Charlotte Baseball And Robert Woodard Get An Exceptional Win In Hiring Will Kaufman
Charlotte Baseball head coach Robert Woodard has announced the hiring of Will Kaufman as an assistant coach on Thursday afternoon (Dec. 11).
“Adding Will to our staff is a tremendous win for Charlotte Baseball,” said Woodard. “He has elevated every program he’s been a part of, building disciplined, explosive, and highly competitive offenses while developing versatile hitters who consistently perform at championship levels. Beyond the numbers, Will is an exceptional teacher and an even better person. His ability to connect with players, recruit at a high level, and build genuine relationships speaks directly to the culture we are committed to here. He brings humility, intensity, and a passion for development that strengthens our program immediately and raises our long-term ceiling. Will is exactly the kind of leader we want in our dugout, and we are fired up for the impact he will make here with our players, our staff, and the future of Charlotte Baseball.”
Kaufman comes to Charlotte after two seasons at Bryant University, where he helped the Bulldogs produce some of the top offenses in the America East Conference and the country. Other stops for Kaufman before coming to the Queen City include Erskine College, Penn University, Arcadia University, and Birmingham-Southern College.
“I could not be more excited to join the family at Charlotte,” Kaufman said. “I have admired the program for a long time. The commitment to player development and winning at the highest level is one of the best in the country. I cannot wait to contribute and be part of something so special.”
Kaufman was Bryant’s hitting coach, helping the Bulldogs lead the America East Conference in doubles, home runs, and scoring in each of his two seasons in Smithfield, Rhode Island. He oversaw the third .400-hitter in Bryant program history when Drew Wyers hit .407 in 2025, on the way to being named the America East Player of the Year. That was the back end of two consecutive America East Players of the Year for Bryant after Gavin Noriega took home the honor in 2024, making Bryant the first America East program to feature the Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons since 2014 and 2015.
Bryant’s offense averaged 7.2 runs per game, 1.4 home runs per game, and 2.2 doubles per game in Kaufman’s two seasons leading the Bulldogs’ bats. The team hit a program-record 128 doubles in 2024, ranking in the top 15 in the country, and posted a top-75 slugging percentage in the country that year. The Bulldogs followed that up in 2025 with 117 doubles, good for 47th in the nation, and 77 home runs (55th nationally).
The team won 35+ games in each of his two seasons on staff and took home back-to-back America East Regular Season Championships. Bryant completed the double in 2024 by winning the America East Tournament, giving the Bulldogs a berth in the NCAA Tournament at the Raleigh Regional – the program’s first postseason appearance since 2016.
Kaufman joined Bryant after four seasons as the associate head coach at Erskine College in South Carolina. Working primarily with Erskine’s hitters, catchers, and infielders and serving as the recruiting coordinator, the Fleet brought in four nationally-ranked recruiting classes and produced some of the nation’s top offenses. Erskine hit 89 home runs in 2023 to rank fourth in all of Division II, including hitting 12 in one game to tie the NCAA record. In his four seasons at Erskine, he helped the Fleet rank in the top 10 of the country in stolen bases, doubles (twice), home runs, runs scored (twice), hits, triples, and walks at least once. Erskine had Dale Francis Jr. take home Conference Carolina Player of the Year honors in 2023 and was one of three ABCA/Rawlings All-Americans on that year’s squad. The Fleet also had four players ink professional deals, including three signings with MLB organizations – the Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, and Seattle Mariners.
Prior to Erskine, Kaufman spent two seasons at Penn, another team he helped turn into an offensive powerhouse. The Quakers led the Ivy League in a bevy of offensive categories in each of his two seasons in the City of Brotherly Love and set program records for runs scored, hits, doubles, RBIs, on base percentage, and OPS in 2019. The 2019 Quaker squad ended the year ranking second in the country in batting average (.334) and doubles per game (2.66), third in on base percentage (.422), runs per game (8.6), and triples per game (0.54), and seventh in slugging percentage (.497).
Kaufman joined Penn after two seasons at Division III Arcadia University, where he was the hitting and catching coach. He helped the Knights compile a 55-27-1 record in those two seasons, culminating in a program-record 33 wins and the first-ever MAC Commonwealth Championship in program history in 2017. In addition to setting a program record for wins, the 2017 Arcadia team set program records for runs per game, RBIs per game, hits, batting average, OPS, and doubles, while finishing with the second-most home runs in a single season in program history. The Knights had four players earn ABCA All-Region honors and saw the catching corps increase runners thrown out by 12% from the previous years under his tutelage.
Kaufman began his coaching career with one season as an assistant coach at Birmingham-Southern College in 2015 after a four-year playing career at California University of Pennsylvania. A four-year starter at catcher for the Vulcans, Kaufman posted a .240 batting average and a .985 fielding percentage in 121 games behind the plate. He was a three-time All-Academic Team selection and holds the program’s record for career throw-out percentage and runners caught stealing.
A native of Roanoke, Virginia, Kaufman earned a bachelor’s degree in Sport Management in 2013 and a master’s in the same program in 2015, both from California University of Pennsylvania.