Head Coach Ken Harring

A native of Manlius, NY, Ken Harring enters his fourth season as head coach of the UMass Lowell baseball program and has guided the River Hawks to three straight NCAA Tournament bids in his three years.

Last year, the River Hawks posted a record of 33-20, marking the second straight year and ninth time in school history UML has eclipsed the 30-victory plateau.

In 2006, the River Hawks (37-14) posted the second-highest win total in school history and captured their fifth Northeast-10 Conference Tournament championship in six years. UML also earned its second straight and eighth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last nine years.

In his first season at UML, Harring led the River Hawks to a 28-20 record (17-13 in the NE-10, tied for third place), up from a 22-21 clip (17-14 NE-10) in 2004. UML returned to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the region, where it defeated No. 1 Franklin Pierce (8-2) before losing to No. 2 Southern Connecticut (10-3) and the Ravens (16-11).

In Harring’s three seasons, the River Hawks have had eight players named to the ABCA/Rawlings All-Northeast Region teams and 25 players named to the NE-10 All-Conference teams.

Harring’s appointment to the UML post followed a stellar four-year period as head coach at Saint Anselm College and four years as an assistant at Northeastern University.

The 2004 NE-10 Coach of the Year, Harring guided Saint Anselm to its best season in school history with a 30-22 overall record (24-8 NE-10). He led the Hawks to the 2004 NE-10 regular season championship as well as its first NCAA Tournament bid in school history.

Harring’s teams at Saint Anselm significantly improved with each season, culminating with the record-breaking season in 2004. After struggling to a 9-35 finish in 2001, Harring guided the Hawks to a 17-32 clip in 2002, which included a 15-17 showing in the NE-10 (fourth place in the six-team Pepin Division).

The 2003 Saint Anselm squad posted a record of 23-20 – its first winning season in 23 years – and captured the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division II championship. Along the way, the Hawks finished third in the NE-10 Pepin Division and garnered their first appearance in the NE-10 Tournament.

Harring was a four-year player at Division I Le Moyne College where he helped the Dolphins to NCAA Tournament bids in 1986, 1987 and 1989. Inducted into Le Moyne’s Gold Wave Hall of Fame in 2003, Harring helped the Dolphins to a collective record of 54-18-1 in his junior and senior seasons (.740), Le Moyne’s first years as a Division I program.

Among Le Moyne’s Division I leaders, Harring ranks second in batting (.367), third in slugging percentage (.609) and 21st in hits (108). He led the Dolphins in runs, hits and doubles in his junior and senior years.

After graduating from Le Moyne with a degree in business administration, Harring spent two years in the Atlanta Braves organization with the Durham Bulls of the Carolina League where his manager was former Red Sox skipper Grady Little.

Harring accepted his first coaching position at Northeastern University, where he remained from 1996-99. During his stay, the Huskies posted a collective 105-88 record and captured the 1997 America East Conference Tournament. That year, NU advanced to the NCAA Tournament where it defeated Bethune-Cookman (19-3, 7-4) before falling to Stanford and Cal State-Fullerton in the West Regional.

Shortly after his appointment to Saint Anselm, Harring served as the manager of the Keene Swamp Bats, leading them to the 2000 New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) championship.

Harring and his wife, Shauna, live in Amesbury, MA, with their daughter Mikaela (6) and son Jacob (3).

Assistant Coach Ken Kessaris

A standout at Saint Anselm from 1998-02, Ken Kessaris enters his third year with the UMass Lowell baseball program and will be responsible for hitting and outfielders.

The greatest hitter in Saint Anselm history, Kessaris was an integral part of UML’s batting prowess in his first season, helping the River Hawks to a collective .294 batting average and .377 slugging rate, which ranked second and third, respectively, in the Northeast-10 Conference.

As a player, Kessaris came to prominence during the 2001 season when he captured the NE-10 triple crown with 21 home runs, 69 RBI and a .472 batting average, all school records. His home run total, in addition to a staggering .975 slugging percentage, were tops in NCAA Division II.

The holder of 20 single season and career records at the Hilltop, Kessaris was named a first team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). He also earned first team ABCA All-Northeast Region and All-NE-10 honors.

Kessaris moved on to play for the Concord Quarry Dogs of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) during the summer of 2001, where he was a starting first baseman. A business major with a minor in communications, he graduated from Saint Anselm in 2002.

During the summer of 2004, Kessaris enjoyed his first coaching stint as an assistant with the Wayne City Raptors of the New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL).

A 1998 graduate of Woburn H.S., Kessaris was a two-time All-Middlesex League standout. He currently lives in Woburn, MA.

Assistant Coach Mike Marron

A former standout at the College of the Holy Cross, Mike Marron enters his third season in the coaching ranks and will oversee UMass Lowell’s pitchers and catchers.

A four-year player and three-year starter with the Crusaders, Marron arrived to the Worcester campus as a pitcher but converted to catcher his sophomore year and immediately earned All-Patriot League second team honors. He also earned the Riopel Award as the team’s most valuable player and the Ray Dobens Award for most improved player honors that year.

The following summer, Marron joined the Mill City All-Americans of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) and batted .280 for the season, playing alongside former UML standout pitchers Brad Laurin and Steve Palazzolo.

Marron also enjoyed a solid season as a junior, batting a team-high .346 and fielding a perfect 1.000 percent. He was named captain as a senior and completed his degree in English with a concentration in Africana studies.

Prior to Holy Cross, Marron was a two-year all-league standout at Germantown Academy in Fort Washington, PA. Following graduation in 2000, he attended Mercersburg Academy for a postgraduate year where he helped lead the Blue Storm to the Pennsylvania private school state championship.

Marron spent the summers of 2004 and 2005 playing for the Lexington Blue Sox of the Intercity League, which he helped guide to league titles both seasons.

Marron capped his first year as the head coach of the Pittsfield Dukes of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) in the summer of 2007 and will return for the summer of 2008.

A native of Huntingdon Valley, PA, Marron is currently an English teacher at the Molloy Alternative School in Lowell. He lives in South Boston, MA.

Assistant Coach Jerod Edmondson

A native of Johnson City, NY, Jerod Edmondson joins the UMass Lowell coaching staff after a splendid four-year career: three years at Saint Anselm and his senior year with the River Hawks.

A first baseman, Edmondson will serve as UML’s hitting instructor after solidifying himself as one of the top hitters in the Northeast-10 Conference during his tenure.

In his four years, Edmondson had a career batting average of .329 and a slugging rate of .459 and was consistently among NE-10 leaders from his sophomore year throughout.

A rare four-time NE-10 all-star – a first team selection in 2006, second team in 2005 and 2007, and third team in 2004 – Edmondson ranked among Conference leaders in six categories as a senior, including triples (nine, first), runs scored (48, fourth), total hits (54, T-5th), RBI (42, sixth), slugging (.495, 10th), and batting (.336, 11th).

Edmondson also earned a spot on the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings Northeast Region First Team as a junior.

Despite playing for the River Hawks only a year, he etched his name in the record book with nine triples last year, a single season record. His runs, hits, triples and RBI totals last season were team highs.

Last season, he helped lift the River Hawks to their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and ninth showing in 10 years.

During his time at Saint Anselm, Edmondson played an integral part in leading the Hawks to the forefront of the NE-10 and Northeast Region. Saint Anselm posted a 23-20 record his sophomore year (up from a 17-32 clip the year prior) and a 30-22 record his junior year, which saw the Hawks capture the NE-10 regular season title and advance to the NCAA Tournament Northeast Regional for the first time in school history.

Following graduation, Edmondson signed with the Nashua Pride of the Can-Am League and was later traded to the Brockton Rox. In 50 games with both teams, he batted .351 with 44 hits while slugging .448.

The oldest of a baseball-rich family, Edmondson’s brother, Chris, is currently a sophomore at Le Moyne.

Edmondson graduated from Saint Anselm with a degree in history. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree in criminal justice.

Edmondson lives in Lowell, MA.