Chris Celano recently completed his 12th season as the head coach at the University of New Haven in 2023. In 12 seasons, he has amassed a record of 263-181-2 (.592) with the Chargers and an overall mark of 448-319-2 (.584) as a collegiate head coach.
In its most recent season, Celano led New Haven to a 28-15 record and a third place finish in the Northeast-10’s Southwest Division with a 10-10 mark in league action. Among the highlights for the Chargers was a 14-1 stretch early in the season that helped propel the Blue and Gold into a top ranking in the East Region heading into the tough NE10 league schedule. Also eclipsed during the 2023 campaign was Celano’s 250th victory as head coach of the Chargers, extending his second-best record among the trio of Charger head coaches in program history. That victory for Celano came as the Chargers wrapped up a 3-1 opening weekend in NE10 action with a 14-7 win in the nightcap of a doubleheader against Adelphi on March 26. Following the season, New Haven saw a pair of major conference awards highlight a group of nine Chargers to be recognized by the Northeast-10 Conference. The two feature awards came in the form of Southwest Division Player of the Year, Andrew Bianco, and Southwest Division Rookie Pitcher of the Year, Tyler Sausville. All combined, seven players were named to one of three All-Conference Team, Bianco earned a spot on the first ever NE10 All-Defensive Team, while four players were named to the All-Rookie squad. Off the field, a pair of Chargers, Tyler Wells and Drew Silverman earned a spot on the newly renamed College Sports Communications All-District Team while both were also named to the NE10 All-Academic Team.
Also among the highlights for Celano during 2023 was having his first player coached at New Haven, Josh Walker, make his Major League debut with the New York Mets. Walker, who was originally a 37th round pick by the Mets in 2017, made his first appearance in an MLB game on May 16 when he came on in relief against Tampa Bay, pitching a scoreless inning against the Rays.
In the first full season back since the Covid-19 pandemic (2022), Celano led the Blue and Gold to an overall record of 24-19 and a mark of 9-14 in the Northeast-10. Along the way, Celano secured his 400th career victory as a head coach (combined between his time at New Haven and Dowling), with that victory coming as a 7-5 decision over West Virginia State at the USA Baseball Complex in Cary, N.C. Among the highlights of the 2022 campaign were six Chargers earning Northeast-10 Conference accolades, led by starting pitcher Thomas Eletto and utility player Andrew Cain who were both named to the All-Conference Second Team. Juniors Bianco and Robert Taylor followed with a spot on the Third Team while freshmen Cole Maucere and Liam Carroll each earned a spot on the All-Rookie squad. Rounding out the postseason honors were a pair of Chargers that combined their on-field success with success in the classroom as Bianco and Wells each earned a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-District I First Team.
After a Covid-19 shortened 2020 season that saw New Haven play only eight games, Celano led the Chargers to the second-round of the Northeast-10 playoffs in 2021. The Blue and Gold beat Pace in an opening-round game, before falling to Le Moyne 5-3 on May 13, 2021. UNH finished the 2021 regular season with a third-place showing in the Southwest Division. Celano guided five Chargers to postseason honors, highlighted by Thomas Eletto being named Southwest Division Pitcher of the Year. In addition, Eletto and Robert Taylor were All Northeast-10 First Team Selections. Noah Budzik was named to the Second Team, while Andrew Bianco and Brandon LaManna were named to the Third Team. Taylor and Bianco were also All-Rookie Team picks.
The 2018 New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) Division II Coach of the Year led the Chargers to one of the most successful campaigns in program history in 2018, as the team accumulated a program-record 39 wins. It was the 13th 30-plus win in program history and third under coach Celano. The Chargers began the season with a 16-0 record which was the second-best start in program history.
In addition, New Haven achieved a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) national ranking as high as No. 5, and spent 11 weeks nationally ranked by the organization. In addition, the Chargers were ranked top-three in the East Region throughout the season and eventually earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division II East Region Championship.
Celano also coached the New Haven pitching staff to the lowest team ERA in the nation in 2018, as the staff combined for a 2.47 ERA, the lowest in over a decade. For the season, he mentored two All-Americans, four All-Region players and seven All-Conference honorees, including NE10 Co-Pitcher of the Year, David Palmer.
In 2016, New Haven went 17-20 with a 10-12 record in the NE10. The Chargers held their home turf well, going 13-4 at Frank Vieira Field. Two players, Robert Petrillo and Andrew Garcia, earned NE10 All-Conference honors for their performance on the field.
In 2015, the Chargers went 17-16 overall and hosted NE10 Championship Weekend after being the highest remaining seed in the Southwest Division following First Round play in the conference championship. Four players garnered All-Conference accolade with Brian Caselli also receiving honors as an ABCA/Rawlings Division II All-East Region performer.
The 2014 season saw Celano lead New Haven to a 23-13 record overall, while recording a 17-9 record in the Northeast-10 Conference and a 12-6 record in the Southwest Division. The season culminated in a third straight trip to the NE-10 Conference Championships that included a first round win against Le Moyne. Additionally, New Haven earned several All-Conference accolades as seven student-athletes were honored by the NE-10 for their on-field performance.
In 2013, Celano led New Haven to a 34-16 record and its first-ever Northeast-10 Championship in five seasons as a member of the prestigious conference. Also the co-champions of the NE-10 Southwest Division, the Chargers went on to earn the No. 3 seed at the NCAA East Region Championship. New Haven recorded its first NCAA postseason win since 2003 with a 3-1 victory over eventual region champion Franklin Pierce. The Chargers’ 34 wins were the third-most in program history at the time, two shy of the then-record 36 victories accumulated by the 1989 team that finished as a national finalist.
Also the pitching coach for the Chargers, Celano mentored All-Region honorees Pat Simone and Peter Jay in 2013. Simone, who was also a First Team All-NE-10 honoree, ranked second in the nation and led the NE-10 with a WHIP of 0.81 while Jay broke the New Haven single-season record with 14 saves in addition to a 0.26 earned run average – ceding just one earned run in 34.1 innings of work.
In his first season as the Chargers' skipper in 2012, Celano led New Haven to a 25-19-1 record. The season included the club's fourth consecutive trip to the Northeast-10 Championship – highlighted by a First Round road win at Pace, the NE-10 Southwest Division champion. The triumph was New Haven’s first postseason victory since 2009.
Just the third coach in 50+ seasons of New Haven baseball, legendary head coach Frank “Porky” Vieira spoke highly of Celano at the time of his hiring on July 22, 2011. “It was impossible to find a better match as the next head coach. By hiring Chris, the program is pointed in the direction of the World Series,” Vieira said.
Before helming the dugout at Vieira Field, Celano completed seven years as head coach at Dowling College, where he led the Golden Lions to six postseason appearances – including four trips to the NCAA Division II Championship. The skipper guided Dowling to its first NCAA Division II World Series and was named the Division II National Coach of the Year in 2009, a season that also marked the Golden Lions’ first NCAA East Region Championship, and a program-record 35 wins. Also the ABCA East Region Coach of the Year in 2009, Celano earned his first Coach of the Year honor in 2008 from the East Coast Conference.
During his seven seasons as head coach, the Golden Lions recorded 20 or more wins six times. In 2006, Celano led Dowling to 22 victories in its final 25 games to advance to the NCAA postseason. He also coached three student-athletes that were selected in the MLB First Year Player Draft, three All-America and 31 all-conference honorees during his tenure.
Prior to his stint as head coach, Celano served three seasons as an assistant coach at Dowling from 2001-03. The Setauket, N.Y. native also served as the college’s Director of Sports Information from 2003-04.
A 1994 graduate of Ward Melville High School, Celano received his bachelor’s degree in English Literature from SUNY New Paltz in 1999. After a successful college career as a left-handed pitcher, he went on to play professionally in Rimini, Italy where he was a member of the 1999 Italian League Champion Rimini Pirates. Upon returning stateside, Celano signed with the Sioux Falls Canaries of the Northern League for the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
