Coach TONY CIRELLI is in his 14th season as the T-birds skipper during which time his teams have compiled a record of 475-293. Originally from New York City, he attended Mesa Community College and Arizona State University and has a Master’s degree in Education. Cirelli was a third baseman as a player and joined the MCC staff as infield coach in 1985. He was named head coach in 1995 and now holds the record for the most wins by any MCC baseball coach.
Over the past 23 years, Mesa has been in the playoffs 20 times. Cirelli has led the Thunderbirds to consecutive appearances in the Junior College World Series in the past three years. His 2006 squad finished with a record of 44-21 and a #1 national ranking.
During his tenure as head coach, he has guided the T’birds to the second most wins and more playoff appearances than any other Arizona community college. Cirelli was named American Baseball Coaches Association Southwest Region Coach of the Year in NJCAA Division II in 2004, 2005 and again in 2006.
In the past 13 years, 27 MCC players have been drafted by Major League Baseball teams, Of these only five were drafted prior to coming to Mesa.
Coach Cirelli points out “We take pride in helping a good high school player develop his game so he becomes a draftable player. We also stress academics, and our team GPA has never been below 2.9”
Coach Cirelli can be reached at 480.461.7562 or tcirelli@mail.mc.maricopa.edu
Assistant Coaches:
DOUG ROSE:
Doug Rose returns for his 11th season on the Mesa coaching staff. His duties include working with the outfield as well as serving as bench coach and recruiting.
Doug coached baseball and football at the high school level for 11 years. He was the head baseball coach at Bourgade High School for 5 years while leading them to the state tournament 4 times.
Doug has a B.S. in Education from Northern Arizona University and a Masters Degree in Health and Human Performance from Fort Hays State University. Doug teaches Physical Education in the Alhambra School District. He and his wife, Stefanie live in Chandler and have 2 children, Keegan 10 and Kaden 8.
Contact Coach Rose at drtbird13@yahoo.com
Tom Novak:
Coach Novak is in his second year as Pitching Coach at Mesa. He signed professionally with the Oakland Athletics out of high school in 1983. He also served as a scout for the San Francisco Giants organization when his playing career came to an end.
He coached for four years at Shadow Mountain High School before joining the Mesa staff. He and his wife Kim have two sons, Corey, 12, and Colin, 5.
Coach Novak graduated from Grand Canyon College with a B.S. in Psychology
Sean Kenney:
Coach Kenney is the newest addition to the Mesa staff, but he is no stranger to the Thunderbird program. Kenney was a member of the 2005-06 Mesa temas that advance to the Junior College World Series. In the 2006 World Series, he led all Mesa players with a .500 batting average.
Kenny completed his college career at Kansas Wesleyan University. His versatility as a player enables him to work with both infielders and outfielders, as well as coaching first base.
Please contact The Baseball Department for comments
or corrections phone:
480-461-7562 or tcirelli@mail.mc.maricopa.edu
