WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State athletics has named Seth Kaplan as the next head baseball coach.
Kaplan will begin duties at Westfield on Jan. 29.
"Competing against the Owls in the past, you could see the passion the athletes had when they were on the field, for this place and for their jersey, and that was one of the biggest things that attracted me to it," said Kaplan. "Sitting down with the players and sitting down with the staff, you can see how they want to be here, and that jumped out right away, and I want to continue those traditions going forward."
The head coach at Lesley University since the fall of 2019, Kaplan emerged from an extensive search process.
"We are excited to welcome Seth to the Westfield State family to lead our baseball team," said Westfield State athletics director Richard Lenfest, Jr.
"It's close to the start of season to find a new head coach, and we were really pleased with the overall quality of our applicant pool - and Seth distinguished himself in that process," said Lenfest. "Seth comes to Owls' baseball with experience as a head coach, strong references and a lot of overall experience in college athletics, both on the field and off."
Kaplan has led the Lynx program for the last four years, helping the program to emerge from the pandemic shortened 2020 and 2021 seasons. The team advanced to the NECC Tournament and had four players named to the league's all-conference team in 2023. He also served as Coordinator of Student Athlete Academic Services at Lesley.
What will it be like to play for coach Kaplan? "You gotta be tough every day," said Kaplan. "Doing this for 21 years (as a coach) I still come at it from a player's perspective. I do understand what they are going through, or I try to anyway. But, you have to make some sacrifices have to be tough, you have to be ready to run through a wall if we ask you to. But at the same time we are going to tell you why. It's a lot of instruction, a lot of teaching but I'm going to give a lot of leadership, and a lot of ownership over their careers and the Owls program."
He previously served as the head coach at Dean College, and did stints as an assistant coach at both UMass-Dartmouth and Sacred Heart University.
Kaplan was the head baseball coach for five years at Dean, where he is the second-winningest coach in school history. Kaplan led the Bulldogs to their first NJCAA Region 21 championship in 50 years in 2016.
In three seasons at UMass-Dartmouth, Kaplan served as the defensive instructor, bench coach, and worked with the hitters. During that time, the Corsairs placed eight players on the Little East Conference all-conference teams and he helped lead the Corsairs to two LEC Championship games alongside head coach Bob Prince.
Kaplan was part of the athletics staff at Sacred Heart for 10 years, serving as an assistant baseball coach and in a variety of roles in operations, event management and administration. As a coach, he helped the Pioneers to a Northeast Conference Championship and an appearance in the NCAA Division I regionals in Athens, Ga.
As an undergraduate, Kaplan was a versatile player at UMass, where he began his career as a walk-on before earning an athletic scholarship and served as a team captain under coach Mike Stone.
Kaplan holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in sports management from UMass, and Master of Arts degree in teaching from Sacred Heart University.
A native of New City, New York, Kaplan resides in Northampton, Mass., with his wife Dawn, son Ryne and daughter Haly.
"I think the head baseball coaching position is an important hire for us," said Lenfest. "It's no secret that Westfield is a big baseball town with some of the historical success of the programs from the high school and legion, right down through Babe Ruth and Little League, and of course having the Starfires in town now as well. Seth brings some local connections with him, and will be able to keep our program engaged in the local community as well."
Kaplan takes over an Owls' baseball program that finished with a 19-19 record in 2023, and has made 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, most recently with back-to-back trips in 2018 and '19.
He will jump right into the Owls' preseason practices when he arrives on campus full time.
"Building relationships will be the hardest thing, the quickest thing, and the thing I will look to do first, and earn the players trust," said Kaplan. "I'll be talking to the players, and looking to make sure they have the best experience they can have."
"'I can't wait to meet the guys to get this thing going," he said. "The beauty of baseball is that it's every day, and the best part about the game is 'how do you get guys better every day,' that's the fun of it."
Kaplan will hold secondary duties in the athletics department, including assisting with scheduling.
The Owls are slated to start the 2024 campaign with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 2 at the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford, Conn. Westfield State will head to Vero Beach, Fla. for seven games from March 8-14 on its annual spring trip south. This year the Owls will play at the Jackie Robinson Complex, the former spring home of the Los Angeles Dodgers.