Southern Connecticut State University Athletics

SCSU Baseball Head Coach Tim Shea ’87 enters his 25^th year as the Owls’ head coach in 2025-26.

Tim Shea Highlights

• On May 1, 2019, Shea became the winningest coach in program history when he captured his 467th victory in a win against Saint Rose at home
• Seven NCAA Tournament appearances (2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2017, 2022)
• Two NCAA World Series berths (2005, 2011)
• Three-time Northeast 10 Conference Coach of the Year (2005, 2008, 2010)
• Three-time Northeast Regional Coach of the Year (2005, 2008, 2010)
• 2005 NEIBA Division II Coach of the Year
• 2012 Jack Butterfield Award winner by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association
• Two-time Northeast 10 Southwest Division Championships (2016, 2017)
• Has won 30-or-more games in nine seasons as the Owls’ head coach and has 19 seasons of 20-or-more wins
• 121 All-Northeast 10 Conference selections
• 37 All-Region selections
• Seven All-Americans
• As a student-athlete, She was a two-year captain for the Owls. He led the nation in doubles per game his senior season of 1987. He was named team MVP in 1985 and Second-Team All-Conference in 1986

Affiliated with Southern Connecticut State University as a student-athlete, instructor and coach for more than two decades, Tim Shea’s long-standing relationship with the university has been a tremendously successful one. He enters his 18th season at the helm of the Owls in the 2019-20 academic year. On May 1, 2019, Shea became the winningest coach in program history when he captured his 467th victory in a win against Saint Rose at home. 

He took over as head baseball coach prior to the 2002 season after serving 11 years as an assistant to Joe Bandiera.

During Shea’s tenure, he has built the Owls into an annual contender for the Northeast-10 Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

In fact, Shea has piloted Southern Connecticut to seven NCAA Tournament appearances (2005, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2017, 2022) and two NCAA World Series berths (2005, 2011).

Shea has amassed a record of 616-431-8 (.588) as the Owls’ skipper. Southern Connecticut has won at least 30 games in nine of his seasons at the helm.

On the individual front, Shea has coached 100 All-Conference performers, 29 All-Region players and seven All-Americans.

In 2019, the Owls posted a record of 20-28 and advanced to the NE10 Semifinals for the first time since 2011. Eight players earned all-NE10 recognition while Tyler Criscuolo earned All-American Honorable Mention. 

Southern Connecticut posted another 20-win campaign in 2018. The Owls capped the year with 21 wins and were ranked as high as No. 5 in the region. Five players earned year-end honors from the NE10 for their play on the diamond.

The Owls enjoyed a 2017 season that saw the club qualify for the NCAA Tournament and finish with 27 victories. In the process, the team also won the NE10 Southwest Division title for the second time in four years. Eight players were recognized with year-end honors from the NE10, with Nick Lamberti and Greg Zullo also collecting All-Region and All-ECAC honors, along with selections to the New England All-Star Game.

Prior to a 16-win season in 2016 and an 18-win season in 2015, Southern Connecticut concluded the 2014 season with a 24-15-1 overall record and reached the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament. SCSU also claimed the NE-10 Southwest Division title. The Owls were ranked as high as No. 8 in the regional polls during the season. Eight student-athletes earned All-Conference honors, and senior Rocco Cundari earned the Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Year award.
 
Southern Connecticut concluded the 2012 season with a 31-17 final overall mark and reached the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament. The Owls were ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation during the season. Eight student-athletes earned All-Conference honors, while Shea was selected as the Jack Butterfield Award winner by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association.

The 2011 season developed into the finest in the long and storied history of the Owls’ program. Shea guided the squad to a berth in the national semifinals and posted a school-record 45 victories in the process. Southern Connecticut finished the year with a final No. 4 national ranking. The Owls captured the Northeast-10 Conference regular season title and also set a new school mark with a 22-game winning streak to start the season.

Nine Owls collected All-Conference honors during the spring, with six earning All-Region accolades.

The 2010 campaign featured a Northeast-10 Conference regular season championship and a No. 20 final national ranking as the Owls finished the year with a 38-13-1 mark. Shea was named ECAC, Regional and Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year for his efforts.

The Owls enjoyed another outstanding campaign in 2008, as they concluded the year with a 36-19 mark and reached the NCAA Tournament.

For his efforts, Shea was selected as the Northeast Region Coach of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He was also tabbed as the Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year.

Following the 2008 season, the Owls had two student-athletes sign professional contracts. Jim Fuller was selected in the Major League Baseball draft by the New York Mets, while Mike Diaz was picked by the Houston Astros. Both played in the New York-Penn League in their rookie seasons.

The Owls were 31-16 in 2002 before posting another winning season in 2003 with a 20-17 mark. Southern Connecticut followed with a 30-22 mark in 2004.

In 2005, the Owls won the Northeast-10 Conference regular season championship (25-5) and earned the program’s first appearance in the Division II World Series by winning the Northeast Regional championship. The club concluded the year with an overall mark of 31-14.

Shea was named Northeast-10 Coach of the Year, NEIBA Division II Coach of the Year and ABCA Regional Coach of the Year in 2005. The Owls were also named NEIBA Division II Northeast Team of the Year.

The Owls reached the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year in 2006. They finished with an overall mark of 36-19, which matched the second-highest single-season win total in program history.

Southern Connecticut won 19 games in 2007 before storming back in 2008 to secure a NCAA Tournament berth for the third time in four years.

Dating back to his days as an assistant coach, Shea has been a part of seven squads that qualified for the NCAA Tournament.

Shea, who previously taught in the university’s special education department, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in special education from Southern.

A two-year captain for the Owls, Shea led the nation in doubles per game his senior season of 1987. He was named team MVP in 1985 and Second-Team All-Conference in 1986.

A West Haven native, Shea played football and was an All-State selection in baseball at Notre Dame of West Haven High School. A former assistant coach in both sports at Notre Dame, Shea taught for 14 years in the Milford school system.

Shea also has additional coaching experience with the Connecticut Owls AAU program. His teams won back-to-back AAU National Championships in 2006 and 2007.