Farmington names former player as baseball coach

Maine-Farmington athletic director Julie Davis named Chris Bessey as the baseball head coach.

Bessey returns to Farmington after attending the school from 1989-93 and playing baseball and basketball. He replaces Dick Meader, who spent 18 seasons at the helm of the baseball program.

"We are very excited to have Chris Bessey join the athletics staff," said Davis. "He brings a wealth of coaching experience to the program and there is no doubt that his passion for baseball and extensive network will serve him well in recruiting top student-athletes to the university."

"Being an (alumnus) of UMF and being a high school coach, I am very excited to progress to the college level," said Bessey. "Following UMF baseball, being alumni and living in the area, there aren't words to describe the feeling."

In May, the school announced organizational restructuring that allows a separation of responsibilities for coaching baseball and men's basketball. Meader will continue to coach men's basketball. Additionally, Meader will continue to instruct in the coaching minor, and assist the department more in event management and special projects in admissions/development.

Bessey comes to Farmington after 14 seasons as the head varsity baseball coach at Jay High School. Bessey amassed 141 wins at Jay and the Tigers won the State Class C championship in 2002 and reached at least the regional semifinals in six seasons.

Additionally, Bessey also guided the Jay girls basketball team for the past seven seasons, claiming a State Class C title in 2009, and previously led the Jay boys basketball team for three years (1999-2001).

Bessey will be inducted into the UMF Athletics Hall of Fame in October for his performance as a two-sport student athlete. In baseball, he holds the program's career record in triples and is second in stolen bases. In men's basketball, he is third on the career scoring list at 1,641 points and maintains the standard for career steals.

Bessey graduated from Farmington with a bachelor of science degree in community health in 1993. Bessey and his two brothers own and operate Bessey Designs in Auburn.