NEW YORK, NY – Matt LaBranche has been hired as John Jay's new Head Baseball Coach, Director of Athletics Cat Alves announced.
"I am thrilled to welcome Matt to the Bloodhounds family," said Alves. "Matt brings considerable coaching and administrative experience that will continue to move our Baseball program and the department forward. His embracing of the mission of John Jay demonstrates his commitment to a well-rounded student-athlete experience."
LaBranche joins the Bloodhounds with over 25 years of experience in athletics. His most recent head coaching experience was at Eastern Connecticut State University where he served as the Head Baseball Coach from 2014-2019. In his five years with the Warriors, LaBranche also helped with game operations, was a travel coordinator, and served on the department's Title IX committee. His resume includes being named the 2014 New England Coach of the Year and 2014 Little East Coach of the Year, as well as winning two Little East Conference Tournament Championships in 2014 & 2016.
Prior to Eastern Connecticut State, LaBranche spent 14 years as the Head Baseball Coach at Western New England University. There, he holds the school record after leading the program to 429 victories, with only 187 losses. LaBranche led the team to nine conference championships, and won five Coach of the Year awards. The Golden Bears made 10 NCAA Regionals appearances under LaBranche's tutelage. In 2011, his team finished with a 42-11 record and reached the DIII World Series. That program concluded the season with a final No. 8 national ranking.
"I am thrilled for the opportunity to become a member of the John Jay community," LaBranche stated. "It is a special place, with a special mission, in a special city. I want to thank Director of Athletics Cat Alves and the entire search committee for the trust they have placed in me."
LaBranche also has significant administration experience, most recently serving as the Athletic Director at Western New England from 2019-2021. Some of his responsibilities included budget oversight, fundraising and alumni engagement, facility development, NCAA compliance, and day to day operations. In addition, LaBranche helped initiate the department's first student-athlete social justice committee as well as its first student-athlete resource group via the Black Student-Athlete Alliance.
"Matt brings a proven championship mentality to the Bloodhounds baseball program," Deputy Director of Athletics Brandon Fieland said. "He has extensive experience leading multiple top-notch programs in the northeast and will be an outstanding mentor to the current and future players in our program."
He comes directly from Next College Student-Athlete (NCSA), the nation's largest and most experienced athletic recruiting network, where he served as a baseball recruiting coach for the past year and was responsible for leading and guiding over 800 families through the recruiting process. Other duties included completing evaluations of client videos and key stats to determine college projection rating, hosting individual coaching sessions to address specific needs, and developing a seasonal recruiting plan to determine an athlete's "best fit" at the collegiate level.
"I look forward to getting to know the team and working with them to elevate the Bloodhound baseball program to new heights," added LaBranche.
LaBranche is a product of Springfield College, where he was named the school's Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year prior to graduation. He and his wife, Judi have two children, Matt and Dominique.