Bates Bobcast Episode 212: 'Why I Coach' with McKell Barnes and Jon Martin

On this week's Bobcast we conclude the “Why I Coach” series with our softball and baseball coaches! Softball head coach McKell Barnes and baseball head coach Jon Martin join the show. McKell Barnes completed her seventh season as the head coach of the Bates College softball program in 2020, having taken over the position in January of 2014. In 2018, Barnes led the Bates softball team to its most wins in program history and the Bobcats' second appearance in the NESCAC tournament. Bates finished the season with an overall record of 20-14. The Bobcats returned to the NESCAC Tournament in 2019 and the promising 2020 squad finished 6-2 in a pandemic-shortened season. Jon Martin was hired as Bates baseball’s head coach in August 2016. In his first season at the helm of the team, he led the Bobcats to their third-ever appearance in the four-team NESCAC Tournament. He followed that up with another appearance in the NESCAC Tournament in 2018 and in his third season at Bates, Martin was named the 2019 NESCAC Coach of the Year after leading the Bobcats to a 19-17 overall record, a 9-3 record in NESCAC East Division play, and a berth in the four-team NESCAC Championship tournament for the third straight season.