ERIC CIRELLA

Head Coach

Eric Cirella was officially named the fifth head coach in the history of the Salve Regina baseball program in June 2013, returning to his alma mater and replacing his father, Steve, who stayed on staff as an assistant coach until 2017, after a 14-year tenure as head coach of the Seahawks. Cirella is entering his tenth season as Salve Regina's head coach.

In nine seasons, Cirella's record stands at 256-124-6. Cirella has guided the Seahawks to Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) championships in four of the last seven seasons (2016, 2017, 2019, 2021) and NCAA appearances in six of seven (2022 & 2023 NCAA At-Large) including most single-season wins ever in the history of the program this past year (39-10-1; finishing the season ranked #15).

The 2023 Seahawks won more games than any team in program history (39-10-1) and were also the #1 seed in the Dallas, PA NCAA Regional for the first time in program history. Cirella was named CCC Coach of the Year, while RHP Sean Mulligan was named CCC Rookie of the Year as well as Region 2 Rookie of the Year (D3Baseball). Overall, 12 Seahawks garnered All-CCC recognition. Seven more were recognized as All-Region (Clark, Jeffries, Homa, D'Amato, Arrigo, Siqueira, Mulligan). Christian Homa was named First Team All-American as a Designated Hitter (ABCA/D3Baseball). Salve finished with a .571 strength of schedule, propelling them to their second straight NCAA At-large bid and eventual #1 seed in the NCAA Regionals. The Seahawks saw their ranking climb as high as #13, while finishing #15/#20 (Collegiate Baseball/D3Baseball) in the country.

Cirella began his coaching career in 2005-06 at Salve Regina University, helping the Seahawks win a school record 32 games (32-13). A four-year stand-out baseball player at Salve Regina University, Cirella was an All-Conference and Academic All-Conference member four years while also earning the 2004 Brother Michael Reynolds Award for outstanding accomplishment in academics and athletics. He also was SRU's Male Athlete of the Year in 2004-2005, and was a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-America© (2003-2005) in addition to earning ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America of the Year award in 2005.

Following his junior (2004) and senior (2005) seasons at Salve Regina, he was selected All-New England First Team and was a Rawlings ABCA All-American at SS and OF. As a senior captain in 2005, Cirella helped guide a young Seahawks team to a conference championship and only the second NCAA appearance in the program's history. He was named to the Northeast all-tournament team following the regional. Cirella still owns many of the single-season and career records at Salve Regina as well as an NCAA Record. From March 29, 2003 – May 20, 2005, Cirella reached base consecutively in 104 straight games, a record that stands to this day. His .447 lifetime batting average is 25th highest in the history of NCAA Division III baseball. From May 2, 2003 to April 6, 2005, Cirella stole 50 consecutive bases without being caught, placing him fourth all-time.

Cirella graduated magna cum laude from Salve Regina University with a B.S. in Financial Management in May of 2005. He was a member of the Dean's List four straight years and graduated with an impressive 3.87 GPA, the highest GPA of any finance graduate in 2005. He was also the CCC Senior Scholar Athlete for Baseball in 2005.

In 2011, Cirella was the youngest ever inductee into the Salve Regina Athletic Hall of Fame.

In 2010, he finished his master's degree in Communication Studies at the URI School of Communication, where he also taught as a graduate instructor from 2007-2009.

Eric and his wife, Taylor, reside in East Greenwich, RI with their son, Hudson.

ANDREW McKEON

Associate Head Coach/Recruiting

Cirella on Andrew McKeon - "Andrew was a hidden gem that really came on my radar in July through conversations with other coaches in the region. He will be filling Coach Kehew's role as pitching coach/recruiting coordinator and so far he's been a breathe of fresh air. He's got a lot of knowledge and energy and he is really connecting with many of the recruits. I expect the same as he works with our student-athletes. His philosophies are consistent with mine and he should really be able to hit the ground running in September. Andrew is a guy who has been in coaching for a few years now and is really starting to blossom. We are extremely lucky to have him around."

Andrew McKeon joined the Salve Regina baseball staff in July of 2018, taking over as the program’s pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. Mckeon is oversees the development of all pitchers on the staff, assists in working with the hitters and is responsible for developing the year-round strength and conditioning needs of the baseball team. He also assists in all operational tasks of the baseball program such as fundraising and academic support.

The 2020 season for Salve Regina looked promising as the team raced out to a 4-0 start prior to the cancellation of the season due to the pandemic. The pitching staff was off to a strong start as they ranked second in the country in WHIP and strikeouts per nine and third in hits allowed and strikeout to walk ratio. Additionally, the offense ranked in the top fifteen in the country in scoring prior to the shutdown. Once again, the baseball program was recognized for academic excellence by the ABCA with a 3.18 GPA

Prior to coming to Salve, McKeon spent a year as part of an Anna Maria College coaching staff in 2018 which inherited a 7-31 ball club. While serving as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, Anna Maria recorded 16 wins, the highest total for the program in almost a decade and made their first conference tournament appearance in six years. The Amcats saw vast improvement in every statistical category and three players earned all-conference honors. In 2017, Mckeon spent the year as the pitching coach at Fitchburg State University. Under his guidance, the Falcons finished the year as the third seed in the MASCAC tournament for the second consecutive year.

McKeon also has experience coaching at several levels of baseball including the collegiate summer circuit as he spent 2017 and 2018 in the dugout with the Martha’s Vineyard Sharks of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. McKeon was responsible for managing the pitching staff on a daily basis as well as assisting in coordinating travel arrangements for the team. In both seasons, the team finished in the top three in ERA and strikeouts, culminating in a 36-17 finish and a league championship in 2018. At the high school level, Mckeon spent three seasons as an assistant coach at the Moses Brown School in Providence, R.I. where he worked primarily with the pitchers and had a hand in all baseball operations. Moses Brown experienced some of their most successful seasons during this time period, most notably in 2015 as they made an appearance in the RI final four, bolstered by a pitching staff which led the state with a 1.77 ERA.

A 2015 graduate of Rhode Island College, McKeon earned a bachelor’s degree in Community Health and Wellness with a concentration in Wellness and Movement studies; while also minoring in coaching. As a pitcher at RIC from 2009-2013, he found success in several roles during his tenure which included a team leading 4.38 ERA as a freshman. Following his playing career, Mckeon joined the staff as a student assistant while continuing to pursue his degree and was involved in all aspects of the program from day to day operations to game and practice management and recruiting.

TONY DESHLER

Assistant Coach

Tony Deshler joins the Seahawk baseball staff in September 2022.

Tony Deshler was most recently assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Bates College from 2017-2022. During the first three seasons with the Bobcats, they qualified for the NESCAC championships each season. In 2019, Bates had a school best 9-3 record in NESCAC play and was a part of the NESCAC coaching staff of the year.

For the summers of ’20-’21, Deshler served as the Field Manager for the Westfield Starfires in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League. During these two years, Coach Deshler mentored numerous pro prospects including Reggie Crawford ’22 MLB 1st round selection and Cole Bartels 2021 FCBL MVP.

Before Bates, served as the assistant coach at Elmira College from 2014-2016 where he earned his Master's Degree in General Education. As the first assistant baseball coach in Elmira College's history, Deshler organized and maintained a national recruiting database while also running the school's youth baseball camps. Deshler monitored both the academic and athletic progress of the Elmira baseball players. He helped the school double its win total in the second year of the program's history.

Prior to joining Elmira College, Deshler served as an assistant baseball coach at MIT from 2012-2014. He traveled the country for MIT recruiting student athletes and organized and help run all practices. Deshler helped lead MIT to its first ever NEWMAC title and back-to-back NCAA regional appearances.

Deshler is a 2011 graduate of Brandeis University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies and a Minor in Business. He served as the baseball team's captain his senior year.

PETER CLAYS

Assistant Coach

Peter Clays joins the Seahawk baseball staff in December 2021.

A Rhode Island native, Clays graduated from Georgetown in 1988 where he played both baseball and football for the Hoyas. He has spent the last 25 years coaching baseball at the high school level. From 1996-2014 he coached at North Kingstown High School. From 2015-2021 he was at South Kingstown High School as an assistant coach. The 2019 Rebel baseball team won the D1 Rhode Island State Championship. Clays has also assisted with the Ocean State Waves in the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) from 2015-2021. During his coaching tenure, Clays has coach over 50 players who have went on to play professional baseball.

HARRISON BARLOW

Assistant Coach

Cirella on Harrison Barlow - "Harry had spent a year and a half with us in 2015-2016 and was part of our first championship in 2016. He does a tremendous job with the infielders as well as helping with the day to day things. He played for me at URI and also was an assistant for me while I coached the Ocean State Waves, so he knows the expectations and really has a great understanding of the system we have in place. He throws great BP, can handle a fungo bat, and will also be a guy who helps out our team defense as well as offensive skills. On top of it all he's a great person and will be a great role model for our guys."

Previous coaching experience includes: Salve Regina University (2015, 2016 - CCC champions, 2019-present), Rhode Island College (2017, 2018), and Ocean State Waves (2015, 2016)

Primarily focused with hitting, infield defense, baserunning, recruiting and coaching first and third base.

Barlow was named the 2011 Gatorade Rhode Island Baseball Player of the Year, the Cox Sports Baseball Player of the Year, the Division I-South Player of the Year and he was selected First Team All-State.

The 6-foot-1,165-pound shortstop batted .479 with 36 runs scored, 20 stolen bases, 14 RBI and seven doubles. Barlow also produced a .630 slugging percentage and a .578 on-base percentage. As a pitcher, Barlow posted a 1.77 ERA and 15 strikeouts against just one walk in 17.1 innings.

Barlow was presented the Eileen Cullen Hughes Award by the Rhode Island High School Baseball Umpires Association for the player who has gone above and beyond the sport to promote baseball.

DIRK BAKER

Assistant Coach

Dr. Dirk Baker joins the Seahawk baseball staff in December 2023.

A native of Auburn, Mass., Baker earned all three degrees from Boston University (B.S. Journalism 1991, Ed.M. PE 1993, and Ed.D. Curriculum & Teaching 1998; Dissertation: An Investigation of Fitness for MLB Players).

Over 30 years as a college coach (Harvard, BU, Worcester, and now Salve Regina), 6-time NCAA Tournament qualifier, 39 playoff wins, 100 last at-bat victories, and over 540 total - all won by his players. Baker left Worcester State with the most wins of any coach/sport in school history.

His squads made 12 Championship Games (MASCAC-9 and ECAC-3). Baker coached nine conference Players of the Year, five All-Americans, five future MLB players (42 pros), with three draft picks at Worcester State. A two-time MASCAC Coach of the Year, he was the first baseball coach with a team to earn a 3.0 GPA for the academic year and did it in back to back years. Over 550 times a player earned a semester 3.0+ GPA during his time at WSU from 1995-2022.

Baker coached at virtually every level including the Cape Cod League, American Legion, and Bay State Games (won Central's first ever gold medal in 2021). Certified PE teacher K-12 and Mental Prep Coach through Brian Cain. He's participated or run camps and clinics every year since 1991. Personally had a hand in Lyons Field at WSU being named the 2014 ABCA/Turface Best Maintained College Field in the country.

He was a D1 North Atlantic Conference all-star at Boston University, All-New England (scored winning run in NEIBA All-Star Game at Fenway Park), two-time captain, two-time All-Academic, Most Outstanding Senior Baseball Player, set three school records, and was selected to the BU Baseball Hall of Fame.

Baker has written five books and produced five instructional videos with Championship Productions. A book on Kid Gleason, manager of the 1919 Chicago White Sox, is being worked on currently.