Western New England athletics photo

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.--After a nationwide search that included over 130 applications, Western New England University athletics officials have appointed Dan Gomez to be the Golden Bears head baseball coach after serving in an interim capacity since last July. That announcement was made Tuesday by WNE Director of Athletics Dr. Michael Theulen.

"I am pleased to announce that Dan Gomez will continue on as our baseball coach. He was recommended unanimously by our baseball search committee after a very thorough search process. I thank the committee for their efforts and their recommendation," Theulen stated.

"Dan has done a tremendous job for Western New England University ever since his arrival. Taking over late last summer, he navigated our team through a very tough schedule and ended up in our conference championship game. This after losing some very talented players from last year's team to graduation. We are very excited about Dan's hire and the continued success of our baseball program," he said.

"I am grateful that Coach Theulen and the search committee have the confidence in me to continue to lead the Golden Bear baseball program," Gomez said. "It is a tremendous opportunity to continue to be a part of the tradition of Western New England. I look forward to continuing to build on the tradition of success that our program has."

The ninth coach in the 45-year storied history of the Western New England program, Gomez molded a team that lost seven position players from the previous season and he took them to the Commonwealth Coast Conference championship game in his first year at the helm this spring. He mentored all-CCC performers senior outfielder Steve Ambrosino, senior pitcher Mike Lospinuso, junior pitcher Trevor Breton, sophomore shortstop Kevin Marciano and freshman third baseman Daniel Morin. Ambrosino and Breton also were selected D3baseball.com All-New England. In addition, senior pitcher Brendan Nugent joined Ambrosino on the Capital One  Division III Baseball Academic All-District® I First Team by the College Sports Information Directors' of America.

"We are coming off a very productive season in getting back to the CCC Finals. We had a great group of guys who showed up to compete every day," added Gomez. "I think we learned a lot about ourselves and what we need to do to continue to push this program forward. Going into the fall I am eager to see what some of our young players can do next year with a season under their belts."

Gomez had served as WNE's top assistant coach from 2010-13, working primarily with the Golden Bears catchers and hitters. Gomez also handled the team's travel arrangements and recruiting.

A resident of suburban East Longmeadow, Gomez was graduated from Endicott College in 2008 with a bachelor's degree in sports management. He was a four-year member of the Gulls' baseball team and an All-Commonwealth Coast Conference selection. He was the team co-captain and most valuable player as a senior when he batted .336 and had team highs of 10 doubles and 31 runs batted in.

At Western New England, Gomez has helped the Golden Bears capture three CCC championships, four NCAA Division III Baseball Championship tournament appearances (including the 2011 College World Series and 2012 New England Regional runner-up), and a 148-49 record (.751) from 2010 to 2013.

Gomez previously served as a coach for the East Longmeadow (Mass.) High School junior varsity baseball team in 2009.