Billy Whaley ’17 enters his second season as the Head Coach of the Norwich University baseball program in 2026.
Whaley was elevated to head coach ahead of the 2024–25 season following seven years as the Cadets’ top assistant under longtime skipper Frank Pecora. In his final year as an assistant, Whaley helped guide Norwich to its most successful GNAC postseason run in over two decades, highlighted by victories over reigning conference champions Johnson & Wales (Providence) and the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.). He coached third base during that campaign and mentored record-breaking ace Matt Ingraffia ’24, who surpassed Whaley’s own career strikeouts mark.
As a student-athlete, Whaley etched his name into the Norwich record books as one of the most accomplished two-way players in program history. A 2014 GNAC First Team All-Conference selection, Whaley led the Cadets at the plate and on the mound, finishing that season with a 2.00 ERA, 32 strikeouts, 10 RBIs, and two home runs in league play. He remains among the program’s all-time leaders in career strikeouts (168), single-season Ks (63), innings pitched (151), complete games (11), and career wins (9). He also logged time in the field and on the base paths, tying for fifth in career stolen bases with 18.
Whaley’s summer league pedigree includes All-Star recognition with the Geneva Red Wings of the New York Collegiate Baseball League (NYCBL), and a championship-winning stint with the Vermont Mountaineers of the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) in 2015. He also lettered for the Norwich men’s soccer program and earned All-Conference honors as a goalkeeper.
Locally rooted and widely respected, Whaley is a native of Northfield, Vermont, and a proud graduate of Northfield High School. There, he led the Marauders to a 2012 state championship in baseball and was later inducted into the Vermont Principals’ Association (VPA) Hall of Fame in 2024. Outside of coaching, he serves as a Leadership Development Officer in the Norwich University Development Office, and has previously contributed as a color analyst on Norwich women’s hockey broadcasts.
