The Norwich Sea Unicorns announced the on field coaching staff for the upcoming 2023 season. Kevin Murphy has been named as the third Manager of the Norwich Sea Unicorns since joining the Futures League prior to the 2021 season. Murphy replaces Devin Belenski, who managed the team during the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
A native of Springfield, Massachusetts, Murphy played four years of baseball before graduating from Pope Francis Prep School and moving on to play college baseball at Eastern Connecticut State University from 2018-2021 and a Graduate Season at Nichols College in 2022. Murphy is currently in his first season as a Volunteer Assistant Coach with the Quinnipiac University Baseball Program after spending the summer of 2022 with the Sea Unicorns as an Assistant Coach.
John Mesagno returns to the Sea Unicorns staff in a part-time role. A native of Tappen, NY, Mesagno finished his collegiate playing career with a National Championship season at ECSU in the spring of 2022 before joining the Sea Unicorns coaching staff. Mesagno is currently the Volunteer Assistant Coach at Yale University. Noah Plantamuro will join the coaching staff after spending a few weeks as a player for the Sea Unicorns in 2023. Plantamuro is a native of Bristol, CT who was a starting infielder on the 2022 Eastern Connecticut State Baseball National Championship team. More announcements regarding the coaching staff will be made as they are finalized.
“I am excited to announce Kevin Murphy as manager of the Sea Unicorns for the 2023 season,” said Sea Unicorns General Manager and fellow ECSU alum, Lee Walter, Jr. “Kevin has shown to be a very bright baseball mind with a willingness to keep learning. The staff that he is putting together features a nice blend of youth and veteran coaches that will help us win baseball games but also assist in the development of the student-athletes spending their summer in Norwich!”
“I am thrilled and honored to be back in Norwich for the 2023 campaign. It is an honor that the Sea Unicorns organization entrusts me in leading the program through another year of play in the FCBL,” Murphy said. “I am confident that our coaching staff, working alongside our General Manager Lee Walter, will produce a winning culture and atmosphere that will help make it a summer to remember in the Rose City!”