Christopher Shank was appointed Head Coach of the SNHU baseball team in August 2023. He is the seventh head coach in the program’s history and has been with the Penmen for over nine years from the years 2009 until 2015.
Shank began his coaching career at his alma mater, spending 2003-05 as an assistant at Franklin Pierce University.
Shank has an extensive history in coaching. He spent two seasons as the Head Coach at New England College from 2017 to 2018.
He was named Head Baseball Coach at Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) in December 2019 and presided over the team for four seasons, including pandemic-shortened seasons in 2020 and 2021.
Shank returned to SNHU to become Head Coach and expresses how important this place is to him. He feels a strong connection and has gotten to know everyone well. He believes that the people are what makes Southern New Hampshire University special.
“This place is like family to me, I spent so long here as an assistant and got to know all the people who are here. People are what make SNHU go around, everyone here is so welcoming and a lot of people are pulling in the same direction for athletics to do well,” said Shank.
Shank is ready for the season. This year, the team has players from all grades, including new players that consist of transfers and returning students.
“We have a good group of people here which makes it enjoyable to come to the ballpark every day when everyone’s on the same mission as you are. It’s been an awesome transition back; we have a really talented squad,” mentions Shank. “This year the guys we brought in are quality people so they’re having no trouble whatsoever fitting into the group. I’m looking forward to watching these guys play and develop on a daily basis.”
Shank talks about the team spirit at SNHU. The team is made up of different individuals that are all prepared to work hard for the season ahead.
“We got a lot of guys who are hungry and want to win. We have a lot of people from different backgrounds and different ethnicities. From a work ethic perspective our guys in my opinion are second to none, they work hard every single day,” said Shank.
The baseball team’s opening day is February 2 in Myrtle Beach. For more information, go to snhupenmen.com for sports updates and Instagram @snhupenmen.
