Bravehearts

With a Futures League Championship now in the rearview mirror, Bravehearts Manager J.P. Pyne will leave the team this offseason to accept the new Head Coaching job at Amherst College. Both the Amherst College Mammoths and Clark University Cougars websites reported the news today.

Pyne, who won the 2018 Futures League Manager of the Year Award with the Bravehearts, will leave his current role as Head Coach at Clark University on August 31st.

“My family and I are thrilled to be joining the Amherst College community," said Pyne. "I would like to thank Don Faulstick, along with the members of the search committee, for selecting me to lead the baseball program into the future. I am truly humbled to take over a program with so much history and tradition.”

J.P. Pyne became a Braveheart just weeks before the 2016 season after Manager Justin Edwards stepped down for a scouting opportunity in West Virginia. He found immediate success by leading the Bravehearts to their best record in team history - a 37-18 mark that was good for first overall in the 2016 Futures League standings. He guided to the Bravehearts to the championship series against the Nashua Silver Knights before falling 2 games to none. The script was a bit different in 2017 as the Bravehearts barely slipped into the 6th playoff spot and then pulled off playoff upsets against the Wachusett Dirt Dawgs and Brockton Rox on their way to the Championship Series. Once again, the team finished as runners-up to the Nashua Silver Knights.

Pyne won his first championship as head coach this season when the Bravehearts rebounded from a slow start to finish 33-19 and claim a co-championship with the Martha's Vineyard Sharks as the deciding game was rained out.

"He’s the consummate professional and a proven voice of leadership,” said Bravehearts General Manager Dave Peterson. “He holds court. People respect him. People listen when he talks. I think his personality works perfectly when you’re talking about guiding a team of 18-22-year-olds through either a spring or summer of baseball, in our case, preparing them for the ultimate goal of playing professional baseball and the rigors of playing every single day of the week.”

Pyne finished his career at Clark with a 70-47 record and his career with the Bravehearts at 95-66 (103 total wins when you include playoffs). He is currently the winningest Bravehearts Manager in their short history.

The Bravehearts will begin the search for their next manager next week when they meet with the entire coaching staff.

Read the full story on the Amherst Mammoths website here.