On Sept. 29, Monmouth University Baseball Head Coach Dean Ehehalt announced Sean Thompson as the Hawks new pitching coach.
“I could not be more excited to join the winning tradition of Monmouth Baseball,” said Thompson. “I am grateful for the opportunity given to me by Coach Ehehalt and I am motivated to help continue to push the levels of success in this program.”
Thompson joins the Hawks from his alma mater Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), where he was Director of Pitching Development in the 2021 season.
“We are very excited to welcome Sean to our University and baseball family,” said Ehehalt. “Sean is a very talented and passionate young coach that will immediately impact our program. He has been around quality baseball people and has been in an environment with a great winning tradition.”
Thompson tossed over 300 innings for the VCU Rams from 2015-18, acquiring a 27-10 record. The four year starter posted a 3.30 career ERA with 249 strikeouts. Thompson’s 27 wins landed him second most in VCU program history.
In June 2018, Thompson signed with the Chicago White Sox as an undrafted free agent and pitched in the AZL Rookie League. In 2019 Thompson joined the Great Falls Voyagers where he made 14 starts, striking out 66 across 80 innings.
As Director of Pitching Development at VCU, Thompson saw both Tyler Davis and Mason Delane named to the Atlantic-10 All-Rookie Team. Prior to joining the Hawks Thompson worked with Flood City Elite travel baseball as an assistant coach, as well as coaching as an assistant with Paul Carpenter’s All-American Amateur Baseball Association Team, helping lead them to a 32-2 record.
Thompson sees a bright future for the staff as they prepare for the 2022 season. “The expectations are at an all-time high with this season,” said Thompson, “and it is the exact reason I wanted to be a part of this team moving forward.”
In 2021, the Hawks pitching staff combined for a 3.21 ERA, striking out over 300 batters. Thompson will be leading the Hawks staff which is returning four starters. Amongst the four, MAAC Pitcher of the Year, Rob Hensey, who posted a 1.54 ERA across 41 innings. Hensey’s ERA ranked fifth in the country for the 2021 season.
Alongside Hensey is the junior left-handed pitcher and Wall native, Trey Dombroski. Last season Dombroski posted a 2.73 ERA last season with a team-best 64 strikeouts in MAAC competition.
Dombroski returns to West Long Branch hot off a summer hurling for the Harwich Mariners in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL). Dombroski’s CCBL regular season 0.85 ERA with 45 strikeouts across 31.2 innings earned him BFC Whitehosue Outstanding Pitcher Award as well as a spot on the All-League team. Dombroski finished his summer with the greatest strikeout to walk ratio in league history of 45:2 for pitchers who threw over 30 innings.
Senior right handed pitcher Dan Klepchick and junior left hander Alex Barker will be returning to the staff as well. Klepchick, a starter for the Hawks since his freshman year in 2018, posted a 3.35 ERA last season with 54 strikeouts. In his first year with the Hawks last season, Barker struck out 33, with an ERA of 2.68.
The Hawks 2021 campaign was concluded in the MAAC tournament, falling 3-1 to the Fairfield University Stags. Dombroski threw 7.1 shutout innings in relief, keeping the Hawks within striking distance through to the end. The Hawks’ 24-win 2021 season consisted entirely of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference play. To stay up to date with the team as they prepare for their 2022 campaign, follow @MUHawksBaseball on Twitter.
