By Adam Levine
Sports Editor
The Framingham State Athletic Department announced the hiring of Sean Trindall as the head baseball coach and Casey Bradley ’20 as the head women’s lacrosse coach and the assistant building manager Oct. 6.
Athletic Director Tom Kelley said the athletics department is excited about the new hires and he hopes the players are, too.
“We're getting a little late start, but we're happy with where we are right now,” Kelley said.
He said the hiring process consists of a search committee and a student representative to assess the applicants and find the “best candidate.”
He said Bradley’s alumna status did not give her an advantage as a candidate. “We were trying to find the best candidate in the pool, and she was the best candidate.”
Kelley said Bradley’s connection to FSU can help her recruit more players and continue the growth of the women’s lacrosse program.
Coach Bradley said she heard about the job opening through her connections to the program and knew “immediately” she wanted to apply.
Bradley said, “I put a lot of time and effort into the women's lacrosse program and I wanted nothing more than to go back and continue working with the program - with the girls.
“I love the game of lacrosse, and obviously, being an alumni of Framingham State Women's Lacrosse, I know very well the team and the culture of the program. I care about it so much,” she added.
After graduating, Bradley was hired at Canton High School, where she also graduated from, as the assistant varsity women’s lacrosse coach. She held the position for a year and then became the head coach for two years.
She earned 2022 Hockomock Sports Women's Lacrosse Coach of the Year during her short time as the head coach at Canton.
Bradley said the goal was to coach at the college level someday and the opening at FSU was “perfect.”
She said she has not officially started yet, but Assistant Coach Dave Planchet has been a resource to learn about the team and help plan preseason training with.
Bradley said she never won a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) title as a player, but her goal as a coach is to win the MASCAC Tournament and make it to the NCAA tournament.
Senior Brooke Phelps served as the student representative on the search committee for the new head women’s lacrosse coach.
She said, “I'm really glad that she got hired. She was definitely my top pick.”
Phelps said intense practices are the “number one thing” she is excited for.
“I’m really excited for a lot of wins as well,” she added.
Senior Rachel Erickson said as Bradley lost her senior year to COVID-19, she knows how “precious” time is being a student athlete and the importance for the players to “soak it all up” and try to achieve their goals.
Junior Hailey Baker said she thinks Bradley understands and will emphasize the “winning culture” of FSU women’s lacrosse to put together a successful program.
Senior Hannah Guerin said she talked to alumna Britney Herskowitz ’20, who said Bradley was “‘The best captain that she's ever had in any sport in her whole life.’”
Guerin said this praise shows how Bradley will be as a coach.
Senior captain Regan Fein said the team is “used to” the change of head coaches, but they are excited because Bradley is an alumna and has “roots” at FSU.
She said, “We all know her. We played against her in the alumni game.
“It's kind of cool. We got to know her as an alumna before a coach,” Fein added.
“I think we just need to hit the turf running,” Fein said. “Most of us know the standard and what we hope to achieve this year. It’s not really a question of if, but when.”
Athletics Director Kelley said the search for the new head baseball coach went longer than expected.
Kelley said Trindall’s experience and success with other programs stood out to the committee.
He said the committee found Trindall was a “driving force in the recruitment” at his former programs.
Kelley said recruiting is important to the athletics program and is “becoming more and more important in running a good program.”
Coach Trindall said he was “surprised” when he saw the job posting in the middle of August.
Trindall said the success of the program piqued his interest while he had been “looking to take that next step to become a head coach.”
This is Trindall’s first position as a head baseball coach at the collegiate level, but he worked at other programs, including at Clark University, Amherst College, and Brandeis University, as a top assistant.
Trindall said he thinks his skills as a recruiter can help “take the program to the next level.”
He said since he started, he’s been a “recruiting machine.”
Trindall said the most important thing is getting acclimated to the school.
He said he wants to “hit the ground running” in the new position and win the MASCAC Tournament this season.
Trindall said, “I’m looking to get after it.
“I plan on making every day a competition. People are going to compete and everyone's going to get the opportunity,” he added.
Sophomore Shane Costello said the transition between head coaches is “not ideal” and it is “going to be an adjustment.”
Costello said the goal for the season is to win the MASCAC and to “just build on what we already have.”
During the 2023 season, baseball won the MASCAC Regular Season Title for the first time in program history.
Junior Steven Burbank said he is excited for Trindall to be the new head coach, but will miss former Head Coach Sean Callahan.
“I love Coach Callahan. He personally was the only reason I played college baseball, so I'm very thankful for him,” he said.
“But, I’m excited,” Burbank said. “It's going to give a new look, new opportunities. Hopefully the same culture, but with a little bit different attitude and mindset - maybe it can push us over the top in what we were missing a little bit of last year.”
Senior Cam Gilroy said the team wants to build off of the success from last season and it doesn't matter who the coach is.
He said Trindall wants to come in and “be competitive and bring in more success.”
Gilroy said Trindall plans to run as many practices as possible in the offseason.
He said, “Every single day, we need to start getting better.”
Senior Ryan Boyle said Trindall “seems like he's just ready to get to business, which is exactly what we want.”
Boyle said, “We can't look past the regular season,” but the team is hoping for a successful playoff run and a MASCAC championship.
Athletics Director Kelley said for both of these coaches, “It's harder to take over a winning program than one that's not and try to take it to another level.
“It's really hard, but we think we have the right folks for those positions,” he added.