Mike Chambers
Mike Chambers

Bio

Six Seasons (155-90-1 through 2022)

After six seasons as an assistant coach, Mike Chambers enters his seventh season as Head Coach of the Franklin Pierce University baseball program in 2023 (hiring release). The fifth head coach in the Division II era of the program, through six seasons as the head coach in Rindge, Chambers has posted a 155-90-1 record (.632 winning percentage) over 246 games.

Chambers makes his first head coaching stop on the collegiate coaching circuit with the Ravens after laying claim to two NCAA Regional titles (2003, 2006) as a player and two more as an assistant coach (2013, 2016) under former Head Coach Jayson King. Chambers also has two years of amateur coaching experience, mostly with the Northeast Hurricanes' U14 and U15 AAU squads. He led the U14 team to a division title and a silver medal at the NEAAU Championship.

The 2022 team saw the Ravens return to the 30-win club after a three-year hiatus, although the previous two campaigns had been shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Franklin Pierce finished at 31-17 and made a run all the way to a decisive final game of the NCAA East Regional before falling to host Molloy. Ian Battipaglia, Randy Flores and Kyle Roche were all consensus All-East Region picks.

The 2021 season saw a truncated non-conference slate, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Ravens went 22-11, advanced to the Northeast Division championship series in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship and hosted the NCAA East Regional. Dylan Jones capped his career with All-America Second Team accolades from the NCBWA, while four different Ravens picked up All-East Region awards. Jones was a consensus All-East First Team pick, while Ian Battipaglia was a consensus Second Team selection.

The 2020 team opened the season at 7-8, all in non-conference play, before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of the remainder of the season.

The 2019 Ravens sputtered to a 12-9 record in the Northeast Division, were the last team to qualify for the Northeast-10 Championship, and then got hot at the right time. Franklin Pierce charged to its league-record sixth NE10 title, which it finished off with a doubleheader sweep of Merrimack, 8-5 and 3-0, at the Onandaga Baseball Complex in Syracuse, N.Y., to earn a berth in the NCAA East Regional. Right-hander Zach Hart would be drafted in the 10th round (310 overall) by the Cleveland Indians, the highest draft pick for the program in more than a decade.

After the 2017 squad narrowly missed out, Franklin Pierce returned to the NCAA Championship with an East Regional berth in 2018. It was a second straight season of 33 wins for the Ravens, who went 33-15-1. John Friday was a consensus All-East Region Second Team selection at the end of the season.

In his first season as the head coach of the Ravens, he guided the team to a 33-15 record, which included a 20-7 mark in Northeast-10 Conference play and a 16-5 record within the Northeast Division. It was good enough for a second place finish in the division, which the Ravens parlayed into a run to the final round of the NE10 Championship. John Amendola, Cody McPartland and Stephen Octave all earned All-East Region honors at the conclusion of the season.

Chambers, who played in Rindge from 2003 through 2006, put together one of the most prolific offensive careers in school history. Six years after gruduating, he is still the program's all-time leader in doubles (70). Chambers also ranks among the top 10 players in school history in hits (238), runs scored (152), home runs (23) and runs batted in (139).

His 2006 senior season set a program record that still stands, with 26 doubles. Chambers also scored 61 runs in his senior campaign, which currently ranks third in school history.

After the conclusion of his collegiate career, Chambers was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the 32nd round (973 overall) of the 2006 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. At the time, he was the 10th draft pick in program history and a part of a school-best five-pick draft. Chambers played two years of affiliated ball (Baseball-Reference), peaking with the Greenville Drive, the Class A South Atlantic League affiliate of the Red Sox, in 2007. Over 306 professional plate appearances, he hit .214/.299/.282.

Career Record

Franklin Pierce: 155-90-1 (.632) overall, 89-38 (.701) Northeast-10, 76-33 (.697) Northeast Division
2022: 31-17, 16-8 NE10, 16-8 NE Div.^%
2021: 22-11, 16-6 NE10, 16-6 NE Div.^%
2020: 7-8*
2019: 29-24, 16-11 NE10, 12-9 NE Div.^^^%
2018: 33-15-1, 21-6 NE10, 16-5 NE Div. ^%
2017: 33-15, 20-7 NE10, 16-5 NE Div.^^
% NCAA East Regional participant
^^^  Northeast-10 champion
^^ Northeast-10 runner-up
^ Northeast-10 Championship participant
* Season shortened due to COVID-19 pandemic