E-mail this pageMeet the Softball Staff
Sean Cotter, Head Coach
Sean Cotter enters his 10th year as the Plattsburgh State head softball coach in 2008. A two-time region coach of the year, Cotter owns a 238-152-1 overall record (.610) in nine seasons, including a 205-136 mark (.601) as Plattsburgh's all-time winningest coach. He took over the reins of the program in its second year of existence, inheriting a 9-win team in its inaugural season and then molding them into a respectable 15-18 club during his first year in 2000. Since then, Cotter has propelled the Cardinals onto the national scene by competing in some of the top tournaments each season, including the Sun West Tournament in California and National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Leadoff Classic, and producing over 15 all-region recipients.
Last season was the program's most successful in school history by finishing fourth at the NCAA Division III World Series after capturing its first Northeast Regional title in the Cardinals' second trip to the national tournament. The No. 4 national ranking was the team's highest ever in the year-end coaches' poll, finishing 37-14 overall and 16-4 in conference play.
The Cardinals had a breakthrough 2006 season when they won their first-ever State University of New York Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships. Cotter piloted a Plattsburgh team that was picked to finish in fifth place but instead wound up
winning the SUNYAC regular-season title with a 19-1 mark and went 4-0 to capture the conference tournament at home. The Cardinals set several school records in the process, including a 40-9 record, .816 winning percentage, No. 12 final national ranking while peaking at No. 9, 23-game win streak, NCAA III regional finals appearance and 46 home runs. Sophomore Stephanie Zweig was named the SUNYAC Pitcher of the Year and became the school's first All-American ever, one of five Cardinals named first-team all-region. Cotter was selected the coach of the year by both the SUNYAC and NFCA Northeast Region.
Cotter picked up career win No. 200 on May 13, 2006 when Plattsburgh defeated Union 6-4 in extra innings to earn a berth in a NCAA regional championship series in Ithaca, N.Y.
The Cardinals have averaged 24 victories per season under Cotter, including Plattsburgh's first 30-win campaign in 2002 when the team (31-15) was the Eastern College Athletic Conference Upstate New York Tournament runner-up.
Plattsburgh has qualified for the SUNYAC Tournament the last eight years, and produced over 15 all-conference selections since 2000.
In addition to its on-the-field success, the team has worked hard in the classroom with a 2.9 grade-point average overall during the Cotter era. As a result, seven Cardinals have received NFCA Scholar All America awards 13 times.
Cotter has served as president of the New York State Women's Collegiate Athletic Association's softball committee and is a NFCA member. Currently, he is on the NFCA Top-25 committee that selects the national rankings each week, and served a term on the NCAA III Northeast Regional Rankings Committee. He was recently elected to the NFCA Board of Directors as the Division III representative. He also was the NCAA representative at the 2005 Division III Northeast Regional Tournament, ensuring the event ran smoothly.
In addition to his coaching duties, he is the game-day administrator for Plattsburgh men's and women's basketball events. He also participates in the NCAA's Leadership Conference programs.
In 2004, Cotter was recognized as a Two-Star Master Coach by the NFCA and is expected to receive this winter his Four-Star certificate, the highest level recognized by that association.
Cotter also has coached select teams when Coast-to-Coast Athletics chose him to lead a team of high school and college players in Australia and Hawaii from 2002-04 during the summer.
Before Plattsburgh, Cotter led NCAA Division II-scholarship Post University (Waterbury, Conn.) to a 33-16 record and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference championship game in 1999. The squad won 19 of its last 22 games to set a new team record for victories in a single season. He was rewarded to coach in the New England Intercollegiate Softball Coaches Association (NEISCA) All-Star Game.
Prior to his stint at Post, he coached at E.O. Smith High School in Storrs, Conn., where he compiled a 54-12 record from 1996-98. In his final season there, he led the team to a school-record 23-2 mark and a berth in the state Class "L" Final Four.
Cotter is a 1997 graduate of the University of Connecticut with a bachelor of arts degree in history. The New London, Conn., native enjoys traveling, whitewater rafting and following the Boston Red Sox.
Contact Information
For more information about Softball at Plattsburgh State, please contact:
Coach Sean Cotter
Phone: (518) 564-4144
E-mail: cottersm@plattsburgh.edu