| Title: | Head Baseball Coach (3rd Year) |
| Phone: | (650) 738-7049 |
| Email: | brunicardia@smccd.edu |
As just the sixth Head Baseball Coach in the history of the Skyline College Trojans program, Tony Brunicardi returns for his third season at the helm for the 2024 season. In his two seasons combined, Coach Brunicardi’s Trojans are 57-26 (.687) overall and 26-14 (.650) in the Coast North Conference, earning a Regional appearance in 2023 and Conference Championship with a trip to a Super Regional in 2022. Entering his 16th collegiate coaching season and 13th at Skyline College, Tony Brunicardi previously served as the Associate Head Coach for the Trojans under the legendary coach, Dino Nomicos.
In his first season as manager, the Trojans made a historic run, earning their first conference championship since 2004 and third in school history. Coach Brunicardi was named the North Coast Conference Coach of the Year and led the Trojans to a Super Regional appearance for just the 2nd time in program history. Individuals also benefited from the guidance of Coach Brunicardi as nine players signed scholarships, Rowen Barnes (UC Davis), Adrian Frias-Gonzalez (Willamette University), Conor Hourigan (Sacramento State University), Jace Jeremiah (St. John’s University), Jeremy Keller (Chico State University), Dominic Meza (Chico State University), Jesse Pierce (University of Nevada, Reno), Michael Sarhatt (University of Nevada, Reno), Levi Stubbles (The College of St. Scholastica).
Since Coach Brunicardi rejoined the Trojans in 2012, the program has felt the impact each year. Initially the pitching coach, Coach Brunicardi took on multiple roles, working with the offense, defense and pitching staff. Coach Brunicardi was the recruiting coordinator, while also building the Trojans’ strength program, and assisting with the academic advising of student-athletes. In each season as the pitching coach the pitching staff improved in Wins, K-BB Ratio, and Team ERA. Individual success was also seen, as Coach Brunicardi was instrumental in the development of pitchers such as Dan Molieri (CSU Stanislaus), Julian Merryweather (Oklahoma Baptist-Toronto Blue Jays), Tyler Cyr (Embry-Riddle University-San Francisco Giants), Joe Carney (University of San Francisco), Aldo Severson (Sonoma State), Ray Falk (University of Mississippi), and Cole Watts (Houston Astros).
Coach Brunicardi helped multiple student-athletes flourish and develop on the offensive side as well. Such players as Ramon Enriquez (Oklahoma Baptist), Joe Pledger (Oklahoma Baptist), Kyle Barret (CSU Northridge), Felix Aberouette (South Alabama), Phil Caulfield (Loyola Marymount-Washington Nationals), and Mike Franco (Azuza Pacific) enjoyed highly successful careers at Skyline College and beyond. In 2017, Ryan McSwain finished the season as the state leader in stolen bases (37) and top 12 in batting average (.411). While in that same year, Kyle Barret finished 8th in the state in HR (12) and tied for 3rd in RBI (54). In 2015, Phil Caulfield finished top 20 in the state in both batting average (.374) and stolen bases (18).
A 2003 graduate of Burlingame High School, Coach Brunicardi still holds multiple school pitching records. Coach Brunicardi was a standout three-sport athlete earning All-County honors in baseball, basketball and football. Coach Brunicardi was named the 2002 County Pitcher of the Year and in 2003 was named to the All-County team along with being named the PAL Pitcher of the Year. Following graduation Brunicardi pitched for two seasons at Skyline from 2005-2006, accumulating a 3.91 ERA while earning four wins and four saves. In 2007, Brunicardi transferred to Sacramento State where his playing career finished following a career ending injury.
From 2008-2010, Coach Brunicardi served as the bullpen coach for Sacramento State, where he coached the pitchers and was active in the program’s recruiting. Additionally, Coach Brunicardi served as the head coach of the El Dorado Hill Vipers Connie Mack team during the summers from 2008-2010. Under Coach Brunicardi’s guidance the Vipers made two Connie Mack Super Regionals and one Connie Mack Regional appearance. During his tenure with the Vipers, Coach Brunicardi’s main goal was to prepare his players for their transition to college baseball. Some players included Kyle Porter (UC Berkeley), Andrew Knapp (UC Berkeley), Rhys Hoskins (Sacramento State), Will Soto (Sacramento State), and Nate Esposito (Oregon State).
In 2010, Coach Brunicardi took his first job as a pitching coach at Yuba College. Under Coach Brunicardi the Yuba staff posted a 3.43 cumulative ERA. Under Brunicardi’s guidance Matt Vedo earned 1st team All-Conference honors and a scholarship to UC Santa Barbara. Additionally while at Yuba College, Coach Brunicardi served as the recruiting coordinator, 3rd Base Coach and helped with academic counseling.
In 2011, Coach Brunicardi served as a pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Cosumnes River College, with the team advancing to the Super Regional playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons. Additionally, Coach Brunicardi served as the 3rd base coach and worked with the student-athletes in the weight room.
Coach Brunicardi received his Bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies from California State University of Sacramento in 2008 and a Master’s degree in Kinesiology from St. Mary’s College of California in 2013. He and his wife Alyssa reside in San Mateo.
Marcus Pointer (6th Season)
Associate Head Coach/Pitching Coach
Entering his sixth season on the coaching staff, Marcus Pointer returns as the associate head coach and pitching coach for the Trojans in 2024 season. In his tenure at Skyline College and throughout his coaching career, Coach Pointer has consistently produced multiple all conference pitchers each year while seeing a vast majority of his pitchers transfer to a four year university. Throughout his career he has worked with players from over 100 different colleges across NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA and Junior College levels.
In 2022, Coach Pointer led the Trojans pitching staff to one of its best finishes in program history on their way to a conference championship. In 372 innings pitched, the Trojans allowed just 308 hits (1st in the state), 125 runs (1stin the state), with a 3.02 ERA (1st in the state). Additionally, individuals thrived with the guidance of Coach Pointer. Three Trojan pitchers took home all league honors, Rowen Barnes (1st Team All-Conference Starting Pitcher), Benito Valle-Jhanda (2nd Team All-Conference Starting Pitcher), Michael Sarhatt (1st Team All-Conference Utility), while Conor Hourigan was named Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year.
A Pacifica native, Marcus was a three-year varsity standout at Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, graduating in 2007. Upon graduating, Coach Pointer pitched two highly decorated seasons at Skyline College. With the Trojans he won a combined 22 games while earning 1st Team All Conference, Unanimous Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year, and 1st-Team All-American.
Following his tenure with the Trojans, Marcus earned a scholarship and transferred to University of the Pacific where he immediately became the staff ace on the Tigers’ all-time winningest team in the Big West Conference. For the Tigers, Coach Pointer accumulated a 13-9 record over two years, while throwing four complete games and striking out 130 batters in over 200 innings pitched. To finish his playing career, Marcus played a season professionally in the PECOS League for the Roswell Invaders.
Coach Pointer started his coaching career in 2015, spending two seasons with the Anchorage Glacier Pilots in the Alaska Baseball League as their pitching coach. Coach Pointer then joined the Orange County Riptide as the pitching coach, winning a championship in the California Collegiate League in 2017. Additionally, Coach Pointer spent the three seasons as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Canada College in Redwood City.
In 2018, Coach Pointer was appointed pitching coach of the Duluth Huskies in the Northwoods League, one of the top collegiate leagues in the country. In the 2019 season, Coach Pointer was promoted to Manager of the Huskies. Since joining the Huskies, Coach Pointer has mentored 2 League MVPs, the All Star Game MVP, selected as the Manager for the Major League Dreams Showcase, and led the team to two Great Plains Division Championships. Additionally, Coach Pointer has seen over 50 of his players selected in the annual Major League Baseball Draft. 2019 Duluth Huskie Wade Meckler, became the first player managed by Coach Pointer to reach the Major League level with the San Francisco Giants in 2023.
Marcus earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Sport Management from the University of the Pacific in 2012 and currently resides in Pacifica, CA
Anthony Granato (3rd Season)
Hitting Coach
Anthony Granato returns for his 3rd season as Hitting Coach for the Trojans. Coach Granato is instrumental on both sides of the ball, working with the hitters and infielders. Well respected throughout the baseball community, Anthony brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from his amazing playing and coaching career.
In his time with the Trojans, Coach Granato has helped consistently improve the offense each season with the club, reaching exceptional heights in their 2022 Conference Championship season. 2022 saw the Trojans hit .314 as a club, with 42 home runs, 347 runs scored, 325 runs batted in, and 88 stolen bases. Since Coach Granato has joined the Skyline coaching staff, the Trojans rank in the top 15 of California in runs scored, extra base hits, runs batted in, stolen bases, and batting average.
Individuals have also benefited from Coach Granato’s guidance, as 12 Trojans have taken home all-league honors- 2023 Season: Max Coupe (1st Team All-Conference Outfield), Ethan Bergan (1st Team All-Conference Catcher), Dane Anderson (2nd Team All-Conference Infielder), Preston Lau (2nd Team All-Conference Outfield), Dillon Goetz (2nd Team All-Conference 1st Baseman). 2022 Season: Jeremy Keller (1st Team All-Conference Catcher), Jace Jeremiah (1st Team All-Conference Infielder), Dominic Meza (1st Team All-Conference Infielder), Trey Zahursky (2nd Team All-Conference Infielder), Jesse Pierce (1st Team All-Conference Outfielder), Max Coupe (1st Team All-Conference Outfielder), Michael Sarhatt (1st Team All-Conference Utility).
The founder of GamePrep Baseball Academy, Coach Granato has helped groom some of the top baseball players to come from the Bay Area. With the goal of providing an academy unlike anyone else, GamePrep has become both locally and nationally recognized as it has helped prepare, develop, and move on over 100+ players into the college and professional baseball ranks. Such players as Jared Mettam (St. Mary’s College), Kyle Pruhsmeier (Fresno State University), Thomas McCarthy (University of San Francisco), Nick Lopez (Stanford University), Nate Fleischli (Stanford University), and Drew Dowd, 8th round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Rays and former Stanford University LHP, have all gone through the academy on their path to success.
Coach Granato has also served as an Associate Scout with the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball organization from 2017 - 2021, and was responsible for identifying professional talent in the greater Bay Area and much of Northern California. Currently, Coach Granato serves as the National Infield Coordinator for the New Balance Future Stars Series and Program 15.
Prior to joining the Trojans, Anthony served as the Head Coach for Sacred Heart Preparatory high school for 6 seasons. Joining the Gators paid immediate dividends, as Sacred Heart Preparatory won their first ever CCS title in Coach Granato’s first season at the helm. Along with team success, Coach Granato has helped individual athletes succeed and receive scholarships to the next level. During his five season Coach Granato has moved on such athletes as Will Johnson (Tulane University), Cole March (UC Davis), Angelo Tonas (Georgetown University), Dominic Cacchione (Arizona State University), and Andrew Daschbach (Stanford University).
Graduating in 1999 from Burlingame High School, Anthony was a three sport (baseball, basketball, football) star throughout his high school career. Setting multiple records in multiple sports, Anthony was highly recruited to play both baseball and football collegiately. Deciding on baseball, Anthony began his collegiate career at Skyline College, playing two unbelievable seasons for the Trojans.
In two seasons at Skyline College, Anthony proved to be the best player to ever play in a Trojan uniform. Hitting over .500 in his two years, Coach Granato additionally led the Trojans in almost every offensive category in both his years at Skyline College while earning All-American honors during his sophomore season. The success at Skyline College earned Anthony a scholarship to Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). While at VCU Anthony was equally amazing. In two seasons at VCU, Anthony hit .319 with 10 homeruns, 10 triples, 27 doubles, while stealing 66 bases and only getting caught 7 times. Specifically, Anthony stole 44 bases his senior season, second in the nation, an earned Louisville Slugger All-American 2nd Team honors.
Following his amazing collegiate career, Coach Granato played professionally for 10 years. During his professional career, Coach Granato spent time with the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, mutltiple Independent Baseball organizations, and international professional organizations. Highlighting his professional career, Coach Granato was the starting shortstop for the Italian National Team that competed in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
Coach Granato earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University and is a proud dad of his son Dempsey.
Chris Miguel (2nd Season)
Recruiting Coordinator/3rd Base Coach
Joining the Trojans in 2022, Chris Miguel enters his 2nd season at Skyline College. Coach Miguel works with both the infielders and outfielders on both sides of the ball, holds the responsibility of 3rd base coach, and is also the recruiting coordinator.
Coach Miguel spent the 2021 season as an assistant coach for Canada College. In his time there, Coach Miguel worked with the infielders and hitters, while coaching 3rd base and assisting in the recruiting process. In the summers of 2021 & 2022, Coach Miguel also served as the hitting coach for the Duluth Huskies (MN). In his two summers there, the Huskies produced 5 all-star selections and were named the Great Plains Division Champions in 2022. The Huskies coaching staff was also named to the prestigious Northwoods League Prospect Game staff that year and won. The Huskies are a member of the Northwoods League, one of the top collegiate summer leagues in the country. MLB Draft picks from the 2021 & 2022 Huskies seasons include SS Kristian Campbell (Boston Red Sox), SS Devin Hurdle (Texas Rangers), 3B Mike Boeve (Milwaukee Brewers), P Jake Christiansen (Tampa Bay Rays), P Ethan Hammerberg (White Sox).
The Bay Area native, Chris began his collegiate playing career at Canada College in 2013. Under Tony Lucca, Chris played two seasons for the Colts, helping the team reach the regional playoffs his freshman year. During the summer of 2015, Chris played in the Golden State Collegiate Baseball League (GSCBL) for Top Speed Baseball and was named to the all-league team as a 1st Team selection at 3rd base. In 115 at bats, Chris totaled 38 hits (.330 BA), with nine doubles, six homeruns, and 32 RBI’s. Chris helped his team to a 47-4 record and a GSCBL championship.
Following his career at Canada College, Coach Miguel transferred to Rogers State University (Claremore, OK), playing two years for the Hillcats. During his career, Chris tallied 121 hits (.350 BA), with 18 home runs, 91 RBI’s, and 17 stolen bases. In 2017, Coach Miguel started 49 games for the Hillcats, batting .400 with nine homeruns, 51 RBI’s, a slugging percentage of .650, and an OBP of .476. Additionally, Coach Miguel was named Heartland Conference Player of the Year, Heartland Conference 1st-Team Second Baseman, All South Central Region 1st-Team Second Baseman, and 1st-Team All-American. Coach Miguel still holds the single game hits record (5) for the Rogers State University program.
Jake Pashby (3rd Season)
Catching Coach/1st Base Coach
Jake Pashby is a native of Daly City, California and a class of 2018 graduate of Archbishop Riordan High School. After graduating high school, Pashby spent his freshman year attending De Anza College in Cupertino, California before transferring to Skyline College for two years. Pashby played for the Trojans his second year before joining the coaching staff. While at Skyline, Jake Pashby has held the titles of both their catching and first base coach. During the summer of 2022, Pashby joined the Duluth Huskies team as a SACH (Scouting, Analytics, Coaching, Hybrid) intern before making his debut as both the hitting and third base coach at the beginning of the 2023 summer season.
Phil Caulfield (1st Season)
Assistant Coach
Philip Caulfield enters his first year on the Trojans coaching staff for the 2024 Season. Caulfield brings a wide array of knowledge after completing a successful collegiate and professional playing career. With Caulfield's experience, he is consistently looking to pay his success forward to develop hitters and infielders.
As a Burlingame native, Caulfield attended Burlingame High School and graduated in 2013. Upon graduating from Burlingame, Caulfield played 2 seasons at Skyline College, where he helped lead Skyline to the playoffs and a regional berth for the first time since 2009, along with leading the Coast Pacific Conference in hits (55), second in batting average (.374) and second in steals (18). After Caulfield etched a strong two-year career at Skyline College, as an extension of his college performance, he continued to play for the Walnut Creek Crawdads, which he then received the starting second baseman spot in the CCL All-Star Game.
After his time with the Trojans, Caulfield received a scholarship to Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, playing two seasons playing for the LMU Lions. Within his two-year career at LMU, Caulfield received the title of First Team All-WCC in both his 2016 and 2017 seasons. Caulfield hit .341 with 65 runs scored, 14 doubles, four triples, three homers and 51 RBI over the course of his two-year career with LMU... reached base at a .411 clip and drew 39 walks to just 50 strikeouts... stole 17 bases while playing in 101 games and starting 93
Following his collegiate career, Caulfield started his seven-year Professional baseball career after being selected in the 2017 MLB Draft by the Washington Nationals. After playing three seasons with the Nationals Organization, he made his way into independent baseball in 2021 playing for the Gary Southshore Railcats, Tri-City Valley Cats, and the New York Boulders. In 2022, Caulfield entered into the Mexican League, playing for owner Fernando Valenzuela, on the Tigres de Quintana Roo where he hit .312 and had a 15 game hitting streak. For his last two years, he made his Atlantic League debut with the Long Island Ducks, hitting for a slash of .288/.393/.494 with eight doubles and finishing his professional career with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
Caulfield has two brothers who played Division 1 and professional baseball respectively. Twin brother, Tommy, currently coaches at St. Mary’s College in Moraga after playing at Skyline, Chicago State and USF. He played professionally in the Pioneer League and Atlantic League. Younger brother, Patrick played at Santa Barbara City College and earned a scholarship to play at #1 ranked UCLA and finished his 5th year at Nevada-Reno. He played professionally for the Lincoln Saltdogs in the American Association. Caulfield earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Loyola Marymount University.
Lucas Robinson (2nd Season)
Strength and Conditioning Coordinator
Lucas Robinson rejoins the Trojan family for the 2023-2024 season and will serve as the Strength and Conditioning Coordinator for Skyline College Baseball. The Trojans are already benefiting from Lucas, as he has completely overhauled the strength and conditioning program for the team.
A former Trojan, Lucas pitched for the Trojans and legendary coach, Dino Nomicos, in 2001 and 2002. After two highly successful season for the Trojans, Lucas transferred to DI Marist College in upper New York.
Additionally, Lucas owns his own strength and conditioning business, Lucas Robinson Strength. His business focuses helping busy professionals, who train at home, shed body fat, increase energy levels, and create better habits for a healthier lifestyle.
