Tom Vessella is entering his fifth season as the head coach of the Hillsdale College baseball program, looking to continue to grow the program after an upward trajectory in his first two seasons. Originally from California, Vessella was named the 15th head coach of the Charger baseball program in the post-World War II era in June of 2021, taking the job after a national search.
During his first campaign, the Chargers set a program record for strikeouts in a single season, and had two players receive national recognition, with shortstop Aidan Brewer becoming the program's second-ever consensus NCAA DII All-American, and outfielder Lewis Beals becoming just the second Charger baseball player to be named a CoSiDA Academic All-American.
Hillsdale followed that up with another strong year in 2023, finishing in the top four in the G-MAC for the first time since joining the conference for the 2018 season and recording the most wins in conference play (20) while reaching the G-MAC Tournament for the first time in Vessella's tenure. After the season, reliever Zane Barnhart became just the fourth Charger and the second Hillsdale pitcher in program history to be drafted by a Major League Baseball team, going in the 17th round to the Baltimore Orioles. Beals also repeated as an Academic All-American as well.
2024 saw the opening of Lenda and Glenda Hill Stadium and TFO Partners Field, the baseball program's new home, and an epic season from first baseman Will Shannon, who became the program's first G-MAC Player of the Year and an All-American as well. In 2025, led by a young and exciting lineup, the Chargers returned to the G-MAC Tournament and recorded two victories, pushing eventual Midwest Regional champion Northwood to the brink in an extra-inning thriller in the final game of Hillsdale's pool.
The Chargers returned to the G-MAC Tourney in 2026 under Vessella's guidance, the first time in program history the Chargers reached the conference tournament in back-to-back seasons, and once again made the finals of pool play with upset wins over both Walsh and Northwood along the way. During the campaign, Vessella also earned his 100th win as a head coach.
One of the hallmarks of Vessella teams has been an emphasis on error-free defensive play. His teams from 2023 to 2026 occupy each of the top four slots all-time in program history in single-season fielding percentage, while Hillsdale's 2026 squad posting a program record .970. All five of Vessella's teams also occupy five of the top six slots in program history in single-season strikeouts, with the 2022 squad recording a program-record 343. Five of the seven Hillsdale teams with over 300 strikeouts in a season were coaches by Vessella.
Vessella arrived at Hillsdale with extensive experience in baseball as both a player and a coach. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 11th round of the 2006 MLB Player Draft after an All-American career at Whittier College in California, and spent seven seasons in the Minor Leagues as a pitcher in the Astros and San Francisco Giants organizations, reaching the AAA level with the Fresno Grizzlies at one point in his career.
As his professional career was drawing to a close, Vessella made the leap into coaching, first as an instructor for the National Pitching Association in Los Angeles, California working with college and high school pitchers, and then as a volunteer assistant with Hope International University in Fullerton, California in 2014.
After a season with the Royals, Vessella joined the staff at Moorpark Community College in Moorpark, California, as the associate head baseball coach, spending the last six seasons with the Red Sox and helping the program to the 2018 Western State Conference title, as well as helping to send 16 players to four-year college baseball programs and multiple on to professional contracts.
Vessella's primary focus at Moorpark was with the pitching staff, and he led the Red Sox pitchers to a league-best 3.54 ERA during their 2018 championship season. That acumen will come in handy at the Division II level, where pitcher development is critical.
On top of his college coaching experience, Vessella also has extensive experience coaching summer wood bat leagues for collegiate players, serving as the head coach for the Medicine Hat Mavericks in Alberta, Canada in 2019 and coaching in the prestigious Cape Cod Summer League with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in 2021.
Vessella graduated from Whittier College in 2007 with a B.A. in Kinesiology, having been named the Male Athlete of the Year at the school in his senior season. He's earned two Master's Degrees, one in Organizational Leadership in 2009 from Woodbury University in Burbank, California, and one in Kinesiology and Sport Management from the University of South Dakota in 2019.
He's currently pursuing a PhD in Higher Education Leadership and Innovation from Wilmington University in Wilmington, Delaware, and has experience teaching at Los Angeles Trade Technical College as an instructor from 2008-2010 and at Moorpark Community College during his six seasons as an assistant coach. His dissertation, A Comparative Evaluation of Team Culture and Cohesion in College Baseball, focuses on group dynamics, team-building in athletics, and athlete satisfaction.
