Mercer County Community College Names New Baseball Coach

Fred Carella has a new position with the Mercer County Community College baseball team. Carella, an assistant coach with the team since 2003, has been named the team’s new head coach. He takes over for Kevin Kerins, who announced his resignation in June.

“Fred has served as an assistant coach for four previous head coaches, and has been an integral part of the team’s success through recruiting, skill teaching, and game strategy,” Mercer County Community College Athletics Director John Simone said. “He has a great reputation in the Mercer community and throughout the conference, and we are elated that he has chosen to accept the head coaching position.”

As an assistant coach, Hamilton native Carella coached third base and served as a hitting and outfielder coach. He has also headed up recruiting in Pennsylvania.

“I’m very appreciative of John Simone to have faith in me to continue the success of the Mercer baseball program,” said Carella, who graduated from Nottingham High School and The College of New Jersey (TCNJ). “Mercer has been my home for the last 15 years, and I want to make sure we do things the right way and present the college in a positive light.”

Carella has been a facilities supervisor at the college since 2002. When he became an assistant coach the following year, the Vikings earned a trip to the 2003 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) World Series.

As an assistant coach, he was part of a Vikings team that earned six Region 19 titles, four Northeast District titles, and four trips to the NJCAA World Series. During that time eight Mercer players were named as NJCAA All-Americans, and six were chosen in the Major League Baseball Draft. In 2018 alone, nine Viking baseball players were named to the Region 19 All-Academic Team.

He served as an assistant under Randy Voorhees, Kip Harrison, Matt Wolski, and Kerins. He is now the tenth head coach in the baseball program’s history.

“We have had a lot of success on and off the field,” Carella said. “I want to make sure our guys are doing well in the classroom, and continue their academic career after Mercer.”

The Vikings bring back 16 players from last year’s team to go with a solid recruiting class that includes two international students.

“We have a nice mix this year coming in,” Carella said. “It will be good to have a lot of returning players who will be able to hit the ground running, and I’m excited about the incoming class, which brings a lot of speed, power, and power arms as well. Our job is to keep it going, and move forward toward the common goal of returning to the World Series.”

The attached image of Fred Carella was provided by Mercer County Community College