Podcast: UMass Lowell coach Nick Barese on culture shift

Nick Barese (UMass Lowell Athletics)

The latest guest on The Base Path Podcast is first-year UMass Lowell head coach Nick Barese, who was promoted to the top spot after Ken Harring’s resignation in July.

Barese, the former head coach at Merrimack, spent the past two seasons as an assistant to Harring, whose exit came after the school authorized an independent investigation that cleared him from claims of racial discrimination toward a player.

“I think to say it’s a fractured team would just not be accurate,” Barese said. “I think the guys are definitely together, and we’re all trying to move in the same direction. So, from that standpoint, there wasn’t really anything difficult for me stepping in.”

Barese addressed the team for the first time in August, stating his intention to build on the foundation that has been established since UMass Lowell’s move to Division 1 over the last 10 years.

“It was, Guys, this is what we’re trying to do. This is what we’re trying to accomplish. Let’s move forward,'” Barese said. “And everybody completely bought in on that. There definitely wasn’t a fracture or anything like that. Part of it that made it even more seamless was being able to keep two of the other coaches that were on staff, Joe Consolmagno and Drew Guldin. They were with us last year, and I’m keeping them around.”

Barese brings knowledge of and experience in the region to his new role.

He was fired from his former post at Merrimack College in 2021 after a fruitful seven-year run as head coach. His teams posted a combined record of 153-130 during his tenure while making a relatively smooth transition from Division 2 to Division 1.

While Barese always envisioned returning to the head coaching ranks, he did not have any indication that Harring planned to resign after being cleared by the school’s investigation.

“I think things were pretty close to the vest with everybody,” Barese said. “It was a situation for me where I knew, for the best interest of myself and my job, I needed to not even really concern myself with it. And, whatever Coach Harring decided to do for the best interest of him and his family, that’s completely his choice.

“I understand it. From the program standpoint, I was just trying to make sure that we were in a good position to hit the ground running and compete for a conference championship. So I never really got to invested in it because I wasn’t really involved in any of it.”

Listen to the entire podcast with Nick Barese.

The New England Baseball Journal podcast is brought to you by the University of Nebraska High School.

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