Podcast: Bentley coach Bob DeFelice reflects before final season

Bentley coach Bob DeFelice retired after his 54th season as head coach in 2022. He died at 82 on Sunday. (Bentley Athletics)

The most recent guest on the New England Baseball Journal Podcast is the longest-tenured college baseball coach in the nation.

Legendary Bentley University baseball coach Bob DeFelice recently announced that this season — his 54th as head coach — will be his final spring at the helm of the Falcons.

He shared on the podcast how he never planned to coach baseball for his entire career.

“Ironically, I was looking for a full-time football job as an assistant; I was never really into being the head coach,” DeFelice said. “I always wanted to be a college coach and have some say about the game as an offensive coordinator. But that opportunity never came about. So, I stayed. When I came to Bentley full-time, it was like a firestorm. I became the assistant athletic director and then the athletic director.”

DeFelice, who doubled as Bentley’s director of Athletics from 1991-2020, has guided the baseball program since its inaugural season in 1969. He’s amassed 831 career wins, a total that ranks third in New England Division 2 history and 14^th nationally among active Division 2 head coaches.

DeFelice has coached over 500 student-athletes at Bentley, including his successor, Mike Hill, who will be only the second coach in Bentley history.

“He’s definitely the best player we’ve had here,” DeFelice said. “He had unbelievable ability, and his drive separated him. He played here for four years, and he played professionally for a while, came back and started working part-time. He’s been coaching here for over almost 20 years, part-time. It’s been a tremendous help. He’s got a great disposition. The kids have tremendous respect for his leadership. I try to tell everybody, it’s definitely going to be an upgrade for the program.”

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