Army West Point Athletics
Baseball
Mike Cole
- Title:
- Associate Head Baseball Coach
- Email:
- michael.cole@westpoint.edu
- Phone:
- 4938
Associate Head Coach Mike Cole finished his fourth year at Army West Point as associate head baseball coach in 2026 after joining Chris Tracz’s staff before the 2023 season. During his tenue at Army, Cole has served as the third base coach and the program’s hitting coach.
The Black Knights defeated Navy in both the baseball star series as well as in the final regular season series of the year. That—combined with an 11-3 win over Air Force on February 21—gave Army a 5-2 record against academy rivals in 2026.
On February 20, the Black Knights won their first game over a power conference opponent since 2022 and just their second SEC game in program history with a 9-5 win at South Carolina. Chris Barr homered twice for Army, and Josiah Overbeek provided both a home run at the plate and four outs on the mound to finish the game. The matchup was part of South Carolina’s Salute the Troops Weekend, which also featured Army’s win over Air Force the next day at Founders Park in Columbia, S.C.
In 2026, hitters Chris Barr, Thomas Schreck and Josiah Overbeek were named to the Patriot League All-League First Team, with William Parker making the Second Team.
Overbeek broke out as a two-way star during his freshman year in 2026, being named a finalist for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year award. The freshman from Weatherford, Texas reached base in all 46 games played as a plebe. He tied Ross Friedrick’s single-season record of 17 home runs in Army’s playoff game vs. Holy Cross on May 10, and finished the season tied for the Division I lead in walks drawn with 56. Overbeek’s .514 OPS and .712 SLG also each led the Patriot League in 2026.
In 2025, despite losing key hitters Derek Berg, Sam Ruta and Braden Golinski in the 2024-25 offseason, the club improved its batting average from ‘24 in ’25, from .274 to .279.
INF Thomas Schreck, OF/INF Chris Barr and OF William Parker were each named to the Patriot League All-Conference First Team in 2025, while OF Addison Ainsworth and C Jack Quinlan each earned Second Team accolades. Schreck earned all-league honors after having improved his batting average from .210 in 2024 to .335 in 2025. Quinlan was also a Buster Posey Award semifinalist among the nation’s top collegiate catchers.
In 2024, Cole guided the offense to first place marks in the Patriot League in multiple statistical categories, including home runs (60), RBIs, (320), total bases (753) and batting average across league games (.301).
Three Black Knights recorded at least 10 home runs in 2024, led by Derek Berg and Sam Ruta with 15 each.
Army won six games by mercy rule in 2024, including five in Patriot League play, plus against Air Force on March 2 in Sugar Land, Texas.
Berg, Ruta, William Parker and Braden Golinski each earned Patriot League All-Conference accolades for their seasons in the batter’s box.
The season culminated for Army with a sixth consecutive Patriot League Tournament Championship and berth in the NCAA Athens Regional.
A former head coach at two destinations, Cole has been instrumental in the development of 1B/C Ross Freidrick, who signed a minor league free agent deal with the St. Louis Cardinals after the 2023 season.
Cole joined the program after four seasons as the Head Coach at Manhattan College (2018-22). During his tenure at Manhattan, Cole had 16 All-Conference Selections. Cole coached the MAAC Rookie of the Year and College Baseball Freshman All-American, Nick Cimillo and three professional players.
Cole was also the Associate Head Coach at Fairfield University (2013-17), where he had three separate 30-winning seasons and back-to-back MAAC Regular Season Championship titles. Fairfield won the 2016 MAAC Tournament Championship and had an NCAA Tournament berth. In 2014 and 2016 the baseball teams set school records for wins (32). Cole also had stops at NJIT (Head Coach 2011-12), and was an Assistant Coach at Vermont (2002-2004, 2009), Manhattan (2005-2006), and Maine (2010).
Cole received his B.S. in 2002 in Community Development and Applied Economics, with a major in Small Business from Vermont University.
A native of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Cole was a four-year standout at the University of Vermont. A 2011 UVM Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, Cole earned All-America East honors at third base as a senior in 2001 and left as the Catamounts' career leader in games played, doubles, and RBI while ranking second in career hits.
Cole and his wife Eliza are parents to Payton and Hunter.
The Black Knights defeated Navy in both the baseball star series as well as in the final regular season series of the year. That—combined with an 11-3 win over Air Force on February 21—gave Army a 5-2 record against academy rivals in 2026.
On February 20, the Black Knights won their first game over a power conference opponent since 2022 and just their second SEC game in program history with a 9-5 win at South Carolina. Chris Barr homered twice for Army, and Josiah Overbeek provided both a home run at the plate and four outs on the mound to finish the game. The matchup was part of South Carolina’s Salute the Troops Weekend, which also featured Army’s win over Air Force the next day at Founders Park in Columbia, S.C.
In 2026, hitters Chris Barr, Thomas Schreck and Josiah Overbeek were named to the Patriot League All-League First Team, with William Parker making the Second Team.
Overbeek broke out as a two-way star during his freshman year in 2026, being named a finalist for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year award. The freshman from Weatherford, Texas reached base in all 46 games played as a plebe. He tied Ross Friedrick’s single-season record of 17 home runs in Army’s playoff game vs. Holy Cross on May 10, and finished the season tied for the Division I lead in walks drawn with 56. Overbeek’s .514 OPS and .712 SLG also each led the Patriot League in 2026.
In 2025, despite losing key hitters Derek Berg, Sam Ruta and Braden Golinski in the 2024-25 offseason, the club improved its batting average from ‘24 in ’25, from .274 to .279.
INF Thomas Schreck, OF/INF Chris Barr and OF William Parker were each named to the Patriot League All-Conference First Team in 2025, while OF Addison Ainsworth and C Jack Quinlan each earned Second Team accolades. Schreck earned all-league honors after having improved his batting average from .210 in 2024 to .335 in 2025. Quinlan was also a Buster Posey Award semifinalist among the nation’s top collegiate catchers.
In 2024, Cole guided the offense to first place marks in the Patriot League in multiple statistical categories, including home runs (60), RBIs, (320), total bases (753) and batting average across league games (.301).
Three Black Knights recorded at least 10 home runs in 2024, led by Derek Berg and Sam Ruta with 15 each.
Army won six games by mercy rule in 2024, including five in Patriot League play, plus against Air Force on March 2 in Sugar Land, Texas.
Berg, Ruta, William Parker and Braden Golinski each earned Patriot League All-Conference accolades for their seasons in the batter’s box.
The season culminated for Army with a sixth consecutive Patriot League Tournament Championship and berth in the NCAA Athens Regional.
A former head coach at two destinations, Cole has been instrumental in the development of 1B/C Ross Freidrick, who signed a minor league free agent deal with the St. Louis Cardinals after the 2023 season.
Cole joined the program after four seasons as the Head Coach at Manhattan College (2018-22). During his tenure at Manhattan, Cole had 16 All-Conference Selections. Cole coached the MAAC Rookie of the Year and College Baseball Freshman All-American, Nick Cimillo and three professional players.
Cole was also the Associate Head Coach at Fairfield University (2013-17), where he had three separate 30-winning seasons and back-to-back MAAC Regular Season Championship titles. Fairfield won the 2016 MAAC Tournament Championship and had an NCAA Tournament berth. In 2014 and 2016 the baseball teams set school records for wins (32). Cole also had stops at NJIT (Head Coach 2011-12), and was an Assistant Coach at Vermont (2002-2004, 2009), Manhattan (2005-2006), and Maine (2010).
Cole received his B.S. in 2002 in Community Development and Applied Economics, with a major in Small Business from Vermont University.
A native of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Cole was a four-year standout at the University of Vermont. A 2011 UVM Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, Cole earned All-America East honors at third base as a senior in 2001 and left as the Catamounts' career leader in games played, doubles, and RBI while ranking second in career hits.
Cole and his wife Eliza are parents to Payton and Hunter.
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