Varsity Baseball
The Derryfield Varsity Baseball team is a member of the NHIAA Division III conference. The program for the past three years has been under the direction of Coach Kevin Gray, who guided the team to a No. 1 seed and 15-2 overall record in his first season. Coach Gray is an active member of the NHIAA Coaches Association, having coached in the Twin State Senior Games and Underwood All-Star Games. The Cougars have a strong tradition, appearing in the playoffs for 12 consecutive seasons and reaching the state finals three times. The program routinely has players recognized for All-State Honors and has been fortunate to have three players earn Player of the Year honors. Derryfield has had several players graduate from the program and further their careers at the collegiate level. We believe our success has been bred through a disciplined and intelligent approach to learning the fundamentals of the game as well as the belief that team comes before individual achievement.
Meet Our Coaches
Coach Gray
Kevin Gray, Head Coach
Email: graymatter11@aol.com
Entering his second year on the varsity coaching staff, Gray brings a wealth of knowledge to Derryfield School after coaching at Bow High School and developing student-athletes at Ultimate Sports Academy in Manchester. In his first season with the Cougars, coach Gray guided the team to a 15-2 record and No. 1 seed. He is on the coaching staff for the Twin State Classic Senior All-Star Game and Underwood Showcase Game. Gray has played or coached in five NHIAA championship games (baseball and football) and was on bench as an assistant for the Division II baseball championship won by the Bow Falcons in 2019. As coach of JV baseball and middle school girls’ basketball at Bow, his teams had multiple undefeated seasons and won the school’s first Tri-County basketball championship. After graduating at the University of New Hampshire in 1993, Gray embarked on a career in journalism and was an award-winning sports writer for The Union Leader while covering the Red Sox and Fisher Cats. In 2012, he co-founded the New Hampshire Bobcats club team, which has developed hundreds of players and helped guide more than 60 players into college baseball. Gray served five years as an associate scout with the Seattle Mariners and has coached two MLB draft picks, Ben Malgeri of the Tigers and Cody Morissette of the Marlins. He is the general manager of Ultimate Sports Academy in Manchester and resides in Bow with his wife, Tareah, and daughter, Ella. Son, Ethan, is a student at UNH in the Paul College of Business and Economics. Ella recently committed to play lacrosse at Southern New Hampshire University.
Coach Townsend
Blaire Townsend, Assistant Coach
Email: david.townsend2@comcast.net
Blaire has spent the past 20 years involved in youth athletic leagues in Manchester, NH as President, Board of Director, and Treasurer, as well as a coach for softball, soccer, basketball, and baseball. A two-sport athlete at Manchester Memorial High School, Blaire was the starting pitcher and shortstop for their state championship runner-up baseball team and the co-captain and all-state point guard for their state championship basketball team. He continued his athletic career as a 4-year, varsity baseball player for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. Following RPI, Blaire received his MBA from Babson College in Wellesley, MA. Prior to joining the Derryfield School varsity baseball coaching staff in 2024, Blaire was the Derryfield middle school baseball assistant coach for 3 years and in 2021, he was a coach of the North Manchester Hooksett Little League all-star team that won the New England championship and finished in the top 8 at the Little League World Series in 2021.
Coach Watt-Murray
Coach Elijah, in his fourth season at Derryfield, serves as pitching coach and has enjoyed much success working with young pitchers. In 2004, the Cougars posted an impressive 1.82 ERA as a team while racking up 146 strikeouts in 111 innings. A former pitcher himself, coach “Eli” played at Manchester West and Quincy College in Boston. He also coaches at the baseball club level, serving as a head coach for the New Hampshire Bobcats and pitching coordinator, working with several college-bound players.
Elijah Watt-Murray, Assistant Coach
Email: elijah.brito@yahoo.com
Coach Elijah, in his fourth season at Derryfield, serves as pitching coach and has enjoyed much success working with young pitchers. In 2004, the Cougars posted an impressive 1.82 ERA as a team while racking up 146 strikeouts in 111 innings. A former pitcher himself, coach “Eli” played at Manchester West and Quincy College in Boston. He also coaches at the baseball club level, serving as a head coach for the New Hampshire Bobcats and pitching coordinator, working with several college-bound players.
