Ken Harring Steps Down as UMass Lowell Baseball Coach

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Since 2004 the UMass Lowell River Hawks have had one voice calling the shots with the baseball program. That voice belonged to Ken Harring, who for 19 years was the head coach of the River Hawks baseball team. On Monday afternoon, Harring resigned from that post. His resignation stemmed from a personal diary that was kept by one of his former players. Late Monday afternoon, Harring informed the university that he would be leaving the program and the school effective immediately.

His tenure at the school had both highs and lows. He saw the program through the transition from a Division II program where the school made four NCAA Tournament appearances during his run as head man, to Division I and a spot in the America East Conference. There were four 30+win seasons at the DII level, he finished with a 141-78 (.644) record during the nine years he guided the team at that level. The school left the Northeast 10 Conference after the 2014 season. The very next year, 2015, the River Hawks joined the America East Conference and began playing baseball at the DI level. He also had three players drafted by MLB organizations including Danny Mendick who was a shortstop for the River Hawks. In the 22nd round, he was taken by the Chicago White Sox in 2015. A season that saw the team go 10-10 in league play and 17-26 overall.

During the first four years in AE, the program was ineligible for postseason play due to the move up to division one. In the six years since, UMass Lowell has made the conference tournament every year but the 2020 season which was cancelled due to Covid. However, the program’s best finish came in 2022 when they ended the regular season at the .500 mark at 15-15, 28-30 overall. The team made a run through the league tournament that saw them play for the conference tournament championship for the very first time. Although the outcome was not what Harring or the team had in mind, the fact that they got there was a positive step for a program that was looking to make some noise in the league.

This past spring, outside distractions from different angles became too much for the time to overcome. The 20-35 overall record and 11-13 mark in the league just were too much for the team to handle. They exited the AE tournament on the second day. Harring posted on the team page a thank you to the University, department, colleagues, coaches, and the players that he has had a chance to be around for the past 19 years. Athletic Director Peter Casey, thanked the coach for his years of dedicated service to the baseball program. A new chapter in UMass Lowell baseball will begin in the fall with Nick Barese as the interim head coach. Ken Harring’s record as a college baseball coach was 541-555-1 (494). In America East, his record was 462-446-1 (.509). Before arriving at UMass Lowell, Harring was the head coach at St.Anselm for three seasons. He was an assistant at Northeastern for three seasons there. No one at this point knows what the future holds for Ken Harring, but you can be sure that baseball will be a big part of it.