Bill Decker, the 2008 ABCA National Coach of the Year, begins his 20th season as head coach of the Trinity College baseball team. Last spring, Decker earned NESCAC Coach of the Year Honors and ECAC New-England Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Bantams to a 33-7 records and their second consecutive Division III World Series Tournament, a year after winning the National Championship in 2008.
Decker is the College's all-time winningest coach, leading his team to a 455-194 record since his arrival in the 1991 season, putting together 18 winning seasons. Decker's teams have made eight NCAA Tournament appearances, seven NESCAC Tournament bids, six ECAC Tournament appearances, and have captured the NESCAC title in 2000, 2003, 2008, and 2009.
Last spring, the Bantams won the NESCAC Championship, and the New England Regional Championship to earn a second consecutive bid to the Div. III College World Series in Wisconsin. In 2008, Decker's Bantams finished the season with a 45-1 mark en route to a NESCAC Championship, a New England Regional Championship and the school's first-ever NCAA Division III National Title. After finishing the regular season undefeated, the Bantams ran their record streak to 44 games, which is the longest winning-streak in Division III history. Their .978 winning percentage set a new NCAA record in any division in any sport.
In 2007, Decker's team qualified for the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament for the third time in five years, advancing four games into the New York Regional in upstate New York. In 2005, Decker guided Trinity to a 35-9 record and a NESCAC West Division title, and was rewarded for his efforts as the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Coach of the Year. Trinity also won its second NCAA Division III Regional Championship title in three years and made its second trip to the NCAA Division III World Series in Wisconsin. On top of being selected as the 2008 ABCA National Coach of the Year, Decker was also selected as the New England Coach of the Year in 2009, 2008, 2004 and 1999, Connecticut Coach of the Year in 2007, and the NESCAC Coach of the Year in 2009, 2008, 2003 and 2000.
A 1985 graduate of Ithaca College, Decker received a bachelor's degree in physical education with a minor in business. He also holds a master's degree in physical education with a concentration in coaching, which he received from his alma mater in 1992. A two-sport athlete in college, Decker was a team captain and an All-American defensive back for the Ithaca football squad. His baseball playing days, unfortunately, ended due to an injury.
During his tenure at Trinity, Decker has been an active member
of the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association. He is
currently on the NCAA Division III New England Regional Committee
and is a regional coordinator for the NEIBA. In addition, he is a
member of the Division III All-American and Coach of the Year
Committee. In 1997, Decker was a member of the USA Baseball
National Trials coaching staff and has made summer trips as part of
Major League Baseball International. Five Trinity players, Jonah
Bayliss (Royals), Jeff Natale (Red Sox), Kurt Piantek (Tigers),
Thomas DiBenedetto (Red Sox), and Tim Kiely (Angels) have continued
their baseball careers at the professional level in the past six
years, and Bayliss became the first NESCAC player in 10 years to
appear in a major league game in 2006. Decker-coached athletes
compete annually in the NCAA-sponsored collegiate leagues each
summer.
Mark Lambert begins his fifth season at Trinity
College and serves as the team's pitching coach. Lambert came to
Trinity from the University of New Haven where he served as the
associate head coach for four seasons. During his time there, New
Haven he compiled a 103-43 record, earning two NCAA Tournament bids
and winning a conference championship in 2004.
Prior to New Haven, Lambert served as the Head Coach at Norwalk
Community College for seven years. During his tenure at Norwalk he
compiled an impressive 272-42 record, leading his team to five
consecutive NJCAA World Series appearances including a national
championship in 1998. While at Norwalk, Lambert coached 23
All-Americans and had 20 players that were either drafted or signed
professional contracts, including current major leaguer Eric
Bedard. He was named the Northeast Regional Coach of the Year five
times and was named National Coach of the Year in 1998 by the NJCAA
and the American Baseball Coaches Association.
Lambert began his coaching career after a successful playing career
at his alma mater Sacred Heart University where he served as an
assistant coach and recruiting coordinator from 1990-1993. During
that time the Pioneers made two trips to the NCAA Regional
Tournament and earned a berth in the College World Series in 1992.
Lambert has also coached professionally with the Bridgeport
Bluefish of the Atlantic League from 1998-2000, winning the league
championship in 1999, and the Mohawk Valley Land Sharks of the
Northeast League in 1995.
A graduate of Sacred Heart University with a degree in Business
administration, Lambert also earned his Masters degree in
counseling and human services from the University of Bridgeport. He
was inducted into the Notre Dame of Fairfield Athletic Hall of Fame
in 2000. Currently he is a guidance counselor at Xavier High School
in Middletown, Connecticut and resides in North Branford with his
wife, Susan, and his daughter, Casey.
Steve Cervizzi returns for his eleventh season
as an assistant coach for the Bantams, most recently part of the
staff that led the 2008 Trinity team to a Div. III National
Championship. Cervizzi is a 1973 graduate of Springfield College
and earned a Master's Degree from Eastern Connecticut State
University in 1988. He was a two-sport athlete at Springfield where
he played under two well known coaches, Ted Dunn in football and
Archie Allen in baseball. Injuries cut Cervizzi's playing days
short, but he has gone on to enjoy a successful and rewarding
coaching career.
Cervizzi began his high school coaching days in Massachusetts at
Holliston High School. He then taught and coached at Chelmsford and
Shrewsbury High Schools, before moving to Connecticut and Windam
Technical High School in Willimantic, Connecticut. Cervizzi coached
baseball coach for twelve seasons. He is presently the school's
Athletic Director and Instructor in Physical Education. Before
joining the Trinity staff in the fall of 1997, Cervizzi was the
pitching coach at Eastern Connecticut from 1990 to 96). Cervizzi
resides in Storrs, Connecticut with his wife, Lillian. He has two
sons, Steve Jr. and Michael, and two daughters, Kristin, and
Brianna.
Scott Smith, a native of Rockville, Conn.,
enters his third season as an assistant with the Trinity baseball
program. As part of the 2008 coaching staff, Smith helped
bring a Div. III National Championship to Trinity, the fourth Div.
III National Championship he has been a part of.
Smith was an assistant coach at Eastern Connecticut State
University from 1990-2004 helping the Warriors to 12 NCAA Division
III regional appearances, seven NCAA Division III World Series
berths and three NCAA Division III national championships ('90,
'98, '02). He also has served as a manager (2000), assistant coach
(2007) and on the Board of Directors of the Manchester (Conn.)
Silkworms of the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
A 1992 graduate of Eastern, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree
in business with a concentration in marketing and a minor in
physical education, Smith played one season for the Warriors before
becoming a member of the coaching staff prior to his sophomore
year.
Smith, who resides in Vernon, Conn. with his wife Dianne and three
children - Kevin 8, Kelly 5 and Nicholas 5 - is employed by ECSU's
Department of Athletics as the Equipment Manager and the
University's Vehicle Coordinator.
