Plymouth State University

Mike Bernier was elevated to head coach in May of 2022 after serving a year as interim head coach during the 2022 season.
 
Bernier led the Panthers to a historical season last spring, finishing with 28 wins and advancing through the winner's bracket to the championship game of the LEC Tournament. The Panthers posted three winning streaks of at least five games during the season, including a run of eight-straight victories to reach the title game for just the third time in school history. Entering the tournament as the #3 seed, the Panthers clipped #6 UMass Dartmouth, #2 Southern Maine, and #4 UMass Boston to advance through the winner's bracket, though the Beacons came through the loser's bracket to capture the title by squeaking out a pair of narrow wins (8-6, 5-4).
 
The 28 victories were the second most in program history, trailing just the 2003 squad that went 30-9, while four Panthers earned All-LEC recognition. Kenzie Bessette '26 was a First Team selection, also earning National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region honors, after setting the program record for stolen bases in a season.
 
Bernier’s squad posted a 16-22 record in 2024, matching the most wins in a season since the 2019 team. The season was littered with late game charges and two-out rallies, highlighted by a five-run sixth-inning comeback to erase a 3-0 deficit in a win over WestConn on Apr. 20. The Panthers picked up a key sweep of Southern Maine three days later behind clutch two-out hitting and a dominant pitching performance. PSU scored seven two-out runs to turn a 4-3 lead into an 11-4 win in the opener, then surrendered just four hits in a 2-1 victory in game two.
 
Bernier lifted the Panthers to a 13-21 mark in 2023. PSU won five of its last six games at THE Spring Games in Florida to return home with a 6-6 record. During the spurt the Panthers blanked #19 Belhaven, 1-0, behind a complete game, six-hitter by Kate McGrath ‘25. PSU finished the season in a three-way tie for seventh in the league, narrowly missing out on a spot in the LEC Tournament. Emily Antrim ’26 was honored by the LEC with inclusion on its All-Rookie Team after leading the pitching staff with team-bests of 38 strikeouts and nine complete games while registering nearly 85 innings.
 
As interim coach in 2022, Bernier guided Plymouth State to a fifth straight appearance in the LEC Tournament. The Panthers were walked off by UMass Dartmouth, 2-1, in the opening game, but PSU rebounded to knock out UMass Boston, 4-3, in an elimination game. Plymouth State's postseason run came to an end on day two when Southern Maine held on for a 6-2 win.
 
Bernier spent the 2019-21 seasons as PSU's pitching coach and also held positions on the PSU staff during the 2005, 2006, 2015 and 2016 seasons. In 2021, his mentorship helped former Panther Alexis Michon take home LEC Rookie of the Year honors.
 
Bernier repeated the honor again in 2022, as his tutelage led to Mia Ly ’25 earning Rookie of the Year honors to go with All-LEC Second Team and All-Rookie Team recognition. PSU has had eight All-LEC players and four All-Rookie Team selections in his four seasons at the helm.
 
Bernier was selected to lead the 14U Region 1 Stars in the USA Softball All-American Games this summer. The All-American Games are set to take place in Oklahoma City, Okla. from August 3-6. Region 1 covers all of New England, along with New York and New Jersey.
 
Bernier served as an associate scout with the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball from 1998-00 and was a hitting and fielding instructor with the Doyle Baseball Academy in the Orlando, Fla. area from 1996-99, also getting his feet wet in collegiate athletics as the assistant coach and hitting instructor for NHTI baseball.
 
Bernier’s softball coaching career took off in 2003 and 2004 when he served as the U12 coach of the New Hampshire Comets, the New England representative at the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) National Championships. He spent time as head coach of the New England Firebirds at the U14 and U16 levels, finishing as Massachusetts state runner up in 2007, and worked with the New Hampshire Hammer Heads and New Hampshire Elite Softball at the U18 level.
 
His New England Fusion U16 team was New Hampshire State Champions and won the Rhode Island National Qualifier in 2017, then took home the title at the Connecticut Tradition Tournament in 2018. Bernier also spent the 2007-2012 seasons with Bishop Brady High School, helping the team to the NHIAA Final Four from 2008-2010.
 
Bernier's daughter Whitney was a four-time first-team All-State selection at Bishop Brady High School and was named the 2010 Class I Player of the Year. She pitched for NCAA Division II Eckerd College (Fla.) from 2011-14.