Mike Gedman is entering his fourth season as the hitting coachfor the Bulldogs. Coach Gedman helped lead Bryant to an outstanding2013 campaign in which the Bulldogs posted a 45-18-1 record, wonNEC regular-season and postseason titles and earned Bryant'sfirst-ever Division I NCAA tournament victory, 4-1 over No. 15Arkansas at the Manhattan Regional. The 45 wins set a program andconference record, while Bryant's 27-5 record during the regularseason conference play shattered the previous record.
Under Gedman's watchful eye, the Black and Gold featured one ofthe best offensive teams in the Northeast in 2013. The Bulldogs hit.288 as a team and scored 365 runs on the year, averaging nearlysix runs per game. The Bryant offense led the NEC with 112 doublesand finished third with 22 home runs. Four players hit over .300for the Black and Gold with Kevin Brown leading the way at .367.Brown enjoyed one of the finest seasons in Bulldog history as hecollected 81 hits, 16 doubles, seven home runs and posted a .498on-base percentage thanks to 47 walks. Brown went on to be namedthe NEC Player of the Year, an ABCA All-Northeast Region selection,a Third Team ABCA All-American completed a lifelong goal as he wasdrafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 22nd round of the MLB AmateurDraft. Freshman AJ Zarozny was named the NEC Rookie of the Year,Carl Anderson was named First Team All-NEC and Dan St. Georgeearned Second Team All-NEC. Zarozny also became just the secondplayer in program history to earn Freshman All-American honorsafter he hit .310 with 14 doubles and 43 runs scored. In addition,Anderson also earned ABCA All-Northeast Region honors.
In 2012, Bryant led the Northeat Conference in home runswith 32, Connor Carignan was fourth in conference-play battingaverage at .372 and Kevin Brown was second in conference play inboth home runs (6) and doubles (11). Mike Delponte was tied forsecond with six home runs in league play and third with a .475on-base percentage. Two position players were awarded All-NEChonors. Brown finished the season slugging .520 with nine home runsand 35 RBIs, while senior Jamie Skagerlind finished with a .298batting average amassing 56 hits. The Bulldogs also registered themost runs scored in one game with 22 runs against Quinnipiac(04/21/12) and the most homeruns in a game with four against MountSt. Mary's (03/16/12). Brown and Skagerlind were both named NECPlayer of the Week and Matt Zanotta was named NEC Rookie of theWeek during 2012 season.
Under his watch in 2011, two Bulldogs were selected toall-conference teams. Dave Soltis was named First Team All-NEC atshorstop after finishing fifth in the conference in batting averageat .348, and Kevin Brown earned second team honors in the outfield,finishing the year seventh in the conference in slugging percentageat .488.
As a player, Coach Gedman played his freshman year at Le MoyneCollege under current Bryant head coach Steve Owens. His teamappeared in an NCAA regional at Texas A&M. Gedman appeared in30 games at first base and made 16 appearances on the mound.Following his freshman year with the Dolphins, Gedman transferredto the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. As a junior with theMinutemen he led the team with a .345 average, with nine doubles,two triples, five home runs and 25 RBI. Gedman also led the squadin stolen bases (9-for-13) and slugging percentage (.580), whilebeing named to the All-Atlantic 10 tournament team. He also sawtime on the mound, leading the team with a 2.42 ERA in 22.1innings. Appearing in 15 games out of the bullpen, Gedmanregistered five saves which ties for fourth in programsingle-season history and ranked fifth among the Atlantic 10leaders. He was selected to the prestigious Northwoods CollegiateSummer League all-star team in the summer following his junior yearthanks to a 3.02 ERA on the mound and a .313 average at theplate.
Gedman finished his career with a stellar senior season that sawhim hit .314 and slug a team-best eight home runs. On the mound,Gedman shut down St. Joes with a complete game five-hitter. Heallowed just one run and struck out 10. Gedman finished his careerwith a .312 batting average in 119 games and appeared in 51 gameson the mound, striking out 74 hitters with two complete games.
This past summer Gedman completed his third season ofprofessional baseball for the Newark Bears of the CANAM league. Heplayed in 68 games and compiled 36 runs, 36 RBI, 10 doubles, 5 homeruns and stole 18 bases. His first twoyears of his professional career he played for the WorcesterTornadoes of the CANAM league. In 2012 Gedman became one of only ahandful of professional players to both hit and pitch. Gedman threw102 innings and made 12 starts on the mound where he led the leaguein complete games with four. Also, he appeared in 30 games as aposition player where he hit .276 with four home runs, six doubles,20 runs scored, 16 RBI and seven stolen bases. In 2011 as arelief pitcher, Gedman appeared in 27 games and finished with a 2-1record with 38 strikeouts.
The Framingham, Mass. native attended Loomis Chaffee High Schoolin Windsor, Conn. As a senior captain he put up gaudystatistics at the plate (.540 batting average, eight homeruns) andon the mound (7-0 record as a starter.) He led the league inbatting average and wins in both his junior and senior years,helping Loomis to two league titles.
Gedman comes from a very successful sports family. His father,Rich, was a two-time All-Star and played 13 years in the MajorLeagues, including 11 seasons with the Boston Red Sox, and iscurrently the hitting coach for the Red Sox Class AA affiliate inPortland, Maine. Gedman’s mother, Sherry, played softball andbasketball at the University of Connecticut where she threw twono-hitters and still holds the second-lowest ERA in program history(0.57). His brother, Matt, is currently playing third base in theRed Sox minor league system and his sister Marissa is on thewomen’s ice hockey team at Harvard University.
In 2010, Gedman graduated from the University of Massachusettswith a Bachelor of Arts degree in History.
