CHAMPIONSHIPS (21): 1994 (NAIA District 5), 1996 (NAIA District 5/MAC), 1997 (NAIA District 5), 1999 (MAC), 2000 (NAIA District 5/MAC), 2001 (MAC), 2002 (NAIA District 5/MAC/NAIA Northeast), 2005 (NAC), 2006 (NAC), 2007 (NAC), 2008 (GNAC), 2010 (GNAC), 2011 (GNAC), 2012 (GNAC), 2013 (GNAC), 2014 (GNAC), 2019 (GNAC)

COACH OF THE YEAR (6): 2000 (New England COY), 2001 (MAC), 2005 (NAC), 2009 (GNAC), 2015 (GNAC), 2022 (GNAC)

CAREER RECORD: 817-443-5 (.646)

ALL-ACADEMIC HONOREES (SINCE '07): 204

ALL-CONFERENCE HONOREES (SINCE '07): 136

ALL-REGION HONOREES (SINCE '07): 101

ALL-AMERICANS (SINCE '07): 7

Click here to read Coach Sanborn's "Chalk Talk" feature

Head Coach Will Sanborn '86, who registered his 31st season at the helm for the Monks in 2023, has built one of the most consistently successful NCAA DIII programs in the country. As a testament to his growing legacy, Sanborn was inducted into the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013 and Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. He is also a member of the Selection Committee for the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame.

With a 5-2 win over the University of Mount Union on Thursday, March 9th in Auburndale, Florida, Sanborn registered the 800th victory of his college career. He is the 27th head coach in NCAA DIII Baseball history to hit 800-victory mark and one of only 11 active D3 skippers in the 800-win club.

As of March 15th, Sanborn sports a career record of 817-443-6 (.646) across 31 seasons – all at Saint Joseph's – and is just the 27th head coach in NCAA DIII Baseball history to hit 800-victory mark. Currently, there are only 11 active D3 skippers in the 800-win club.

Far and away the winningest coach in SJC Athletics history, Sanborn is one of just four New England region managers in the 800-victory club, along with longtime Eastern Connecticut skipper Bill Holowaty (1412), USM leader Ed Flaherty (1116), and Amherst College legend Bill Thurston (811).

During his 31 years as the Monks' head coach, Sanborn’s teams have won 21 championships, including 16 conference crowns and five NAIA New England titles, with 26 winning seasons. Saint Joseph's has reached the 25-victory plateau 21 times and posted 30 or more wins on 14 occasions.

 

Recently:

As the top seed in the 2022 GNAC Tournament, the Monks faced #5 Elms College in a quarterfinal contest on Thursday, May 5th and suffered a 4-0 setback at the hands of the upstart Blazers. Facing an uphill battle coming out of the losers' bracket, Saint Joseph's eliminated #2 Anna Maria College and Elms from the tourney with 4-0 and 12-1 victories, respectively, and forced a winner-take-all game by topping #3 Johnson & Wales University, 6-2, in a must-win game on Championship Sunday. Unfortunately, the Monks ran out of steam and fell to JWU in the title bout.

After the season ended, nine Monks garnered All-Conference accolades as junior catcher Jonathan Dube (Rochester, N.H.), graduate student infielder Drew Healey (Rochester, N.H.), grad student outfielder Ben Gravel (Rochester, N.H.), and freshman pitcher Jason Johnson (Thomaston, Conn.) claimed First Team honors while senior infielder Ronan Chisholm (North Chatham, Mass.) and senior pitcher Matthew Bergeron (Salem, N.H.) collected Second Team awards. Junior infielder Zach Miles (Concord, N.H.), freshman utility player Michael Wearne (Ellington, Conn.) and junior pitcher Samuel Jalbert (Mascouche, Que.) were listed on the Third Team and rounded out the Monks' 2022 selections.

Sanborn headlined the Monks' postseason awards as the 2022 GNAC Baseball Coach of the Year. Sanborn claimed the sixth Coach of the Year accolade – and third GNAC top skipper honor – after leading the Monks to a nearly flawless conference record, the GNAC's top seed, and the right to host the conference tournament.

Past Seasons:

In 2019, Saint Joseph's posted a 33-12 overall record – including a 13-3 mark in GNAC play – en route to earning the #2 seed in the conference tournament. The Monks advanced to the GNAC Championship game with wins over Johnson & Wales and Suffolk and – after the Wildcats forced an if-necessary contest – received a walk-off RBI double off the bat of senior catcher Greg Emanuelson (Hudson, N.H.) in the bottom of the 11th to claim their first conference title since 2014.

With the GNAC Championship in tow, Saint Joseph's earned an automatic berth into the NCAA DIII Tournament for the ninth time since 2006. The Monks opened with a loss to Wheaton College, stayed alive with a lopsided victory over Baruch College, and saw their season come to a close with a 7-3 loss at the hands of the Lyons.

Senior shortstop Joey Murphy (Derry, N.H.) - the 2019 GNAC Player of the Year - was named as a D3Baseball.com Fourth Team All-American and earned a trio of First Team All-New England accolades while Jared Gagne (Dover, N.H.) and Greg Emanuelson (Hudson, N.H.) received Third Team All-Region honors from D3Baseball.com, NEIBA, and ABCA/Rawlings. Gagne became the second SJC baseball player to earn Google Cloud Academic All-America® honors and was listed on the Second Team, as announced in early June.

Saint Joseph's went 29-13 overall with a 10-4 mark en route to earning the #2 seed in the GNAC Tournament in 2018. The Monks, selected as a predetermined host for the 2018 tourney, opened postseason play with a 9-5 loss to #3 Johnson & Wales University on May 3rd and fought their way into the GNAC Championship with elimination-game triumphs over Lasell College and Johnson & Wales before falling to top-seeded Suffolk University, 6-5, in the title game on May 6th.

With a 4-3 victory over Rivier University on April 12th, 2018 Sanborn became the 37th NCAA DIII Baseball coach to record 700 career victories. Only five other New England Region skippers have hit the plateau and was one of just three active head coaches in the region to have reached the 700-victory mark. 

Following the season, senior Josh Partridge (Deerfield, N.H.) was selected as the 2018 GNAC Pitcher of the Year and earned First Team All-Conference, D3baseball.com Second Team, ABCA/Rawlings Third Team, and NEIBA Third Team All-New England accolades. He was also selected to play in the NEIBA Senior All-Star Game. Juniors Joey Murphy (Derry, N.H.) and Jared Gagne (Dover, N.H.) joined Partridge on the All-GNAC First Team while senior Jacob White (Salem, N.H.), sophomore Will Martin (Arlington, Mass.) claimed Second Team Accolades and junior Noah McDaniel (Eliot, Maine), senior Chris Gerossie (Chester, N.H.), and junior Anthony DiPrizio (Rochester, N.H.) were listed on the Third Team.

In 2017, Saint Joseph's posted a 31-8 overall record with a 13-1 mark in GNAC play en route to earning the top seed in the conference tournament. The Monks, regionally and nationally ranked virtually all season, suffered a 6-3 quarterfinal loss at the hands of #4 Johnson & Wales University on May 4th and saw their season come to an abrupt end with an elimination game loss at the hands of #3 Lasell College two days later. Featuring one of the top offenses in the country, the Monks were ranked nationally essentially all spring and peaked with the #16 slot in the D3Baseball.com/NCBWA Poll on May 3rd. St. Joe's closed out the 2017 campaign as the NCAA DIII leader in on-base percentage (.440) and ranked second nationally in batting average (.350), third in scoring (9.3 runs per game), and eighth in both winning percentage (.795) and slugging (.506). Following the season, nine Monks garnered All-GNAC accolades, including senior third baseman Taylor Black (Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.), who earned GNAC Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference honors. Black went on to claim ABCA/Rawlings, NEIBA, and D3Baseball.com All-New England accolades and became the first Saint Joseph's athlete to garner First Team Academic All-America® honors.

In 2016, Saint Joseph’s posted a 26-15 record with a 12-2 mark in GNAC play en route to securing the top seed in the conference tournament for the second-consecutive season. In a quarterfinal matchup on May 5th, the Monks defeated #4 Johnson & Wales University, 8-1, to advance to the final winners' bracket game, where the Royal Blue suffered a 10-0 setback at the hands of #2 Suffolk University, falling into the losers' bracket in the process. St. Joe's escaped elimination with a 2-0 win over #3 Lasell College and remained in contention for the title, and forced an if-necessary game, with an 8-7 triumph over the Rams on championship Sunday. Unfortunately, the Monks fell short, 5-4 in 10 innings, in the finale. Following the season, eight SJC players garnered All-Conference honors with senior Taylor Reuillard and junior Taylor Black being listed on the First Team. Seniors Nic Lops and Corey McNamara went on to earn All-New England honors.

Saint Joseph’s posted a 26-17 record during the 2015 campaign. The top seed in the 2015 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament, the Monks opened postseason play with a 7-0 defeat over Lasell College on April 23rd, but fell out of contention with losses to Suffolk University (the eventual conference champion) and Johnson & Wales University on April 25th. The loss to JWU snapped a five-year GNAC title streak and left the Monks outside of the NCAA DIII New England Regional Tournament for the first time since 2009 and just the second time since 2006. In the end, seven of the Monks' losses were by two or fewer runs and Saint Joseph's, featuring one of the best non-conference schedules in the nation, faced three of the eight 2015 NCAA DIII World Series teams (Emory, Ramapo and Frostburg State) early in the season. Despite the unfortunate ending, Saint Joseph’s was well-represented on the All-Conference docket, with 12 individuals collecting postseason acclaim, including GNAC Player of the Year Joe Coyne ’15 and GNAC Pitcher of the Year Alex Valenti ’15. Coach Sanborn was also honored with his second GNAC Coach of the Year award.

Saint Joseph’s recorded another outstanding season under Sanborn’s watch in 2014, reaching the 30-win plateau for the sixth straight year while clinching the programs’ fifth-consecutive GNAC Championship. As the #2 seed in the conference tournament, the Monks defeated #3 Lasell College, 9-2, in a quarterfinal contest and, several days later, earned a place in the GNAC Championship for the seventh time in as many seasons with a 9-2 victory over top-seeded Suffolk University in the semifinal round. Saint Joseph’s topped the Rams again, this time by a 2-0 margin, in the championship game to claim the GNAC crown and earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Seeded sixth in the NCAA DIII New England Regional for the second-consecutive season, Saint Joseph’s opened national tournament play facing #3 Tufts University and fell victim to a dominant pitching performance in a 3-1 setback. The Monks fought back with losers’ bracket wins over Worcester State University and Mitchell College before bowing out of contention with a 4-3 setback at the hands of #5 MIT.

Late in the 2014 season, Sanborn became the 44th coach in the history of NCAA DIII Baseball to reach the 600-victory plateau. The win - an 8-7 triumph over Bates College on May 7th - made Sanborn just the eighth New England coach to reach the lofty total.

The Monks opened the 2013 season with high expectations, as the Royal Blue gained national attention with #14 rankings in a pair of NCAA DIII preseason polls. With a hot start, including a triumph over top-ranked Wheaton College, in the first week of play, Saint Joseph’s moved up to #9 in the D3Baseball.com national poll. As the #2 seed in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament, the Monks defeated #3 Suffolk University and top-seeded Johnson & Wales University to advance to the tourney championship for the sixth time in as many years as a conference member. After falling to Suffolk, 7-2, in the first game on Championship Sunday, the Monks answered with a thrilling 7-6 victory in a “winner takes all” contest immediately following to claim their fifth GNAC Championship and eighth conference crown overall since 2005. Seeded #6 in the NCAA DIII New England Regional, Saint Joseph’s faced #3 Endicott College and suffered a 4-3 setback at the hands of the Gulls, who later advanced all the way to the regional championship, in the opening round. The Monks remained alive with a 7-5 losers’ bracket win over #7 Salem State University the following day, but saw their World Series hopes dashed with a 5-3 loss to #4 Western New England University on May 17th.

The Saint Joseph's College baseball team recorded one of the most successful seasons in SJC Athletics history in 2012. Under the watch of 20th-year Head Coach Will Sanborn '86, the Monks went 39-7 overall and 14-2 in GNAC play en route to claiming the program's seventh conference crown in the last eight years and an NCAA Tournament berth for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. Along the way, Coach Sanborn (542-295-5, .648) became the winningest coach in Saint Joseph's history and the 2012 team broke the school record for single-season victories. Also, the Monks' .848 winning percentage was the second-highest in all of NCAA Baseball – all levels – in 2012. Junior pitcher Chad Rafferty headlined the Monks’ numerous postseason accolades, as the righthander garnered D3Baseball.com All-America, ABCA/Rawlings All-America, D3Baseball.com New England Pitcher of the Year, NCBWA New England Pitcher of the Year, NEIBA First Team All-New England, GNAC Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-GNAC accolades after going 10-0 with a 1.71 ERA and 74 K’s in 68.1 innings. The Monks were ranked regionally and nationally virtually all season, including a #1 ranking in the New England Region in early April. Nationally, the Royal Blue sat as high as 11th in early-May and finished the season as the #14 team in the country, according to the ABCA/Collegiate Baseball and D3Baseball.com/NCBWA national polls. As the #1 seed in the GNAC Tournament, Saint Joseph's topped #4 Suffolk University, 7-5, in a quarterfinal contest and bested #3 Anna Maria College, 6-3, to remain in the winners' bracket and advance to the tourney championship for the fifth-consecutive season. Trailing 6-2 with one out in the bottom of the ninth versus Suffolk in the title contest, the Monks managed to score five runs to capture the GNAC crown and automatic NCAA Tournament berth. Saint Joseph's, the #2 seed in the NCAA DIII New England Regional Tournament, produced a lengthy run while facing the top programs in the eight-team regional playoff for the third straight year, but fell short of the ultimate goal of claiming the program's first NCAA Regional Championship. While at the New England tourney, the Monks defeated #7 Bowdoin College, fell to #3 Trinity College, topped #4 Keene State College, and bowed out of contention with a loss at the hands of #5 Western New England University. A four-time Coach of the Year honoree, Sanborn became the winningest Saint Joseph's College head coach with a 5-0 win over UMass.-Boston at Larry Mahaney Diamond on March 30th, 2012. The shutout triumph lifted Sanborn's career victory total to 515 and pushed him past Head Coach Rick Simonds, who amassed 514 total wins in 23 years as the men's basketball coach and single seasons as the baseball and softball skipper at Saint Joseph's.

The 2011 season was another to remember for the Monks Baseball program, as the team went 32-15 overall with a 12-2 record in conference play and advanced to the NCAA DIII Tournament for the fifth time after collecting the program’s third GNAC Championship crown in four years. St. Joe’s defeated #3 Wheaton College and #1 Tufts University in the New England Tournament and earned votes in the final 2011 D3baseball.com/NCBWA Poll.

The spring of 2011 was filled with milestones and personal accolades. Coach Sanborn collected his 500th victory when the Royal Blue notched a GNAC Championship win over Suffolk University on May 1st and senior outfielder Todd Keneborus becoming the fifth player in program history to reach the 200-hit plateau with a single against Gordon College on April 25th. Keneborus garnered GNAC Player of the Year honors for the second consecutive season – making 2011 the seventh straight year in which Saint Joseph’s had a player earn the honor.

Just moments after the Monks suffered a season-ending loss in the New England Regional, the team learned that former standout Charlie Furbush had been called up to the Major Leagues by the Detroit Tigers. Furbush, a left-handed pitcher who played at St. Joe’s in 2005 and 2006, is not only the first former Saint Joseph’s College athlete to make it to the big leagues, but also the first to play in any of the four major professional sports leagues.

The 2010 campaign will go down as one of the most memorable seasons in St. Joe’s Baseball history. The Monks posted a 35-13 record, including an 11-3 mark in GNAC play, and captured the program’s second Great Northeast Athletic Conference title in three years as a league member.  The Royal Blue defeated top-seeded Suffolk University in the GNAC Championship and went on to record the program’s fourth NCAA DIII Tournament berth in the last five seasons. While at the New England Regional, hosted by Eastern Connecticut State University, the Monks posted three losers’ bracket victories with triumphs over #5 Worcester State, #3 Western New England and #2 Wheaton. The Monks’ historic run ended with an 11-inning loss to #1 Tufts University on “Championship Saturday.”

Several individuals registered stellar personal efforts and were rewarded with regional and national recognition. Junior outfielder Todd Keneborus hit .464 (77-166) with 52 runs, 65 RBI and a .783 slugging percentage and became the sixth consecutive SJC player to garner Conference Player of the Year honors. He also collected D3baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings All-America as well as First Team All-New England accolades that spring. Also, Coach Sanborn became the winningest single-sport coach in Saint Joseph’s Athletics history with the Monks’ title win over Suffolk on May 2nd.

The 2009 season should be remembered as a very successful one, save for the premature ending, as the Monks went 31-13 overall and posted a 13-1 record in conference play en route to capturing the #1 seed in the GNAC Tournament. Despite herculean comebacks in several of the playoff contests, St. Joe's lost to Suffolk University in the GNAC title game. Two-way player Pat Moran '10 became the fifth-straight SJC player to earn conference player of the year honors and added GNAC Pitcher of the Year, All-ECAC, D3Baseball.com All-America and All-New England awards to his trophy case with a fine season as a pitcher and slugger for the Monks.

In 2009, the SJC offense proved to be one of the best in program history. Last year's squad set new team records for runs scored (431), runs per game (9.8), hits (523), doubles (116) and runs batted in (401). As a team, the Monks ranked 10th in the country in doubles, 14th in batting average (.353), 15th in runs per game, 16th in runs scored, 18th in triples (21) and 19th in slugging percentage (.531). The pitching staff ranked 7th in the country with 2.61 walks allowed per nine innings.

2008 was the team's first year in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference and the Monks set the tone by winning the GNAC Championship and once again advancing to the NCAA New England Regional - finishing with a 28-18 record. St. Joe's upset top-seeded Suffolk University - twice - in the GNAC Tournament and Enman was recognized with the GNAC Player of the Year honor, meaning the Monks had one of their best earn the same accolade for four straight seasons. Sanborn captured his 400th career victory with a 7-1 conference quarterfinal victory over Suffolk on April 24th.

The Monks reached the 30-win plateau for the third-consecutive season with a 30-12 overall record in 2007. Saint Joseph's went 9-3 in NAC play and won the team's third conference championship in as many years as a league member. As a result of the NAC crown, St. Joe's, which was awarded an automatic berth, made the team's second-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Regional. Shortstop Luke Enman '08 was named as the NAC Player of the Year, becoming the Monks' third individual in three years to earn the accolade, and also captured D3Baseball.com and All-ECAC honors.

The 2006 campaign proved to be one of the finest in program history, as the Monks racked up a 34-10 record, went 11-1 in NAC play, captured the NAC Championship and earned the #2 seed in the NCAA DIII New England Baseball Tournament in Harwich, Massachusetts. The win total tied the 1986 team's mark for the second-highest in team-history and St. Joe's defeated Bowdoin College, 9-7, in the Monks' opening game of the New England Regional to notch the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory. Once again, Furbush collected NAC Player of the Year honors, as well as D3Baseball.com All-America and NCBWA New England Pitcher of the Year awards. 

In 2005, Saint Joseph's College Baseball began a new era as an associate member of the North Atlantic Conference and Sanborn guided the Monks to a 32-10 record, including a 14-1 mark in NAC play en route to the team's first conference title since the 2002 campaign. Saint Joseph's was rewarded with the program's first-ever ECAC DIII Championship tournament appearance following the NAC Tournament title and two of Sanborn's best players - catcher Derek McIntosh and pitcher/DH Charlie Furbush -earned Co-NAC Player of the Year accolades.

Prior to these most recent NCAA accomplishments - Saint Joseph's College baseball set the standard for NAIA New England baseball under Sanborn's direction. In 2002, Saint Joseph's completed its NAIA New England dominance by once again winning the NAIA New England Championship. The Monks then moved on to capture the NAIA Region X Championship in Orangeburg, New York. Sanborn led Saint Joseph's to New England championships on five different occasions (1994, 1996, 1997, 2000 & 2002) and has three Maine Athletic Conference titles under his belt (1999, 2000 & 2001).

"It's a tribute to the continued commitment that Saint Joseph's has made to our baseball program. The College has given us the tools to build a winning program. The foundation of our program has been the fine young men we have been able to attract to our campus," says Sanborn of his success with the Monks. "We have had outstanding groups of student-athletes, assistant coaches and support staff who have all contributed to our success, so I don't think of this as a personal accomplishment as much as it is a Saint Joseph's accomplishment."

Prior to securing the head coaching position, Sanborn worked as an assistant coach under Head Coach Phil Desjardins for two seasons (1991-92) and helped lead the Monks to NAIA New England Championships both years.

During his playing days Sanborn, a three-year starting outfielder for the Monks, appeared in 110 contests and hit .279 (80-287) with 98 runs, 14 doubles, 45 RBI and 25 stolen bases during his collegiate career. In 1986, his senior season, Sanborn played an integral role in leading Saint Joseph's highest win total in SJC Athletics history (34), at the time, and the program’s first-ever New England championship. A heady player with a patient eye at the plate, he still owns the program’s career (104) and single-season (51) walks records and ranked as the Monks’ single-season record holder in runs (53, 1985) until the mark was broken in 1999.

Before taking over at Saint Joseph's, Sanborn coached at many levels. He has held coaching positions with Bonny Eagle High School, Bar Mills American Legion and the Portland Twilight League. He is also Director of the Saint Joseph's College Baseball Camp and facilitates several baseball camps during the academic year as well.

 Personal:

Will is a 1986 graduate of Saint Joseph’s College, where he majored in History, graduated Cum Laude and received the prestigious Clio Merit Award, an honor presented for excellence in history, and the Secondary Education Award. He also serves as the Associate Director of Athletics at Saint Joseph's College and resides in Standish with his wife, Lynn Brown.

 

	OVERALL				CONFERENCE
YEAR	W	L	T	W%	W	L	W%	Achievements
1993	11	21		.344
1994	21	17		.553				NAIA New England Champions
1995	24	17	1	.585
1996	22	17	1	.564				NAIA New England Champions
1997	27	13		.675				NAIA New England Champions
1998	18	17	2	.514
1999	31	14		.689				MAC Champions
2000	29	14		.674	13	3	.813	NAIA New England Champions
2001	38	6		.864	14	2	.875	MAC Champions
2002	28	18		.609	12	4	.750	NAIA New England Champions^
2003	17	20		.459
2004	15	23		.395
2005	32	10		.762	11	1	.917	NAC Champions
2006	34	10	1	.773	11	1	.917	NAC Champions*
2007	30	12		.714	11	3	.786	NAC Champions*
2008	28	18		.609	8	6	.571	GNAC Champions*
2009	31	13		.705	13	1	.929	GNAC Regular Season Champions
2010	35	13		.729	11	3	.786	GNAC Champions*
2011	32	15		.681	12	2	.857	GNAC Champions*
2012	39	7		.848	14	2	.875	GNAC Champions*
2013	31	14		.689	13	3	.812	GNAC Champions*
2014	30	15		.667	11	3	.786	GNAC Champions*
2015	26	17		.605	12	2	.857	GNAC Regular Season Champions
2016	26	15		.634	12	2	.857	GNAC Regular Season Champions
2017	31	8		.795	13	1	.921	GNAC Regular Season Champions
2018	29	13		.690	10	4	.714
2019	33	12		.733	13	3	.833	GNAC Champions*
2020	4	7		.364	0	0	-
2021	16	11		.593	6	2	.750
2022	31	14		.689	17	1	.944	GNAC Regular Season Champions
2023	18	22		.450	9	9	.500
TOTAL	817	443	5	.646	246	58	.809

 

^ NAIA Super Regional Appearance * NCAA DIII Tournament Appearance