Bio

Tom Vessella is entering his third season as the head coach of the Hillsdale College baseball program, looking to continue to grow the program after an upward trajectory in his first two seasons. Originally from California, Vessella was named the 15th head coach of the Charger baseball program in the post-World War II era in June of 2021, taking the job after a national search.

"I'm incredibly excited and humbled to be given this opportunity," Vessella said. "When I look at this team I see a very hungry, very talented group that's motivated and ready to win, and I'm excited to get to work with them."

"When you're recruiting, fit is really what matters, and I think it's just as important when you're looking for a job, too," Vessella said. "I want to coach at an institution that represents values and virtues that I admire, and at a place that values players for their character and their intelligence as well as what they can contribute on the field. Hillsdale really checked all those boxes, and they do it without compromising the pursuit of winning and excellence on the field. That makes it a very exciting opportunity for any coach."

During his first campaign, the Chargers set a program record for strikeouts in a single season, and had two players receive national recognition, with shortstop Aidan Brewer becoming the program's second-ever consensus NCAA DII All-American, and outfielder Lewis Beals becoming just the second Charger baseball player to be named a CoSiDA Academic All-American. Both players return for the spring of 2023 as Vessella aims to lead his team to a leap in the standings.

Hillsdale followed that up with another strong year in 2023, finishing in the top four in the G-MAC for the first time since joining the conference for the 2018 season and recording the most wins in conference play (20) while reaching the G-MAC Tournament for the first time in Vessella's tenure. With a newly redesigned stadium on the way for the 2024 season, there's plenty of excitement about the direction the Chargers program is heading entering Vessella's third campaign.

Vessella arrived at Hillsdale with extensive experience in baseball as both a player and a coach. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 11th round of the 2006 MLB Player Draft after an All-American career at Whittier College in California, and spent seven seasons in the Minor Leagues as a pitcher in the Astros and San Francisco Giants organizations, reaching the AAA level with the Fresno Grizzlies at one point in his career.

As his professional career was drawing to a close, Vessella made the leap into coaching, first as an instructor for the National Pitching Association in Los Angeles, California working with college and high school pitchers, and then as a volunteer assistant with Hope International University in Fullerton, California in 2014.

After a season with the Royals, Vessella joined the staff at Moorpark Community College in Moorpark, California, as the associate head baseball coach, spending the last six seasons with the Red Sox and helping the program to the 2018 Western State Conference title, as well as helping to send 16 players to four-year college baseball programs and multiple on to professional contracts.

Vessella's primary focus at Moorpark was with the pitching staff, and he led the Red Sox pitchers to a league-best 3.54 ERA during their 2018 championship season. That acumen will come in handy at the Division II level, where pitcher development is critical.

On top of his college coaching experience, Vessella also has extensive experience coaching summer wood bat leagues for collegiate players, serving as the head coach for the Medicine Hat Mavericks in Alberta, Canada in 2019 and coaching in the prestigious Cape Cod Summer League with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in 2021.

"I was blessed to have a long playing career at a really high level in baseball, and that gave me the opportunity as a player to work with the best coaches the sport has to offer," Vessella said. "I gained a lot from those experiences and I think being able to pull from that background has been really important to my success as a coach.

"I've got coaching experience, but I'm not that far removed from being a player myself, so I really see the player-coach relationship from both sides. I think having that perspective is very helpful in player development and building chemistry with a team."

Vessella graduated from Whittier College in 2007 with a B.A. in Kinesiology, having been named the Male Athlete of the Year at the school in his senior season. He's earned two Master's Degrees, one in Organizational Leadership in 2009 from Woodbury University in Burbank, California, and one in Kinesiology and Sport Management from the University of South Dakota in 2019.

He's currently pursuing a PhD in Higher Education Leadership and Innovation from Wilmington University in Wilmington, Delaware, and has experience teaching at Los Angeles Trade Technical College as an instructor from 2008-2010 and at Moorpark Community College during his six seasons as an assistant coach. His dissertation, A Comparative Evaluation of Team Culture and Cohesion in College Baseball, focuses on group dynamics, team-building in athletics, and athlete satisfaction.