Chris Francis will be managing Golden Knights’ baseball this season
By JACKSON WANG
Sports Editor
This past summer, the College of Saint Rose welcomed a new head coach to their athletic department.
On July 15, Chris Francis was introduced as first full-time head coach of the Golden Knights baseball program and only the third head coach in the history of its program.
“I’m excited to take on this new chapter in my life, “ said Francis.
Francis is taking over a program that went 17-28 under Casey O’Connor during the 2011 campaign.
Francis was chosen to be the new head coach from over two hundred applicants that applied for the head coach position.
“[Francis] came highly recommended from numerous people in the field,” said Saint Rose Athletics Director Catherine Haker. “During campus visits and interviews he impressed everyone he met.”
Pryor to being hired as head coach at Saint Rose, Francis served as an assistant coach at Mansfield University in Pennsylvania. During his tenure at Mansfield, Francis helped lead the Mountaineers to a set of conference tournament appearances and 30-win seasons.
When Francis found out he had gotten the head coach position here at Saint Rose, he was with his old baseball coaches that he played for at Ithaca College.
“It was a nice moment for us to share,” said Francis. “The real reason why I coach is because of them.”
Francis graduated from Ithaca College in 1997. During his time at Ithaca, Francis played baseball for Hall of Fame coach George Valesente for four years. During the years he played at Ithaca, his team made it to three regional tournaments and one World Series appearance. Francis was also named team captain during his 1997 season.
Francis began his baseball-coaching career as an assistant coach at the University of Rochester upon graduating from Ithaca College. Francis would return to his alma mater in 2000 and become an assistant coach there for three years.
After Ithaca College, Francis went to Virginia Wesleyan in 2003 where he served as a pitching coach and a recruiting coordinator for five seasons before arriving at Mansfield University. Not only did Francis help win a regular season title in 2007, but he also helped five pitchers get signed professionally while at Virginia Wesleyan.
“He has expressed the importance he places on team organization and preparation, while also building relationships and trust both on and off the field,” said Haker.
As for Golden Knights’ baseball, Francis has been very pleased and impressed by his team’s progress so far. For this upcoming spring baseball season, Francis expects great effort from his players and expects them to compete everyday as well.
“We just want to get a little better everyday and compete at the highest level possible,” said Francis. “We got a great opportunity to be extremely successful and seize some major games here in the next several months.”
When Francis saw that there was an opportunity to coach here at Saint Rose, he knew it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up on.
“I saw the job was open and my wife had received her masters from here and we have just a lot of family in the area,” said Francis. “It’s a close place to us and […] in our hearts.”
