Mark Woodworth - Head Baseball Coach

(860) 685-2924 - mwoodworth@wesleyan.edu

       Mark Woodworth, a 1994 graduate of Wesleyan University, enters his eighth season as Wesleyan's head baseball coach and member of the faculty. He is a part of a unique tradition as he is only the third coach at the school in the last 67 years. An adjunct assistant professor of physical education, he has led Wesleyan baseball to the NESCAC tournament in two of his first four seasons, and was named the NESCAC Coach of the Year in 2002.
       Mark brings a wealth of experience accrued over 18 years of baseball coaching, including 13 at the college level. Before his stint as head coach at Wesleyan, he served as an assistant coach at Amherst College, as well as the head baseball coach at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. From 1996-97, he was an assistant coach at Wesleyan, while earning his Master of Arts in Liberal Studies degree.
     In 1995, he coached four future major leaguers as an assistant for the Falmouth Commodores in the Cape Cod League, the same league in which he played for the Wareham Gatemen in 1993. He has helped run the annual tryout for the Cape Cod League each spring for the last ten years.
     At Wesleyan, Mark also teaches and serves as the director of intramurals. In addition, he is the New England coordinator for the Division III national baseball coaches poll, as well as on the NCAA Division III baseball New England region committee.
     As a player at Wesleyan, Mark was a four-year starter at shortstop, graduating as the all-time Wesleyan leader in games played, and sixth in career hits. He was captain of the 1994 Wesleyan team which broke school records en route to winning the NCAA New England title, before playing in the NCAA Division III World Series. The Cardinals finished their run with a berth in the national championship game, finishing runner-up, while posting a best-ever 30-8 record.
     Mark is a native of Norwell, Mass. and a 1990 graduate of Norwell High School. He was a three-sport captain, earned All-South Shore League honors in baseball, soccer and basketball, and was named the South Shore League Small Athlete of the Year in 1990. He also participated in numerous summer baseball leagues including American Legion, the Cranberry League, and the Boston Park League.
     Mark's coaching philosophy is marked by helping players to enjoy their experience and reach their potential. Focus is placed on the teaching of exceptional technique combined with a mental approach that allows players to play relaxed, confident and aggressive baseball under pressure.
      As a supplement to his baseball teachings, Mark has written a book, The Rhythm of Baseball, about the technique and mental approach of baseball, as well as The Code of the Game, about learning baseball by feel.
     Mark is married to the former Robin McLellan, a 1997 graduate of Wesleyan University. They have a two-year-old
daughter, Lily Grace Woodworth, and a newborn son, Dylan Samuel Stiles Woodworth.

      One of the great baseball minds in New England, Rob returns to Wesleyan for his fourth season after serving as an assistant baseball coach for the Cardinals in 2008, as well as during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. Rob has had great success as a baseball coach, most recently with St. Paul Catholic High in Bristol, Conn., but also as the long-time head coach of his hometown Berlin American Legion team. His 2002 Legion squad won the prestigious Connecticut state title, recording a dominating 42-6 record, while his most recent team in the summer of 2008, placed second in the state.
     Prior to that, Rob spent three seasons coaching at his alma mater, Quinnipiac College in Hamden, Conn., where he starred as a four-year starting catcher.
 

      Tim joins the coaching staff after graduating in the spring of 2008 as a four-year letterwinner for the Cardinals. He not only was a key pitcher for the Cardinals, but also contributed as a catcher. On the mound, he had numerous strong outings, and averaged one strikeout an inning. He also spent a season on the Wesleyan football team as a quarterback.
     Tim spent the summer of 2007 as a backup catcher for the championship-winning Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the prestigious Cape Cod League, behind two-first round draft picks. In the summer of 2008, he served as pitching coach for the Middletown Legion team.
     A graduate of St. Paul's School in New Hampshire, Tim earned his degree in economics at Wesleyan.
 

      Tim returns to the Wesleyan baseball coaching staff after helping the Cardinals to the NESCAC tournament in 2005. He had been an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at his alma mater, Central Connecticut State University, the past three seasons. He was a four-year starter as catcher at Central Conn., and was named a Div. I third-team All-American in 2003, as well as the Northeast Conference Player of the Year, hitting .425 with a then-school record 79 hits. A four-year member of the NEC All-Conference team and Rookie-of-the-Year in 2001, he is the school's all-time leader in hits, doubles, at-bats and RBI.
     A graduate of Middletown High, Tim was named All-State in football and wrestling. Most recently, he spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the Bourne Braves in the Cape Cod League, and will begin his second summer as the head coach of Middletown Legion in 2009.

      Rich Adelstein enters his seventh season as the Faculty Advisor to the Wesleyan baseball team. He is an invaluable member of the staff, serving as a liaison in the quest to align athletic programs with academic and student life. Prof. Adelstein has been a Professor of Economics at Wesleyan since 1975 and was the winner of the first Wesleyan University Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1993. He also has spent time at Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Oxford.
     In addition to his focus on economics, Prof. Adelstein was admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1978. He received his Ph.D. and J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A.A. from Wesleyan University, and an M.A.T. from Harvard University. He spent his undergraduate years at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating in 1968 and catching on the varsity baseball team.