Coach Kelley raised the bar in his second season in Bristol, steering the Hawks to a record of 27-11-2, good for the second-best mark in program history for single season wins and winning percentage (.700), with the later number ranking 40th in the nation across Division III Baseball. The RWU Baseball program roared out of the gates, winning their first ten games of the season, a number that stands as both the best ten-game start and longest winning streak on record. They would extend their strong start to stand at 17-2-1 through their first 20 games of the season, good for their best 20-game start in program history, breaking the team’s mark from the previous spring. Aggressive in all facets of the game, the Hawks finished the season ranked in the top-50 nationally in strikeouts per nine innings (13th, 9.9) hits allowed per nine innings (13th, 8.14), walks (19th, 243), steals per game (25th, 2.60), double plays per game (26th, 0.85), stolen bases (28th, 104), ERA (32nd, 4.15), sacrifice bunts (33rd, 32), double plays (36th, 34), WHIP (37th, 1.4), runs per game (46th, 8.7), and OBP (48th, .419). RWU also featured several individuals in the top-50 nationally in several statistics, among them Justin Garcia in hits allowed per nine innings (3rd, 4.55), ERA (12th, 1.67), and strikeouts per nine innings (17th, 13.65), Chris Flynn in WHIP (6th, 0.82), strikeout-to-walk ratio (10th, 10.56), and strikeouts per nine innings (13th, 14.02), and both Jack Morin (7th, 1.06) and Matt Massaro (T-9th, 1.00) in walks per game. At conference level, RWU paced the Commonwealth Coast Conference in stolen bases, stolen base %, and fewest home runs allowed, while ranking in the top-three in doubles, on-base percentage, strikeouts, K/9, ERA, and double plays. At the end of the season, seven Hawks earned All-CCC recognition, the third-most by a team in the conference, while their three first-team honorees was tied for the second-most. In addition, three Hawks were named to the Division 3 All Region team and four Hawks were named to the ABCA/Rawlings All Region team.
After a successful spring in 2022, Kelley traveled to Bourne, Massachusetts where he served on the coaching staff of the Bourne Braves of the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League, widely considered the top collegiate summer league in America. Serving as the team’s third base coach and infield coach, Kelley helped lead the Braves to the Cape Cod Baseball League Championship finishing a league-best 23-14-7 in the regular season before dropping just one game on their way to the CCBL crown.
Kelley came to Roger Williams after having spent the past two seasons as the Head Baseball Coach at Rutgers University-Newark. While at Rutgers-Newark, Kelley was responsible all aspects of the baseball program including, game planning, scouting, skill development, fundraising, and fitness training. In his first season, he helped lead the team to the New Jersey Athletic Association Semifinals, defeating the top two seeds along the way. Prior to Rutgers-Newark, Kelley spent nine seasons as the Associate Head Baseball Coach at the University of Massachusetts-Boston. During his time at UMass-Boston, he aided in developing the Beacon into one of the premier programs in New England, culminating in three Little East Championships and two NCAA Division III College World Series appearances. In 2010, he helped lead the team to its best season in program history. Over the course of the year, the team was ranked #1 in the country, won the NCAA Division III New England Regional Championship to advance to the College World Series, and finish the season with a then school-record 38 wins. Kelley is a 2003 graduate of Suffolk University where he was a four-year member of the Baseball team. While a member of the Rams, he was a team captain in his senior year and helped the team win the 2000 and 2002 GNAC Championship as well as the 2000 ECAC New England Championship.