West Chester University of Pennsylvania Men's Baseball

Mike LaRosa (WCU ’05) enters his sixth year at the helm of his alma mater. In just five seasons back in the Purple & Gold, LaRosa has returned West Chester baseball to the national stage with the aim of keeping the Golden Rams in the limelight.   LaRosa became the 29th head coach in West Chester baseball history, succeeding Jad Prachniak in February 2021. LaRosa made the jump to the Division II ranks, after leading nearby Widener University’s Division III baseball squad for the previous nine seasons. Picking up the pieces of a program that was shut down and inactive during the COVID-19 pandemic, LaRosa won a regional championship and put the Golden Rams back in the national finals in just two brief seasons. In guiding his diamondmen to one of the top two ranked programs in the region four times over the last five years, West Chester has hosted an NCAA Tournament contest at Serpico Stadium. The Golden Rams are coming off a third-place showing in the PSAC Eastern Division in 2025 and regional ranking of No. 2 that saw them host the first round of the NCAA Atlantic Regional Tournament. It marked West Chester's fourth straight year of at least 30 wins and fourth straight NCAA appearance. In 2024, West Chester set a new record for wins in the regular season with 39. The team's 25 conference wins marked the most in a single season in school history. Along the way, the Golden Rams also broke the school mark for consecutive victories rattling off a 21-game win streak early on. West Chester finished with 43 wins on the year and only lost nine games total. In the process, LaRosa guided his squad to the PSAC Championship, going a perfect 4-0 in the postseason tournament. Graduate student, and Widener transfer, Anthony Boccio, was named the PSAC East player of the year as well as regional player of the year by the NCBWA. The Golden Rams, who finished second in the Eastern Division standings, earned the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Regional by taking seven of eight games from the top two teams in the region at the time in the final two weekends of the regular season and then sweeping through the tournament. In 2023, the WCU hall of famer guided his diamondmen to another 30-win campaign and another trip to the NCAA Tournament. West Chester finished third in the PSAC Eastern Division standings and then made a run to the championship game of the PSAC Tournament, before falling to Seton Hill in the finals. The Golden Rams finished 32-20 overall and 14-10 in conference play. In 2022, LaRosa watched his guys post a 36-15 overall record, qualify for the PSAC Tournament for a second year, win the Atlantic Regional as the No. 1 seed and return to Cary, N.C., for the 2022 NCAA Division II National Championships. West Chester went 2-2 in its four games in Cary - earning a spot in the national semifinals while working its way back through the loser's bracket. Six players were named All-PSAC and four more were named to at least one of three all-region squads. Left-handed ace, Braeden Fausnaught, caught the attention of pro scouts while in Cary putting the finishing touches on perhaps the most impressive pitching showcase in a single season at West Chester. He went 9-3 with a school-record 130 strikeouts in 104 innings over 19 appearances and 18 starts on the mound. Fausnaught signed a professional contract with the Philadelphia Phillies and currently pitches in their minor league system. Additionally, two players were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 2 team and one was named a PSAC Spring Top 10 choice. In his first season back in the Purple & Gold, LaRosa guided his charges to a 20-11 mark and a second-place finish in the PSAC Eastern Division standings. Three Golden Rams were named ABCA All-Atlantic Region while five were honored as all conference. West Chester qualified for the PSAC Tournament and just missed out on an invitational to the NCAA Atlantic Regional.   While at Widener, LaRosa engineered an overall record of 195-155-2 (.557) while posting a mark of 94-71 (.569) within the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth. He won two MAC Commonwealth titles in nine years (2014, 2016) and an ECAC Southeast Regional title (2015). He becomes the seventh head coach on staff at WCU to return to his alma mater and joins both basketball head coaches, Damien Blair and Kiera Wooden, as WCU hall of famers returning to campus. In LaRosa's tenure, Widener posted six consecutive seasons with 20 or more wins and was the only team in the MAC Commonwealth to have advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament in each of the past six seasons. His Widener Pride came one win from the NCAA Division III National Finals in 2014, setting the school record for wins in a single season (33). Forty of his players have earned all-conference recognition with 14 being selected all-region. Additionally, he coached three CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, three MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year winners and 35 academic all-conference honor roll recipients while at Widener. Prior to Widener, LaRosa was an assistant coach at Neumann from 2010-11. He primarily was responsible for coaching the infielders, serving as the base running and assistant hitting coach as well as being the head coach of the JV program.   LaRosa, who played professionally for the New Haven County Cutters in the Canadian-American Independent Baseball League, graduated from West Chester University in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management. He earned his master’s degree in Sport Management from Neumann University in 2012.    LaRosa was a four-year starter at second base for West Chester from 2002-05, serving as captain his junior and senior seasons. He was tabbed All-PSAC all four years and was named the NCAA Division II National Defensive Player of the Year in 2003. In addition, LaRosa graduated with a .362 career batting average and ranks fifth in school history with 234 hits. He helped the Golden Rams win two PSAC East regular-season titles and make three trips to the NCAA Tournament. In 2017, LaRosa was inducted into the school's athletics hall of fame. LaRosa currently resides in West Chester with his wife, Krista, and sons, Ryan and Connor.   YEAR SCHOOL OVERALL PCT. CONFERENCE PCT. NOTES 2012 Widener 20-19 .513 7-11 (5th) .389 2013 Widener 19-22 .463 11-10 (T, 4th) .524 MAC Tournament 2014 Widener 33-13 .717 16-5 (1st) .762 NCAA III Regionals; MAC Champions; MAC Coach of Year 2015 Widener 25-20 .556 12-9 (T, 4th) .571 ECAC Southeast Champions; MAC Finals 2016 Widener 25-18-1 .580 14-7 (2nd) .667 NCAA III Regionals; MAC Champions 2017 Widener 26-15 .634 13-8 (3rd) .619 MAC Finals 2018 Widener 21-19 .525 11-10 (4th) .524 MAC Semifinals 2019 Widener 20-24-1 .456 10-11 (T, 4th) .476 MAC Finals 2020 Widener 6-5 .545 0-0 .000 Season cancelled due to Covid-19 9 years 195-155-2 .557 94-71 .569 2 NCAAs; 2 MAC titles; 1 MAC Coach of Year 2021     West Chester       20-11 .645 20-10 (2nd) .667 PSAC Tournament 2022 West Chester 36-15 .706 17-7 (2nd) .708 NCAA II Nat'l Championships (4th place); PSAC Tournament 2023 West Chester 32-20 .615 14-10 (3rd) .583 PSAC Finals; NCAA Regionals 2024 West Chester 43-9 .704 25-7 (2nd) .781 PSAC Champions; NCAA Regionals 2025 West Chester 35-17 .673 17-11 (3rd) .607 NCAA Regionals 5 years 166-72 .697 93-45 .674 1 PSAC title; 4 NCAAs; 1 NCAA Regional title 14 years Overall 361-227-2 .614 187-116 .617 6 NCAAs; 3 conference titles; 1 regional title  

Brian Lindros enters his fifth season on the coaching staff at West Chester University. Lindros  assists head coach Mike LaRosa in all aspects of the game, from scouting to on-field coaching to player development while coaching first base during games. Lindros, a former teammate of LaRosa's when the two were playing at West Chester Unviersity, has been with LaRosa for each of the first four seasons of the latter's tenure running the program. Prior to joining the Golden Rams' coaching staff, the West Chester baseball alum served in a multitude of coaching roles. He served as the pitching coach at nearby West Chester Rustin High School from 2007 to 2012, helping guide the Golden Knights to multiple Ches-Mont American Division titles during that time. Prior to that, he coached the Downingtown American Legion baseball team during the 2004 and 2005 campaigns where he served as an assistant coach and helped lead the team to the finals of the state regional tournament. Most recently, he has been focused more heavily on youth baseball where he serves on the East Brandywine Youth Athletics board, he is an active member of the East Brandywine Youth Athletics Baseball Committee, and he is currently the head coach of the East Brandywine Bulls and East Brandywine All-Star teams.    A 2003 graduate of West Chester University, Lindros was primarily a third baseman during his playing career for the Purple & Gold where he earned second team All-PSAC East honors during his senior season - the first 30-win season in program history.   Lindros earned his bachelor of science degree in Liberal Studies from West Chester University in May 2003. He went on to earn his Master of Education in Educational Counseling from Wilmington University in 2007 and his Principal Certification from Cabrini College in January 2014.   Lindros and his wife, Shelbi (WCU ‘02) live in Downingtown, Pa., with their three children and two dogs.

Charlie Cooper is entering his sixth season on the baseball coaching staff at West Chester University.    Cooper earned his bachelor of science degree in Statistics from Penn State University in December 2020. He has a background in analyzing data from Trackman, Rapsodo, and Blast to help develop baseball players.    Prior to joining the Golden Rams' coaching staff, Cooper served as the pitching coach at Penn State-Brandywine during the 2021 season. He helped guide Brandywine to a PSUAC East division title and fifth-place finish in the 2021 USCAA Tournament. Presently, he serves as the WCABL League Director, handling the day-to-day operations of the summer league. He has also been the head coach of the WCABL Red Men since 2017, a team he has guided to back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2020 and 2021.    Cooper pitched two seasons for Penn State-Brandywine (2016-17).