by Rusty Ellis
A new era in Chester County baseball is underway, as Collin McPherson was named the new head coach of the Eagles baseball program on Thursday.
“It means a lot to me, being a former player at Chester County,” McPherson said. “Being able to return to the program in a different way, it really means a lot to me.”
It’s an opportunity that McPherson thought might be a possibilty for the last couple of years, but it didn’t change his excitement and eagerness to take advantage of the opening.
“I would say a few years back, I’m pretty good friends with Coach (Mike) Goff and he had been the head coach for the last several years,” McPherson said. “With his son coming up and graduating this past year, I had an idea that it might be possible, but it was something I was thinking about for a little bit.”
It comes on the heels of Goff’s retirement, as well as after a season that saw the Eagles make it to the 2025 Spring Fling and Class 3A State Tournament. A season like that now allows McPherson to step into a program that has had several successful seasons in a row for him to build on.
“We’ve had previous success, especially these last three seasons,” McPherson said. “We’ve had two substate appearances, Coach Goff’s done a really good job his whole career and we’ve had some really good talent these past several seasons. We’re looking to continue that growth in the right direction.”
When McPherson was playing in Henderson, coaching and teaching wasn’t exactly something that was on his mind. After all, he was focused on his actual playing career at that point in time.
That being said, he thinks his younger self would be ecstatic to know he gets to work in and around the game he grew up playing.
“Still being involved in the game, that’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” McPherson said. “I would’ve been excited just to think about that…just staying around and being active around the game.”
A new hire is always an exciting time for a program, and when it comes to what McPherson will push with his players, fans should look forward to this being the hardest working team every time they step onto the field.
“We’re going to be a hard-working, hard-nosed team,” McPherson said. “No matter what the circumstances are, we’re going to play our hardest. That’s the standard I’m going to hold my players to.”
