2019 Scheduled Speakers

Matt Antonelli

Antonelli Baseball, Former MLB player

Coach Antonelli has excelled at every level of play (HS, college, professionally) and is a “coach favorite” at the MBCA clinics.  Matt graduated from St. John’s Prep where he was a three-sport athlete in football, hockey and baseball. He earned the Massachusetts Gatorade High School Player of the Year honor in football his senior year. He also was a three-time All-Scholastic selection in baseball and two-time in hockey. He attended Wake Forest University where he started all 163 games the Demon Deacons played during his three years there. He finished with a 0.324 batting average, 18 home runs, 110 RBI and 46 stolen bases. He was the San Diego Padres 1st Round Pick, 17th overall, in 2006 and made his Major League Debut in 2008. He played eight professional seasons with the San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Cleveland Indians.  The MBCA is pleased to host Coach Antonelli as he will be presenting on Infield Play.

Joe Breen

Mansfield HS (MA)

Coach Breen was a 3-sport captain at Swampscott High School in Swampscott, MA before moving on to Stonehill College where he was a pitcher as a starter, reliever, and closer.  Joe finished in the Top 5 in wins, saves and appearances in the Northeast-10 his senior season.  Following his playing career, Joe was named as an Assistant Coach at Stonehill, where he worked with the pitchers and recruiting from 2006-2009.

Coach Breen was named Head Varsity Coach at Mansfield High School in December of 2014 and was the Boston Herald Division 1 South as well as the HockomockSports.com Coach of the Year in his first season.  He led the Hornets to a 17-6 record including a Hockomock League Championship, the #1 Seed in the Division 1 South Tournament and a D1 South Finals appearance. Mansfield made their first Super 8 appearance in 2018.  He runs RBI Academy in Foxboro and will be sharing his in-depth knowledge about getting the most out of your indoor space for practices.

John Casey
Tufts University

Coach Casey has won over 600 games and has established Tufts Baseball as one of the most respected programs in New England. The Jumbos won back-to-back New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) titles in 2016 and 2017 and 2010 and 2011. The Jumbos have been to the NCAA Regionals 5 of the past 8 years earning the #1 seed in the 2011 NCAA New England Regional Tournaments. Coach Casey is a Past President of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and is a member of its Board of Directors and Chair of the Coaches – Umpire Relations Committee. Coach Casey also currently serves on the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee and is the former secretary-treasurer of the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA). Coach Casey has been a longtime supporter and member of the MBCA and we are pleased that he will be an integral contributor to our Panel Discussion about hitting.

Kevin Casey

Johnson & Wales

Coach Casey was recently named the head coach of Johnson and Wales.  This well-deserved hire comes after assistant coaching stints at Northeastern (2015-2018), Tufts (2013-2014), and Daniel Webster (2010-2012). He was part of a rebuilding process at Northeastern that culminated in 2018 with a 36-21 record and the Huskies’ first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2003. During his nine-year coaching career, Casey has coached and mentored 13+ Major League Baseball draft picks.

As a player, he was an All-New England third baseman during his sophomore season and served as the team captain in 2008 and 2009. A four-year starter, Casey helped lead the Jumbos to four-straight postseason berths, including three appearances in the NESCAC finals.

An accomplished hitter himself, Coach Casey has been responsible for teaching hitting at every coaching stop along the way and MBCA is pleased to have him alongside his father on the panel discussion about hitting.

Brady Kirkpatrick

Harvard University

Brady Kirkpatrick was recently added to the Harvard baseball staff and will work primarily with the pitching staff.  He comes to Harvard after a two-year stint at Monmouth University, with prior coaching and recruiting experience at the University of Rochester and the University of San Diego.

Prior to his coaching career, Kirkpatrick pitched collegiately for three seasons at the University of Maryland before completing his career at the University of San Diego while obtaining his master’s degree. He was part of the 2014 South Carolina Regional championship team as well as the first Super Regional Team in Maryland history. He also spent the summer of 2012 pitching for the Brewster Whitecaps in the Cape Cod Summer League.  Coach Kirkpatrick will share his approach to developing pitching staffs with the MBCA.

Al Donovan

Salem State University

Coach Donovan will be speaking at the MBCA clinic about how to develop pitchers – a topic he has excelled.  Before being hired as Salem State University’s head baseball coach in August 2016, he served as the pitching coach for two seasons where he developed the conference’s top ranked pitching staff in both 2015 and 16, helping Salem State earn back-to-back conference championships along with two NCAA Tournament bids. The team won four NCAA Regional games and defeated number 1 seeds Southern Maine (2015) and Wheaton (2016).  In 2015 the Vikings posted a stingy 2.41 ERA and only 72 hits in 97 innings and in 2016 Donovan’s staff posted a 2.32 ERA and 87 hits in 97 innings.
Coach Donovan has inserted a state-of-the-art pitching program that consists of short burst conditioning, weight room, swimming pool, and a throwing program.
A graduate of Central Connecticut State University, Donovan was a standout pitcher for the Blue Devils, earning Division I All-New England honors after transferring from Western Carolina, where he was named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman team after helping the Catamounts win the 1985 Southern Conference Championship.  A 1984 graduate of Lynn Tech, Donovan compiled a 21-3 record over a 3-year period and was named to the 1984 Massachusetts High School All-Star team.

Brendan Eygabroat

UMass-Boston

Coach Eygabroat is the most successful coach in UMass-Boston history, amassing over 300 career wins and led the Beacons to their only College World Series appearance.  In 14 seasons he has led the program to 14 straight Little East Conference Tournament appearances, three Little East Conference Tournament titles (2010, 2017, 2018), two NCAA Regional titles (2010, 2017), four NCAA Tournament appearances (2010, 2016, 2017, 2018), two Little East Regular Season titles (2016, 2018), and two College World Series appearances (2010, 2017).

Coach Eygabroat has produced six All-Americans, the league’s Pitcher and Rookie of the Year three times and Player of the Year two times, 28 All-New England Region honorees and 48 players have been named to the Little East Conference All-Star squad.  He was selected as the 2018 New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) and 2017 D3Baseball.com New England Region Coach of the Year.

A true teacher of the game, the MBCA is proud to have Coach Eygobroat speak about catching at the MBCA clinic.

Todd Fitz-Gerald

Douglas HS, Florida

The MBCA is pleased to have one of the more exciting young high school coaches in America speak to the association about how to create a championship culture in your program as well as 1^st-3^rd offense and defenses.  His teams are consistently ranked in the top 25 nationally, culminating with a #1 ranking from USA Today in 2008 when he was coaching at American Heritage.  One of his players from that championship team was Eric Hosmer, who became the highest-drafted player in Broward County history after he was selected third overall in the 2008 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft.  Coach Fitz-Gerald has successfully built two programs to national prominence – American Heritage and Soneham-Douglas.

Matt Hyde

NY Yankees

When it comes to baseball in New England, no one has a better pulse of the baseball scene than Coach Matt Hyde.  He truly has done it all:  he is a 1992 graduate of Phillips Academy, played four years at the University of Michigan, spent 9 years as a college assistant coach (Harvard, Michigan, Boston College), has coached the Northeast Area Code Team since 2007, and has won 2 Big Ten titles and 2 Ivy League titles as well as 2 Cape Cod titles.  His involvement and experience with baseball talent from high school into the professional ranks is unparalleled.  Always an insightful and dynamic speaker, the MBCA is thrilled to have Coach Hyde speak to our coaches about evaluating players and what to look for – and it’s not what you may think.

James McCauley

Mass Men, Riverside Trauma Center

The MBCA is proud to join forces with Mass Men who initiated the partnership in helping coaches identify, support, and council players through various struggles both emotionally and mentally.  Times have certainly changed and the MBCA wants to do all it can to support coaches in their ability to connect, guide, and identify all needs of players.  This is a topic you won’t want to miss.

Jim is the Co-Founder and Associate Director of the Riverside Trauma Center. Jim provides mental health support for schools and communities affected by traumatic events and gives consultations and trainings on suicide postvention services, suicide clusters, and suicide prevention coalitions. He has presented at statewide, national, and international conferences on such topics. He also has extensive experience providing therapy to children, adolescents, and adults and previously managed outpatient mental health clinics and programs for children for more than 20 years. Jim is a graduate of the Boston University School of Social Work and also was a Senior Lecturer in the Sociology Department at Suffolk University for more than 30 years.  Jim is also trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR).

Steve Simoes

Hopkinton HS (MA)

Coach Simoes is one of the more respected baseball minds in the Boston area having been successful at every stop along the way, most notably at Hopkinton HS where he led the Hillers to three Tri-Valley League Championships (2001, 2004, 2005), and a Massachusetts State Championship (2004).  He earned ABCA Region I Coach of the Year and Daily News Coach of the Year in 2004 and the Boston Globe Coach of the Year in 2005.  He also led Hopkinton to three Tri-Valley League Sportsmanship Awards (2002, 2003, 2005). After Hopkinton HS, he served as an assistant coach at Holy Cross.  Coach Simoes has done or seen it all and the MBCA is excited to have him as part of our panel discussion on hitting.

Greg Sullivan

Boston College

The MBCA is excited to hear Coach Sullivan talk about how to maximize the development of outfielders as he has become one of the top coaches in the ACC at developing outfielders.  Lexington HS graduate Chris Shaw (2015 1st Rounder of the SF Giants) developed his outfield skills under Coach Sullivan after coming in as an infielder.  Before coming to BC, Sullivan spent four seasons as the head coach at Newbury College where he was named the National Coach of the Year by the Association of Division III Independents in 2008.

A 2006 graduate of Eastern Connecticut State, Coach Sullivan was a four-year starter for Bill Holowaty and led the Warriors to three Division III national tournament appearances. He was also the recipient of the Francis E. Geissler Sportsperson of the Year his senior year, as well as the Rick Ganoe Coach’s Award and was named the team captain.

Norm Walsh

BC High (MA)

A member of the MBCA Hall of Fame, The BC Hall of Fame, and the National High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame, Coach Walsh is not only an icon in MA HS baseball, but a legend.  He has amassed 550+ wins, 3 state championships, 7 division 1 south sectional championships, and 15 conference titles in the highly competitive Catholic Conference.  Coach Walsh has served on numerous committees at the state (MBCA, MIAA) and national level (BCA, ABCA) and has always looks to promote and improve the game of baseball in MA.  The MBCA is pleased to have Coach Walsh as part of the panel discussion on hitting.

Sam Zagorac

Diamond Edge Academy (IL)

Sam Zagorac is the lead baseball instructor at Diamond Edge Academy in Willowbrook, IL. He is a former collegiate player who began his coaching career in 1996, spending the first 8 years working under the tutelage of John Mallee who is currently the hitting coach of the Philadelphia Phillies and is widely viewed as one of the top hitting instructors in the country. Additionally, Sam worked the minor league Spring Training camp with the Florida Marlins and spent the 2011-2013 springs in Glendale instructing at White Sox Spring Training, as well as serving as an assistant coach at Mount Carmel HS (IL) for 10 years. Sam is an expert in the field of 2D high-speed video analysis and most recently is using 3D software to be able to identify bio-mechanical breakdowns and deficiencies. His strong reputation as a great communicator and having an incredible understanding of the swing has led many professional players to him in the past several years as well. Sam’s teaching style has resulted in many of his players moving on to the collegiate level and several reaching their dreams of signing a professional contract. Sam has given more than 25,000 private lessons and is also a frequent speaker at coaching clinics.