Matt Senk’s Hall of Fame Call

Stony Brook University has announced its 2026 Stony Brook Athletics Rita & Kurt Eppenstein Hall of Fame class, and longtime baseball coach Matt Senk is among the distinguished group that will be enshrined this fall.

For anyone who followed Stony Brook baseball over the past three decades, Senk’s selection should come as no surprise.

Senk took over the Seawolves baseball program in 1991, when Stony Brook was still a Division III program that had recorded just six winning seasons since its inception in 1966. Over the next 35 years, Senk helped transform the program into one of the most respected programs in college baseball.

His accomplishments are impressive: a trip to the 2012 College World Series, a Baton Rouge Super Regional championship, a Coral Gables Regional championship, six NCAA Tournament appearances, six conference tournament championships and seven regular-season titles.

Senk finished his career with 967 victories, making him one of just 12 Division I head coaches to eclipse 950 career wins. He is the only coach in that group to record all of those victories at one school. He also became one of just 27 coaches in NCAA history to record at least 960 wins at a single program.

During his tenure, Stony Brook produced 26 winning seasons, reached the 30-win mark 13 times and set a program record with 52 victories in 2012, a total that led the nation.

That 2012 season remains the defining moment of Senk’s career and one of the most memorable runs in college baseball history.

Stony Brook finished the regular season 43-11, posting the highest winning percentage in the country at .796. After winning its fourth America East title, the Seawolves advanced to the Coral Gables Regional, where they upset Miami and won three straight elimination games.

Stony Brook then stunned the college baseball world by defeating six-time national champion LSU in Baton Rouge to win the Super Regional. The Seawolves became the second No. 4 seed since 1999 to reach the College World Series and the first school from the Northeast to reach Omaha since 1987.

Under Senk, Stony Brook also became a steady producer of professional baseball talent. His program produced 29 MLB Draft picks and 57 professional contracts, including five players who reached the Major Leagues: Joe Nathan '97, a six-time MLB All-Star; Travis Jankowski '12, a 2023 World Series champion; Tom Koehler '08; Nick Tropeano '11; and Daniel Zamora '15.

Senk retired following the 2025 season, leaving behind a legacy built on championships, player development, academic excellence and the remarkable transformation of a once-modest Division III program into a nationally recognized powerhouse.

This fall, Stony Brook will officially add another chapter to that legacy when Senk takes his place among the university’s Hall of Fame members.