meaning the Monks had one of their best earn the same accolade for four straight seasons. Sanborn captured his 400th career victory with a 7-1 conference quarterfinal victory over Suffolk on April 24th. The Monks reached the 30-win plateau for the third-consecutive season with a 30-12 overall record in 2007. Saint Joseph's went 9-3 in NAC play and won the team's third conference championship in as many years as a league member. As a result of the NAC crown, St. Joe's, which was awarded an automatic berth, made the team's second-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Regional. Shortstop Luke Enman '08 was named as the NAC Player of the Year, becoming the Monks' third individual in three years to earn the accolade, and also captured D3Baseball.com and All-ECAC honors. The 2006 campaign proved to be one of the finest in program history, as the Monks racked up a 34-10 record, went 11-1 in NAC play, captured the NAC Championship and earned the #2 seed in the NCAA DIII New England Baseball Tournament in Harwich, Massachusetts. The win total tied the 1986 team's mark for the second-highest in team-history and St. Joe's defeated Bowdoin College, 9-7, in the Monks' opening game of the New England Regional to notch the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Once again, Furbush collected NAC Player of the Year honors, as well as D3Baseball.com All-America and NCBWA New England Pitcher of the Year awards.   In 2005, Saint Joseph's College Baseball began a new era as an associate member of the North Atlantic Conference and Sanborn guided the Monks to a 32-10 record, including a 14-1 mark in NAC play en route to the team's first conference title since the 2002 campaign. Saint Joseph's was rewarded with the program's first-ever ECAC DIII Championship tournament appearance following the NAC Tournament title and two of Sanborn's best players - catcher Derek McIntosh and pitcher/DH Charlie Furbush -earned Co-NAC Player of the Year accolades. Prior to these most recent NCAA accomplishments - Saint Joseph's College baseball set the standard for NAIA New England baseball under Sanborn's direction. In 2002, Saint Joseph's completed its NAIA New England dominance by once again winning the NAIA New England Championship. The Monks then moved on to capture the NAIA Region X Championship in Orangeburg, New York. Sanborn has led Saint Joseph's to New England championships on five different occasions (1994, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2002) and has three Maine Athletic Conference titles under his belt (1999, 2000, 2001). "It's a tribute to the continued commitment that Saint Joseph's has made to our baseball program. The College has given us the tools to build a winning program. The foundation of our program has been the fine young men we have been able to attract to our campus," says Sanborn of his success with the Monks. "We have had outstanding groups of student-athletes, assistant coaches and support staff who have all contributed to our success, so I don't think of this as a personal accomplishment as much as it is a Saint Joseph's accomplishment." Since arriving at Saint Joseph's as head coach for the fall of 1992, Sanborn has made tremendous improvements to the baseball facilities. Larry Mahaney Diamond is one of the finest baseball facilities in the Northeast and includes a new wooden fence, lights, press box, hitting area, bleachers, locker room and an inning-by-inning electronic scoreboard, making every baseball game at Saint Joseph's a first-class affair. Mahaney Diamond was recognized nationally in 2008 when the park was named ABCA/Turface College Division Field of the Year. Will Sanborn's drive to win first became evident during his playing career at Saint Joseph's from 1984-86 when he was a member of some of the programs' finest teams. During that time, the Monks averaged just over 20 wins per season, including 25-plus wins in 1985 and 1986. In 1986, his senior season, Sanborn played an integral role in leading Saint Joseph's to their second highest win total in program history (34) and their first-ever New England championship. Sanborn is still part of the SJC single-season record book for games played (48), runs scored (59) and walks (51). Prior to taking over as head coach at Saint Joseph's, Sanborn coached at many levels. He has held coaching positions with Bonny Eagle High School, Bar Mills American Legion and the Portland Twilight League. He is also Director of the Saint Joseph's College Baseball Camp, and currently serves as the Associate Director of Athletics at Saint Joseph's College. Will resides in Standish with his wife, Lynn Brown.     Click here to read Coach Sanborn's "Chalk Talk" feature Head Coach Will Sanborn '86 has built the Saint Joseph's baseball program into a consistent winner. In recent years, Sanborn has guided the Monks into the upper echelon of one of the country's toughest regions, the Northeast. Saint Joseph's is one of four New England teams to have won at least 30 games in six of the last seven seasons and one of just three programs to have made five New England Regional appearances in the last six years. Sanborn's accomplishments at Saint Joseph's have been numerous. During his 19 years as head coach the Monks have won 30+ games in seven seasons and 20+ games 15 times. Along the way, Sanborn has collected four yearly coach honors and has become the winningest coach in SJC Baseball history with a 503-288-5 (.636) record. Entering the 2012 campaign, Sanborn needs just two victories to become the winningest coach in Saint Josephs Athletics history. The 2011 season was another to remember for the Monks Baseball program, as the team went 32-15 overall with a 12-2 record in conference play and advanced to the NCAA DIII Tournament for the fifth time after collecting the programs third GNAC Championship crown in four years. St. Joes defeated #3 Wheaton College and #1 Tufts University in the New England Tournament and earned votes in the final 2011 D3baseball.com/NCBWA Poll. The spring of 2011 was filled with milestones and personal accolades. Coach Sanborn collected his 500th victory when the Royal Blue notched a GNAC Championship win over Suffolk University on May 1st and senior outfielder Todd Keneborus becoming the fifth player in program history to reach the 200-hit plateau with a single against Gordon College on April 25th. Keneborus garnered GNAC Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive season making 2011 the seventh straight year in which Saint Josephs has had a player earn the honor. Just moments after the Monks suffered a season-ending loss in the New England Regional, the team learned that former standout Charlie Furbush had been called up to the Major Leagues by the Detroit Tigers. Furbush, a left-handed pitcher who played at St. Joes in 2005 and 2006, is not only the first former Saint Josephs College athlete to make it to the big leagues, but also the first to play in any of the four major professional sports leagues. The 2010 campaign will go down as one of the most memorable seasons in St. Joes Baseball history. The Monks posted a 35-13 record, including an 11-3 mark in GNAC play, and captured the programs second Great Northeast Athletic Conference title in three years as a league member.  The Royal Blue defeated top-seeded Suffolk University in the GNAC Championship and went on to record the programs fourth NCAA DIII Tournament berth in the last five seasons. While at the New England Regional, hosted by Eastern Connecticut State University, the Monks posted three losers bracket victories with triumphs over #5 Worcester State, #3 Western New England and #2 Wheaton. The Monks historic run ended with an 11-inning loss to #1 Tufts University on Championship Saturday. Several individuals registered stellar personal efforts and were rewarded with regional and national recognition. Junior outfielder Todd Keneborus hit .464 (77-166) with 52 runs, 65 RBI and a .783 slugging percentage and became the sixth consecutive SJC player to garner Conference Player of the Year honors. He also collected D3baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings All-America as well as First Team All-New England accolades last spring. Junior southpaw Sam Murray earned GNAC Pitcher of the Year honors and also received All-New England mention and Coach Sanborn became the winningest single-sport coach in Saint Josephs Athletics history with the Monks title win over Suffolk on May 2nd. The 2009 season should be remembered as a very successful one, save for the premature ending, as the Monks went 31-13 overall and posted a 13-1 record in conference play en route to capturing the #1 seed in the GNAC Tournament. Despite herculean comebacks in several of the playoff contests, St. Joe's lost to Suffolk University in the GNAC title game. Two-way player Pat Moran '10 became the fifth-straight SJC player to earn conference player of the year honors and added GNAC Pitcher of the Year, All-ECAC, D3Baseball.com All-America and All-New England awards to his trophy case with a fine season as a pitcher and slugger for the Monks. In 2009, the SJC offense proved to be one of the best in program history. Last year's squad set new team records for runs scored (431), runs per game (9.8), hits (523), doubles (116) and runs batted in (401). As a team, the Monks ranked 10th in the country in doubles, 14th in batting average (.353), 15th in runs per game, 16th in runs scored, 18th in triples (21) and 19th in slugging percentage (.531). With so many returners, it's reasonable to expect similar production this spring. The pitching staff ranked 7th in the country with 2.61 walks allowed per nine innings last year and returns all but one member of a unit that accumulated 287 strikeouts in 328 innings. 2008 was the team's first year in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference and the Monks set the tone by winning the GNAC Championship and once again advancing to the NCAA New England Regional - finishing with a 28-18 record. St. Joe's upset top-seeded Suffolk University - twice - in the GNAC Tournament and Enman was recognized with the GNAC Player of the Year honor, meaning the Monks had one of their best earn the same accolade for four straight seasons. Sanborn captured his 400th career victory with a 7-1 conference quarterfinal victory over Suffolk on April 24th. The Monks reached the 30-win plateau for the third-consecutive season with a 30-12 overall record in 2007. Saint Joseph's went 9-3 in NAC play and won the team's third conference championship in as many years as a league member. As a result of the NAC crown, St. Joe's, which was awarded an automatic berth, made the team's second-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Regional. Shortstop Luke Enman '08 was named as the NAC Player of the Year, becoming the Monks' third individual in three years to earn the accolade, and also captured D3Baseball.com and All-ECAC honors. The 2006 campaign proved to be one of the finest in program history, as the Monks racked up a 34-10 record, went 11-1 in NAC play, captured the NAC Championship and earned the #2 seed in the NCAA DIII New England Baseball Tournament in Harwich, Massachusetts. The win total tied the 1986 team's mark for the second-highest in team-history and St. Joe's defeated Bowdoin College, 9-7, in the Monks' opening game of the New England Regional to notch the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Once again, Furbush collected NAC Player of the Year honors, as well as D3Baseball.com All-America and NCBWA New England Pitcher of the Year awards.   In 2005, Saint Joseph's College Baseball began a new era as an associate member of the North Atlantic Conference and Sanborn guided the Monks to a 32-10 record, including a 14-1 mark in NAC play en route to the team's first conference title since the 2002 campaign. Saint Joseph's was rewarded with the program's first-ever ECAC DIII Championship tournament appearance following the NAC Tournament title and two of Sanborn's best players - catcher Derek McIntosh and pitcher/DH Charlie Furbush -earned Co-NAC Player of the Year accolades. Prior to these most recent NCAA accomplishments - Saint Joseph's College baseball set the standard for NAIA New England baseball under Sanborn's direction. In 2002, Saint Joseph's completed its NAIA New England dominance by once again winning the NAIA New England Championship. The Monks then moved on to capture the NAIA Region X Championship in Orangeburg, New York. Sanborn has led Saint Joseph's to New England championships on five different occasions (1994, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2002) and has three Maine Athletic Conference titles under his belt (1999, 2000, 2001). "It's a tribute to the continued commitment that Saint Joseph's has made to our baseball program. The College has given us the tools to build a winning program. The foundation of our program has been the fine young men we have been able to attract to our campus," says Sanborn of his success with the Monks. "We have had outstanding groups of student-athletes, assistant coaches and support staff who have all contributed to our success, so I don't think of this as a personal accomplishment as much as it is a Saint Joseph's accomplishment." Since arriving at Saint Joseph's as head coach for the fall of 1992, Sanborn has made tremendous improvements to the baseball facilities. Larry Mahaney Diamond is one of the finest baseball facilities in the Northeast and includes a new wooden fence, lights, press box, hitting area, bleachers, locker room and an inning-by-inning electronic scoreboard, making every baseball game at Saint Joseph's a first-class affair. Mahaney Diamond was recognized nationally in 2008 when the park was named ABCA/Turface College Division Field of the Year. Will Sanborn's drive to win first became evident during his playing career at Saint Joseph's from 1984-86 when he was a member of some of the programs' finest teams. During that time, the Monks averaged just over 20 wins per season, including 25-plus wins in 1985 and 1986. In 1986, his senior season, Sanborn played an integral role in leading Saint Joseph's to their second highest win total in program history (34) and their first-ever New England championship. Sanborn is still part of the SJC single-season record book for games played (48), runs scored (59) and walks (51). Prior to taking over as head coach at Saint Joseph's, Sanborn coached at many levels. He has held coaching positions with Bonny Eagle High School, Bar Mills American Legion and the Portland Twilight League. He is also Director of the Saint Joseph's College Baseball Camp, and currently serves as the Associate Director of Athletics at Saint Joseph's College. Will resides in Standish with his wife, Lynn Brown.