NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State assistant baseball coach Joey Seal has added to his duties recently, as he has been named the head coach of the Coastal Plain League’s Martinsville Mustangs.
After completing the spring collegiate season with the Spartans in 2014, Seal will work during the summer managing the Mustangs, a wooden-bat collegiate summer league team in the CPL.
“I am grateful for the encouragement I have received from coach Claudell Clark and the administration at NSU to accept this opportunity,” Seal said. “I am looking forward to gaining even more leadership and coaching skills through this valuable experience that will help me develop professionally. My staff and I will work tirelessly to give Mustang fans a baseball team they can cheer every night.”
Seal just completed his fourth year with the NSU baseball coaching staff. After working as a volunteer in 2010 and student assistant in 2011, he has served as pitching coach for the Spartans the last two years. He also serves as the team’s recruiting coordinator, assists with administrative tasks, camps and clinics, and helps monitor the team’s academics.
Under Seal’s tutelage, NSU’s pitching staff set a new single-season school record for strikeouts with 372 in 2011, a number the team almost topped the following year (363). NSU also ranked 20th in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings in 2012.
Seal, a Newport News, Va. native, was a four-year letterwinner at NSU from 2005-08. He owns school records for appearances (78), innings pitched (334) and strikeouts (269). An All-MEAC second-team pick as a junior, Seal helped the Spartans reach the MEAC Tournament championship round twice during his career. Seal is also no stranger to the CPL, as he played with the Outer Banks DareDevils in 2007.
The Mustangs are a member of the Coastal Plain League, one of the nation’s most highly-regarded summer collegiate baseball leagues. The CPL completed its 17th season of competition in 2013, featuring 14 teams playing in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The CPL gives college players the chance to refine their skills with the use of wooden bats.