8 Influential Baseball Leaders in Melbourne 2026
Last updated 6 August 2026.
Melbourne baseball has more leadership depth than a scoreboard can show. The people shaping the game include state-body executives, board members, club leaders and the volunteers who keep pathways, competitions and participation moving.
This guide highlights eight people with a clear, current connection to baseball leadership in Melbourne. It is designed as a starting point for anyone looking for the people behind the sport, whether you are a player, parent, coach, club volunteer, partner or simply curious about how the game grows.
Why Melbourne baseball leadership matters.
Baseball Victoria sits at the centre of the Victorian game, but strong baseball communities are built through many layers of work. Governance sets direction, operations turn plans into competitions, clubs create belonging, and specialist leaders bring experience from sport, business and community organisations.
The people below are not presented as a ranking. They are a practical map of several kinds of influence that matter to baseball in Melbourne.
1. Chet Gray.
Chief Executive Officer, Baseball Victoria.
Chet Gray leads Baseball Victoria as Chief Executive Officer. He joined the role in 2022 after 30 years of sport administration and business management experience, including 21 years at Softball Australia.
His baseball background includes serving as Competition Manager for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, overseeing the design, construction and management of the Olympic Baseball event from 1997 to 2000. That mix of Olympic-level delivery and long-running national sport leadership gives Gray a rare view of how a sport moves from grassroots to elite competition.
A LinkedIn profile is a sensible place to follow his current work, while Baseball Victoria's staff page remains the stronger source for his title.
2. Kerry Gassner.
President, Baseball Victoria.
Kerry Gassner chairs the Baseball Victoria board as President. The board profile records experience leading high-profile sporting and entertainment events, venues and operations, both in Australia and internationally.
A current role as Venue Manager at John Cain Arena, part of the Melbourne Olympic Parks Precinct, adds a practical events and operations lens to the presidency, alongside a Master of Business Administration in Sports Management.
Follow Gassner through LinkedIn and check the current Baseball Victoria board page for the official role.
3. Ben Stewart.
Vice President, Baseball Victoria.
Ben Stewart serves as Vice President of Baseball Victoria. His board biography combines senior roles across public and private organisations, including the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance.
Stewart has also played baseball for more than 45 years and coached junior and senior teams, giving the Vice President role a grounded view of the game at club level as well as in the boardroom.
Stewart's LinkedIn profile and the Baseball Victoria board page provide the clearest public route to his current work.
4. Scott McNaughton.
General Manager, Operations, Baseball Victoria.
Scott McNaughton leads day-to-day operations for Baseball Victoria as General Manager, Operations. The organisation introduced him to the role in September 2025 after more than 15 years in sports leadership, most recently with NRL Victoria.
His remit spans competition services, club engagement and the practical work that keeps fixtures and programs running smoothly across the state.
Follow McNaughton on LinkedIn and read the original Baseball Victoria introduction for background on his appointment.
5. Murray Noble.
Chairman, Melbourne Baseball Club.
Murray Noble chairs Melbourne Baseball Club, one of Australia's oldest continuously running clubs. The club's own site places it at Surrey Park in Box Hill and records a history dating back to 1888, with an ongoing affiliation to the Melbourne Cricket Club as one of its sporting sections.
Club chairs translate the wider sport's direction into a place where players train, families belong and volunteers contribute, work that rarely makes headlines but keeps a long-running club running well.
Noble's public LinkedIn profile is useful for following his work, while the official Melbourne Baseball Club site is the current source for the club role.
6. Greg Hill.
Finance Director, Baseball Victoria.
Greg Hill serves as Finance Director of Baseball Victoria. His board profile records more than 20 years in the Australian not-for-profit sporting sector, with executive experience across Gymnastics Australia, Basketball Australia and Hockey Australia.
He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Make-A-Wish, bringing financial and operational discipline from a well-known charity into the state baseball body's governance.
Hill's LinkedIn profile and the Baseball Victoria board page are the best public starting points for his current work.
7. Anna Blackett.
Director, Baseball Victoria.
Anna Blackett is a Director of Baseball Victoria and the founder and managing director of Level Up Collective. Her board biography describes more than 15 years across consulting, recruitment and talent, with earlier experience at Jetstar Airways, Carlton & United Breweries and Newcrest Mining.
That background brings a people and capability lens to baseball governance, useful for a sport that depends heavily on volunteers and part-time staff finding a meaningful place in the work.
Follow Blackett on LinkedIn and confirm her current board role through Baseball Victoria.
8. Kathy Tessier.
Director, Baseball Victoria.
Kathy Tessier is a Director of Baseball Victoria with more than 25 years in the sports industry, including work with Table Tennis Victoria, the AFL, Melbourne Racing Club and the City of Melbourne.
She currently works as a Professional Learning Coordinator with Active Schools at ACHPER Vic and has led Active Approach since 1996, giving her a strong participation and sport-system design background.
Tessier's LinkedIn profile and the official board page are the clearest public sources for her current role.
Conclusion.
Three themes run through this group. The first is layered leadership. Baseball Victoria's governance, operations and club leadership sit alongside each other rather than in a single hierarchy, and each layer matters to whether the sport feels welcoming.
The second is portable experience. Several of these leaders bring skills from outside baseball, including events management, not-for-profit finance, recruitment and sport-sector consulting, and apply them to strengthen the game.
The third is longevity. Melbourne Baseball Club's 1888 founding and Kathy Tessier's three decades in sport both point to the same thing. Strong sporting communities are built over years, not seasons, by people who keep showing up.
About the Author.
Jonno White helps leaders build organisations people would move cities to work at. His work is practical rather than motivational, with ideas people can use on Monday morning.
Next Read or Related Reading.
For more on building the kind of team culture that keeps good people involved, read 50 Proven Strategies: Working Genius for Leaders and 100 Proven Tips for Working Genius in the Workplace.
For Melbourne baseball specifically, the Baseball Victoria board profiles, the Baseball Victoria staff page and the Melbourne Baseball Club site remain the best official sources for current roles.
I help leaders build organisations people would move cities to work at, and the same principle applies to sporting communities: make the next step clear, make contribution visible and make it easier for good people to stay involved.
If you would like to explore a practical leadership session for your organisation, email jonno@consultclarity.org with a little context about your team and what you are trying to improve.