After eight seasons at the helm of William & Mary, Brian Murphy is returning to his deep New England roots -- and his alma mater -- to serve as Merrimack College’s new head baseball coach.
Murphy will fill an opening that was vacated following last month’s abrupt firing of Nick Barese (Braintree, Mass.). Barese had been the team’s boss for the previous seven seasons and guided the program through its transition to the Division 1 level from the Northeast-10, the powerful Division 2 conference in which Murphy played during his time as a Warrior.
A 2003 Merrimack graduate and team captain, Murphy (Easton, Mass.) is set to take over at his alma mater prior to its third season as a Northeast Conference (NEC) member and following his nine-year run at William & Mary that included one as an assistant. Teams throughout Murphy’s coaching career have made NCAA tournament appearances in all three divisions.
Murphy spent the last eight seasons as the Tribe’s head man after initially joining the staff as an assistant -- under fellow Massachusetts native Jamie Pinzino, who is now the pitching coach at East Tennessee State -- in 2013. During that season, W&M earned its first-ever NCAA tournament at-large berth.
