Crimson Baseball Academy at Harvard

BILL DECKER

Head Coach

Bill Decker was introduced as the Joseph J. O'Donnell '67 Head Coach for Harvard Baseball on September 26, 2012. He will begin his tenth season at the helm of the Crimson during the 2021-22 academic year.

In 2024, Harvard totaled seven Ivy League awards, including Ivy League Pitcher of the Year honors for Callan Fang and unanimous First Team All-Ivy accolades for Ben Rounds who hit .403, becoming the first member of the Crimson to hit above .400 since 2004. Over the course of the season, Harvard earned at least one win over all seven other Ivy programs. Following the season’s conclusion, Decker captured the NEIBA’s Jack Butterfield Award presented for integrity and dedication to the game of baseball.

Following the 2024 season, the Crimson tallied a pair of MLB Draft selections for the second straight season as right-hander Sean Matson went to the Cleveland Guardians in the ninth round with the 265th overall pick and right-hander Tanner Smith went to the San Diego Padres in the 15th round with the 450th overall selection.

Decker guided the Crimson to a berth in the inaugural Ivy League Tournament in 2023, securing the No. 2 seed behind a 15-6 Ivy League record, marking Harvard’s most Ivy League wins since 2005. The Crimson captured six of its seven Ivy League series during the regular season. Decker coached Callan Fang to earn Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors as the Crimson tallied five All-Ivy honorees and five Academic All-District selections.

Following the conclusion of the 2023 season, the Crimson boasted a pair of draft picks in the 2023 MLB Draft. On the second day of the draft, the Los Angeles Angels took right-handed pitcher Chris Clark in the fifth round with the 147th overall pick while the Cleveland Guardians snagged right-handed pitcher Jay Driver in the ninth round with the 278th overall pick.

In 2022, the Crimson returned to competition following a pause due to COVID-19, winning 19 games, including 10 Ivy wins, and finishing in fourth place in the Ivy League standings. Harvard recorded a pair of wins over Power Five opponents during its non-conference season, topping Miami – 11-6 in the season opener – and UCLA – in a 5-0 shutout victory. The Crimson pitching staff ranked 29th in the NCAA in strikeouts per game (9.8) while Harvard’s batters ranked 51st in the nation in doubles per game (2.1). Harvard totaled five All-Ivy selections and three CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees.

Decker guided the Crimson to an outstanding season in 2019, winning 27 games, capturing the Ivy League title, and making an appearance in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005. Decker earned Ivy League Coach of the Year honors after 14 wins in the league, the most since 2006. Seven members of the team earned All-Ivy awards, including Jake Suddelson, who took home Ivy League Player of the Year accolades. Two MLB Draft selections capped off a strong season for the Crimson. Patrick McColl was picked in the 10th round by the Oakland Athletics, and Hunter Bigge was selected in the 12th round by the Chicago Cubs.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, The Ivy League and Harvard canceled the 2021 baseball season.

In 2020, the Crimson played six contests before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of the remaining season.

Decker continued his upward trend in 2019, winning 27 games, the Ivy League and making an appearance in the NCAA Regional for the first time since 2005. Decker earned Ivy League coach of the year honors after 14 wins in the league, the most since 2006. Seven members of the team were named in the Ivy League honor roll, including Jake Suddelson, who took home the league's player of the year award. Two MLB Draft selections capped off a strong season for the Crimson. Patrick McColl was picked in the 10th round by the Oakland Athletics and Hunter Bigge was selected in the 12th round by the Chicago Cubs.

The 2018 season was one of the most successful seasons yet, with a 22-20 (.524) overall record and 12-9 (.571) conference record. The season contained the most wins for the Harvard baseball program since 2005 and the most Ivy League wins since 2007, with its best conference finish since 2010. Decker coached to a career-best 22 wins with the Crimson, reuniting with a series sweep after nine years in a three-game win over Princeton.

Harvard won its first Beanpot Championship title since 2014 and fifth in program history, going 3-0 against Massachusetts and recording its first win over Northeastern since 2010. In addition, the Crimson closed out their season with a series win over Dartmouth for the first time in 13 years.

Seven members of Decker’s team were awarded All-Ivy recognition in nine separate awards, more than any other team in the conference. The three All-Ivy first team honorees included Ben Skinner, Patrick Robinson and Noah Zavolas (by unanimous selection). Hunter Bigge, Simon Rosenblum-Larson, Matt Rothenberg and Jake Suddleson were all named All-Ivy Second Team.

Zavolas was also named Ivy League Pitcher of the Year after tossing a no-hitter against Yale, the first in 17 years. Zavolas and Rosenblum-Larson were both drafted in the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft as picks for the Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays, respectively.

Twenty-one players earned ECAC Academic Honors for the season, with the program receiving the NCAA Academic Progress Rate Public Recognition Award for the 13th year. Rothenberg and Devan Peterson were also picks for CoSIDA Academic All-District, making Harvard the only team in District I to have two honorees.

Decker led the 2016 Harvard squad to a 17-24 overall record, including a 9-11 mark in Ivy League play, with an impressive win over Wake Forest. Under his leadership, Nick Gruener, John Fallon, Matt Rothenberg, and Josh Ellis earned All-Ivy League recognition, as the program continued its upwards trend.

Harvard continued its improvement under Decker in 2015, tallying an 18-24 record in the program's most successful season since 2007. Harvard finished second in the Ivy League Red Rolfe division, and tallied seven wins in conference play. Ethan Ferreira was named to the All-Ivy first team, and Mike Martin and Jake McGuiggan were selected to the second team.

Decker's Crimson also saw improvement in 2014, earning an 11-28 record, including a Baseball Beanpot Championship, Harvard's first since 2005. Three Crimson, Mike Martin, Kyle Larrow and Carlton Bailey, earned All-Ivy League honors under his guidance last season as well.

After taking over in September of 2012, Decker led the Crimson to a 10-31 record in 2013, including a third-place finish in the Ivy League's Red Rolfe Division. The Crimson had three All-Ivy choices in Tanner Anderson, Mike Martin and Brandon Kregel.

Decker, the 2008 ABCA National Coach of the Year, spent 22 season as head coach of the Trinity College (Conn.) baseball team before coming to Harvard. Trinity’s all-time winningest coach, he owned a 529-231 (.696) record while winning five conference championships and advancing to nine NCAA Tournament appearances and winning one national title.

In 2008, Decker led Trinity to a 45-1 mark en route to the school's first-ever NCAA Division III National championship. After finishing the regular season undefeated, the Bantams ran their record streak to 44 games, which is the longest winning-streak in Division III history. The .978 winning percentage set a new NCAA record in any division in any sport.

On top of being selected as the 2008 ABCA National Coach of the Year, Decker was also selected as the New England Coach of the Year in 1999, 2004, 2008 and 2009 as well as the New England Small College Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2000, 2003, 2008 and 2009.

In 2012, Decker led the Bantams to a 34-11 record and a fifth NESCAC Championship title. In 2009, the Bantams won the NESCAC Championship, and the New England Regional Championship to earn a second consecutive bid to the Div. III College World Series. In 2007, Decker's team advanced to NCAA Tournament play for the third time in five years and won four games in the regional.

In 2005, Decker guided Trinity to a 35-9 record and was named the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Coach of the Year. Trinity also won its second NCAA Division III Regional Championship title in three years and made its second trip to the NCAA Division III World Series.

All told, Decker owns 537 wins as a head coach at the collegiate level including one year at Macalester College in 1990. He got his college coaching start in 1989 as an assistant coach at Wesleyan (Conn.) Prior to that, Decker served single years in assistant roles at Deerfield Academy (Mass.) and Phillips Exeter Academy (N.H.) In all four of those stops, Decker also served as a member of the schools' football programs. He also served as a graduate assistant coach in football at his alma mater, Ithaca College (N.Y.)

Decker has been an active member of the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association as a regional coordinator. In 1997, Decker was a member of the USA Baseball National Trials coaching staff and has made summer trips as part of Major League Baseball International. Eight Trinity players have continued their baseball careers at the professional level in the past seven years, and Jonah Bayliss became the first NESCAC player in 10 years to appear in a major league game in 2006. Decker-coached athletes compete annually in the NCAA-sponsored collegiate leagues each summer.

A 1985 graduate of Ithaca College, Decker received a bachelor's degree in physical education with a minor in business. He also holds a master's degree in physical education with a concentration in coaching, which he received from his alma mater in 1992. Decker’s baseball career was cut short due to injury in college but the two-sport star was a team captain and an All-America defensive back for the football team.

Decker and his wife, Nancy, have three children, Kyle, Sarah and Kacey.

NATE COLE

Assistant Coach

Nate Cole – previously an assistant coach at Southern Connecticut State and the University of Massachusetts – enters his first season as an assistant coach on the Harvard University baseball staff in 2021-22 after joining the Crimson in the fall of 2021.

Cole helped guide the Crimson to a berth in the inaugural Ivy League Tournament in 2023, securing the No. 2 seed behind a 15-6 Ivy League record, marking Harvard’s most Ivy League wins since 2005. The Crimson captured six of its seven Ivy League series during the regular season. Cole coached relief pitcher Callan Fang to earn Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors as the Crimson tallied five All-Ivy honorees and five Academic All-District selections.

In 2022, the Crimson won 19 games, including 10 Ivy wins, and finished in fourth place in the Ivy League standings. Harvard recorded a pair of wins over Power Five opponents during its non-conference season, topping Miami – 11-6 in the season opener – and UCLA – in a 5-0 shutout victory. The Crimson pitching staff ranked 29th in the NCAA in strikeouts per game (9.8). Harvard totaled five All-Ivy selections and three CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees. Jay Driver (First Team) and Chris Clark (Second Team) both gained All-Ivy honors from Cole’s pitching staff.

Prior to Harvard, Cole served the Massachusetts baseball program as an assistant coach for six seasons from 2016-21, joining the Minutemen in July 2015. Cole directed all recruiting efforts for the program.

Cole was instrumental in developing right-handed pitcher Justin Lasko (2016-19), guiding the former Minuteman into the Friday night slot in the rotation before Lasko was drafted and signed with the New York Mets in 2019. Lasko, who returned to High-A Brooklyn in 2021, left UMass in possession of multiple program records, including starts (48), innings pitched (311.1), and strikeouts (247).

Before UMass, Cole spent eight seasons (2008-15) coaching one of the top pitching staffs in Division II at Southern Connecticut. At SCSU, Cole mentored 18 all-conference selections and two All-Americans along with the 2008 and 2014 Northeast-10 Pitchers of the Year. Four Southern Connecticut hurlers signed professional contracts during that span.

Under his direction, SCSU's pitching staffs consistently ranked among the NCAA statistical leaders. The Owls' 2010 pitching staff led all of Division II with a 2.53 ERA. That figure was the third best in the NCAA, trailing only St. Thomas of Minnesota (2.41) and the University of Texas (2.45).

Cole helped guide SCSU to a school record 45 wins in 2011 as the pitching staff led Division II in ERA for much of the season and finished the year at No. 3. In 2009, Cole coached the Owls' hurlers to the fourth-most wins in the Northeast-10 (25) and second-fewest losses (20).

Prior to SCSU, Cole was a three-year starter on the mound at Central Connecticut State University. While with the Blue Devils, he won two Northeast Conference championships and helped CCSU reach the NCAA Regionals in 2004 and 2007. He earned his bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Central Connecticut in 2007.

A native of Wrentham, Mass., Cole captained King Philip Regional High School as a senior and helped the team advance to the state title game for the first time in school history.

KYLE DECKER

Assistant Coach

Kyle Decker re-joined the Harvard University baseball staff as an assistant coach ahead of the 2023 season after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Dayton during the 2021 and 2022 seasons and previously serving as an assistant coach with the Crimson during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. He enters his fifth season overall with Harvard in 2024-25.

Decker helped guide the Crimson to a berth in the inaugural Ivy League Tournament in 2023, securing the No. 2 seed behind a 15-6 Ivy League record, marking Harvard’s most Ivy League wins since 2005. The Crimson captured six of its seven Ivy League series during the regular season. Decker coached Callan Fang to earn Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors as the Crimson tallied five All-Ivy honorees and five Academic All-District selections.

Decker returned to the Crimson in 2023 after spending the previous two seasons (2021, 2022) as an assistant coach at Dayton. He helped lead the Flyers to the championship game of the Atlantic 10 Tournament in 2021.

During his time at Harvard during the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Decker helped lead the team to the 2019 Ivy League title and a berth in the NCAA tournament, including a trip to the Oklahoma City Regional.

Prior to Harvard, Decker served as an assistant coach at the University of Massachusetts during the 2018 season.

Decker also has experience as a coach in summer collegiate baseball leagues. He served as an assistant coach with the Plymouth Pilgrims of the New England Collegiate Baseball League during the summer of 2017. In the summer of 2015, he served as the head coach of the Torrington Titans of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.

As a player, Decker competed on the professional level in both Australia and Belgium.

On the collegiate level, Decker played at both Trinity College (2012 and 2013 seasons) and Oberlin College (2014 and 2015 seasons). He helped the Bantams win the NESCAC title in 2012 before helping the Yeomen capture the 2015 NCAC title. He gained both All-NCAC and New York Regional All-Tournament Team accolades in 2015. Decker earned a bachelor’s degree in politics from Oberlin in 2016.

MICHAEL SLATTERY

Assistant Coach

Michael Slattery – previously a member of the coaching staffs at Holy Cross, Georgia State, and Grinnell College – enters his first season as a member of the Harvard University baseball coaching staff in 2024-25 after joining the Crimson in the fall of 2024.

Following a four-year playing career at Grinnell from 2015-18, Slattery served as an assistant coach at his alma mater for the 2019 season, as a graduate assistant and then director of analytics/player personnel at Georgia State from 2020-21, and as an assistant coach at Holy Cross from 2022-24.

Prior to joining Harvard, Slattery spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Holy Cross from 2022-24. Slattery served as an assistant hitting coach as well as the Crusaders’ infield and outfield defense coach. He helped improve the Crusaders OPS by over 100 points, while also holding responsibilities with recruiting and scouting.

During his time at Georgia State, Slattery acted as a graduate assistant during the 2020-21 academic year and as the program’s director of analytics/player personnel during the 2021-22 school year. With the Panthers, Slattery helped facilitate the team’s day-to-day operations as well as its game day operations, including through the use of technology.

Slattery started his collegiate coaching career as an assistant coach with Grinnell during the 2018-19 academic year. With the Pioneers, he held responsibilities around offense, infield defense, video analysis, and scouting.

A four-year letterwinner in baseball at Grinnell College, Slattery earned a bachelor’s degree in biological chemistry from Grinnell in 2018 prior to gaining a master’s degree in sports administration from Georgia State University in 2021.

MORGAN BROWN

Baseball Operations Assistant

Morgan Brown '06 made a move to Director of Baseball Operations for Harvard in the summer of 2014. One of the Ivy League's top shortstops during his tenure with the Crimson, Brown initially returned to the team in the fall of 2010 as an assistant coach, a position he held for four seasons.

In 2023, Brown became the executive director of Harvard’s Institute of Politics, while continuing to assist the Crimson’s baseball program.

As a player at Harvard, Brown was the 147th Captain of Harvard Baseball (2005-06). He received All-Ivy League recognition as a shortstop twice and won Ivy League and Beanpot titles in 2005, along with Rolfe Division titles in 2003, 2005, and 2006. Additionally, he was named the Harvard Strength and Conditioning Athlete of the Year in 2006 and to the All-Ivy Academic Team and ESPN the Magazine All-Region teams. He was awarded the Francis Burr '09 Scholarship as a senior, the oldest continually awarded prize in Harvard Athletics. Brown was also a national finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship.

Following his collegiate career, Brown signed with the Can-Am League’s North Shore Spirit, putting in 20 games with that team in 2006. In 2008, he returned to professional baseball and played overseas in Belgium and spent the 2008-09 winter season playing in Australia.

He returned to the Can-Am League in 2009, playing for Quebec and Brockton and then completed his professional career with Quebec in 2010.

While at Harvard, Brown played summer baseball in the Cape Cod Collegiate Baseball League with the Wareham Gatemen as well as in the New England Collegiate Baseball League with the North Adams SteepleCats.

Upon graduation, Brown was awarded Harvard's prestigious Michael Rockefeller Fellowship. He spent September of 2006 through August of 2007 in India where, among other duties, he worked in an HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment program.

In addition to his coaching and administrative duties Brown has previously worked for Oxfam America in the Humanitarian Response Department where he focused on setting up development and humanitarian relief programs in Haiti following the January 2010 earthquake, and was stationed in Port-au-Prince for much of 2010-11. Following the 2011 spring season and through until the early part of the 2012 season, he was stationed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia assisting in the response to the drought in the Horn of Africa. In addition to his continued role with baseball, in his full-time role, he also now serves as a senior international program consultant for Harvard University focusing on the international operations of the university and its faculty and schools.

Alongside his continued role with baseball, he has also served as a senior international program consultant for Harvard University focusing on the international operations of the university and its faculty and schools.

Brown acted as the deputy director for the Individual Resilience Initiative of the Adrienne Arsht–Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center at the Atlantic Council from 2021-23. In that role, Brown led strategy and development of the center’s delegation to the COP27 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Egypt.

Brown is also now back at Harvard as a student, pursuing his Masters Degree in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

CRIMSON BASEBALL ACADEMY COACHING STAFF

BILL DECKER

Head Coach

NATE COLE

Assistant Coach

KYLE DECKER

Assistant Coach

MICHAEL SLATTERY

Assistant Coach

MORGAN BROWN

Baseball Operations Assistant