Matt Senk enters his 19th season as the Stony Brook University head baseball coach with the Seawolves firmly entrenched as one of the top programs in not only the America East but also the Northeast Region.

Last season, he guided Stony Brook to its second America East title in five years as the Seawolves recorded their most victories (34) since the 2001 season. The all-time wins leader in Stony Brook baseball history, Senk has enjoyed 14 winning seasons with SBU and has won 30 or more games seven times. He enters this season just 30 victories short of 500 for his career.

He has also continued to produce players who are ready to play at the professional level as Tom Koehler and Gary Novakowski both signed pro contracts following their graduation last season.

Koehler was drafted in 18th round of 2008 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Florida Marlins, while Novakowski signed a free-agent contract with the Kansas City Royals.

In all, 26 Seawolves players have signed professional baseball contracts under Senk. Topping the list of Stony Brook alums is Joe Nathan, a three-time American League All-Star with the Minnesota Twins. Nathan has a career record of 44-20, posting a 2.82 ERA while collecting 200 saves.

Nathan was initially drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 1995 and broke into the Major Leagues in 1999. After posting exceptional numbers with the Giants in 2003, recording a 12-4 mark with a 2.96 ERA, he was dealt to the Twins where he blossomed into one of the most dominant closers in Major League Baseball.

A two-time Academic All-American at SBU, Nathan was also inducted into the Stony Brook Athletics Hall of Fame in December 2006, when he also became the first former Stony Brook student-athlete to have his jersey number retired. In August 2008, Nathan made a $500,000 lead gift to the Stony Brook Department of Athletics in support of the construction of a new baseball field at Stony Brook University.

In 2007, Senk led Stony Brook to a superb 31-24 record and a second-place regular season finish in the America East. SBU finished the season second in the league in ERA (4.61) led by all-conference selection and America East Pitcher of the Year Gary Novakowski. Senior Rob Leonard joined Novakowski on the All-America East first team, hitting .344 with eight home runs and 45 RBI. In all, the Seawolves placed six players on all-conference teams as Justin Echevarria, Brian Witkowski and Michael Stephan earned a spot on the second team and Rob Dyer was placed on the all-rookie team along with Stephan.

The Stony Brook baseball team fell one game shy of its second America East title in three years in 2006. In addition, six players signed professional contracts following the season, as Nick Abel signed with the Mets, Kris Bakey with the Cardinals, Andres Perez with the Yankees and Matt Restivo, Jon Pasieka and Tom Pennino all signed independent league contracts. Senk also picked up his 400th career-win with a 2-1 victory over UMBC on May 20. In the regular season Senk guided the team to a No. 2 seed for the America East Tournament as his squad won its final five regular season games heading into tournament play.
In the tournament, Stony Brook bested both Albany and top-seeded Vermont before falling to Maine, 5-3. Chris Sipp and Gary Novakowski garnered All-America East first team honors and Tom Koehler and Jon Pasieka were named to the second team.

In 2005, seniors Andrew Larsen, Jon Lewis and Matt Devins were all selected in the MLB draft. Larsen was picked by the Royals in the 13th round with the 382nd overall pick. Lewis was selected three rounds later with the 486th overall pick by the Florida Marlins, while Devins went in the 34th round where he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Stony Brook achieved its ultimate goal of an America East title and an NCAA bid in 2004 after qualifying for the postseason in each of its three previous seasons. Senk turned in one of his finest coaching performances, pulling his team together to peak at the end of an up and down season. After a 1-5 start in conference play, Senk was able to go 10-5 down the stretch to earn the fourth and final spot at the America East Championship. The Seawolves came into the tournament with the No. 4 seed, but were the cream of the crop, sweeping through the field in three straight games to earn the America East crown. After defeating America East Pitcher of the Year Jordan Thomson and the No. 1 seeded Northeastern Huskies, the Seawolves topped tournament-host Maine twice, once to advance to the winner's bracket final and again when the Black Bears came through the loser's bracket into the championship game. Senk's disciplined squad dominated the all-championship team, as seven of the 11 spots went to Seawolves. Outfielder Isidro Fortuna garnered the tournament's Most Outstanding Player Award and was joined on the team by Matt Devins, Andrew Larsen, Dave Mischo, Matt Restivo, Chris Sipp and Nick Theoharis.

Senk nearly took home his first America East title during the 2003 season. In the team's second year of competition in the league, the Seawolves posted a 33-21 overall record and a 15-9 mark in the conference. A third-place regular season finish put the Seawolves into the America East playoffs where they won two games over Maine to advance to the championship round versus Northeastern. Having to take two straight games over the Huskies, Stony Brook was able to rally from a 7-1 deficit to win the first game 11-10, but came up short in the deciding game. In addition to seniors Ed Kull and Mike Russo being selected to America East all-conference teams, several young players earned conference recognition as freshmen pitcher Matt Restivo was selected to the America East All-Rookie team and sophomore Matt Devins garnered second team all-conference honors. Sophomore Andrew Larsen picked up post-season honors as he was named to the All-America East Championship Team after the Seawolves runner-up finish.

Senk and the Seawolves were extremely successful in making their America East conference debut in the 2002 season. He led the Seawolves to a 27-24 overall record and an 11-11 mark against conference competition, securing a tie for third place during the regular season. The Seawolves qualified for the conference playoffs immediately, showing the rest of the America East that they would be a force to reckon with in the league for years to come. A young core of talent emerged as pitcher Jonathan Lewis was named the America East Rookie of the Year and fellow freshman Matt Devins received all-conference honors in addition to making the all-rookie team. Both were also recognized by Collegiate Baseball as Freshmen All-Americans.

Success is nothing new for Senk. He posted a tremendous 35-16 mark in 2001 in just the second season Stony Brook competed at the Division I level. Senk led the Seawolves to landmark victories over Winthrop and crosstown rival St. John's and a 10-0 mark in New York State Conference Baseball play. Following the year, Alex Trezza became the University's first Division I All-American and Chris Flinn was drafted in the third round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft - the highest round a Stony Brook player has ever been drafted.

Senk's teams are traditionally some of the best hitting in the country, as evidenced during the 2000 season when the Seawolves were plastered all over the final national statistics. Senk coached the Seawolves to the nation's team batting and slugging titles, hitting .347 and slugging .580, respectively. Averaging 1.78 home runs per game, the team finished second nationally in the category, while its 9.37 runs per outing was fifth best in the country. SBU's 2.56 doubles per game were the sixth-best total in Division I. Altogether, Stony Brook put together one of its finest performances from the plate in the school's history en route to a 30-11 mark and the 11th best winning percentage in the nation.

Prior to Stony Brook's jump to Division I in 2000, Senk enjoyed unmatched success at the Division II level. In 1999, Senk guided the Seawolves to a school-record 36 wins and the program's first outright ECAC championship. In 1998, Senk led the Seawolves to a 23-11-1 mark, a 16-game turnaround from the previous season, and was named Stony Brook's Men's Coach of the Year for the fourth time in the 1990's. In addition, the team earned the Stony Brook Men's "Quantum Leap" award for the biggest improvement from the previous season.

Individually, the Seawolves have been handsomely rewarded for their outstanding efforts under Senk's guidance. During his tenure at Stony Brook, he has had 73 players named all-conference, 34 players named all-region and two players named All-American.

One of Senk's proteges, Craig Ansman, appeared in his third minor league all-star game for the Arizona Diamondbacks organization in 2004, taking the field as the starting catcher for the Pacific Coast League at the triple-A mid-summer classic. While at Stony Brook, he earned New England Collegiate Conference Player of the Year accolades and became the Seawolves' first ever All-American in 1999.

Among the other SB draftees is Chris Flinn, who was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the third round of the 2001 draft and is currently playing in their minor league system.

Alex Trezza was also taken in the 2001 draft when the Detroit Tigers made him their selection in the 18th round. Academically, over 90 percent of Senk's players have graduated and moved into successful careers or graduate school. Nathan also earned academic All-American honors twice under Senk's tutelage.

Stony Brook's outstanding results on the field over the years are a credit to Senk's passionate recruiting and coaching abilities. One of the very best recruiters in the nation, Senk has a reputation for bringing not only the best players to the field, but some of the best people to the University. He has taken a local approach to recruiting, tapping some of Long Island's top high schools and community colleges to strengthen the Seawolves program.

Prior to accepting the coaching position at Stony Brook, Senk spent three years as head coach at Kellenberg Memorial High School where his teams were successful in capturing league and division championships. Before coaching at Kellenberg, Senk was the head coach at St. Agnes Cathedral High School, guiding his team to a division championship and being awarded Nassau-Suffolk Catholic High School Athletic Association Coach of the Year.

Senk is a graduate of Cortland State where he earned his Bachelor's degree in psychology in 1980. While at Cortland, Senk was the Red Dragon's starting catcher for three seasons, a two-time All-SUNYAC selection and the team's Most Valuable Player as a senior. Senk later earned his master's degree in physical education from Adelphi University and is a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association.