Story Courtesy of UMass Athletic Communciations
AMHERST, Mass. – Max Weir has been named the University of Massachusetts baseball head coach, Director of Athletics Ryan Bamford announced on Wednesday (May 27).
“I want to thank Max and Brandon for their leadership this past year as co-head coaches,” said Bamford. “Under challenging circumstances, they rallied our guys last fall which resulted in a positive student-athlete experience and a respectable conference finish, narrowly missing the MAC baseball playoffs.”
Weir and Brandon Shileikis had served as co-head coaches for the 2025-26 season following the departure of longtime head coach Matt Reynolds.
“After a thoughtful review of the last nine months, we felt it would be important to return to a more traditional leadership model,” Bamford continued. “Accordingly, I am pleased to promote Max into the head coaching role as we enter the off-season. I look forward to working with Max and his staff to support the growth of the program under his leadership.”
“I am humbled and honored to be named the next head baseball coach at the University of Massachusetts,” Weir said. “I’d like to thank Ryan Bamford for navigating this process and trusting me with the opportunity to lead this historic program. Our vision will continue to be built on the foundation of expecting more from those who touch our program and, in turn, earning the opportunity to achieve success. I’m excited to continue building on the momentum we established this year and can’t wait to get back to work.”
Weir led the Minutemen to a strong second half of the 2026 season, which was their first in the Mid-American Conference. Massachusetts posted an 11-7 record in the final six conference series of the season and UMass remained in contention for one of the six places in the 2026 MAC Tournament into the final weekend of play. The Minutemen also won four straight conference series from April 10 – May 3, including back-to-back weekend sweeps over Eastern Michigan and Bowling Green.
Junior pitcher Callen Powers earned 2026 All-MAC Second Team honors after posting a 3.96 ERA in conference play (sixth-best in the league). Powers also had 75 strikeouts to rank ninth in the league, held opposing batters to a .238 average in MAC play (ninth) and totaled 84 innings in conference play (tied for third most).
The Minutemen swept the MAC weekly awards on April 13 as sophomore pitcher Adam Merritt was tabbed MAC Pitcher of the Week and sophomore outfielder/DH Gavin O’Brien was named MAC Player of the Week.
O’Brien slugged .623 in MAC play this past season, good for fifth-best in the league, while his 14 home runs tied for fifth. He also earned MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors on April 16.
About Weir
Weir returned to UMass as an assistant coach for the 2025 season, rejoining the Minutemen after serving as associate head coach at Nichols College in 2024. He helped guide the Bison to a program-record 29 wins, a .324 team batting average and multiple offensive records. Under his leadership, Nichols produced two All-Americans, the CCC Player of the Year and several All-Region and Academic All-District honorees.
Weir previously spent the 2022-23 season at UMass as a volunteer assistant working with catchers and hitters.
Weir also had coaching stints at Gardner-Webb and American International College. He was also the head baseball coach and instructor for the Eagles Baseball Club in Easthampton, Massachusetts, where he helped the club capture the program’s first ever Western Mass Championship.
Additionally, Weir spent a season with the Boston Red Sox with the Fan and Youth Engagement team, aiding with various public and private events in New England, as well as Fenway Park to enhance fan experience.
