Tony Cirelli embarks up his 18th season as the T'Birds skipper. His career record stands at an impressive 597-396. His right-hand man, Recruiting Coordinator and assistant coach Doug Rose has been on board since the beginning. Sean Kenney, Tom Novak, Edgar Ramirez, and Kyle Nyhart serve as Cirelli's additional assistants.
Originally from New York City, Coach Cirelli 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 most wins in the history of Mesa Community College Baseball.
Over the past 25 years, Mesa has been in the playoffs 22 times. Cirelli has led the Thunderbirds to consecutive appearances in the Junior College World Series in three of the past seven years. His 2006 squad finished with a record of 44-21 and a #1 national ranking.
During his tenure as head coach, Cirelli 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 17 years, 44 MCC players have been drafted by Major League Baseball teams. Of those 44 players drafted, only five had been drafted prior to coming to Mesa. Most recently, 2010 staff ace Derek Cone was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers, and relief pitcher Brian Broderick made the roster in 2011 for the Washington Nationals.
“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,” says Cirelli.
tcirelli@mesacc.edu (Coach Cirelli)
480-461-7562
drtbird13@yahoo.com (Rosey - Recruiting Coordinator)
