5 STAR METRO NY/NJ COACHES
Angel L. Lugo
Coach Lugo was drafted in 1988 by the Minnesota Twins as a shortstop, later transitioning to a pitcher with the Marlins and the Blue Jays. He played for Grady High School in Brooklyn and was a three year consecutive All-City shortstop. Once completing his professional career, he took his passion for the game and opened the Cadets Player Development Academy.
In 2012, he was certified by Brent Pourciau for the Top Velocity Pitching Program and is now known as Brent's top instructor for the 3x Top Velocity Program. In 2013, he began the Elite Player Development Academy, Top Gun Pitching Program, D2 Catching Program, D467 Fielding Program and the Zone it Up Hitting Program at CPDA. These programs have produced some of the area’s best players and top MLB prospects.
In 2014, Coach Lugo decided to bring his knowledge of player development to the field and created his travel baseball college prep teams, the Cadets Baseball Academy.
In 2016, Coach Lugo was named New York State Coordinator for USA Baseball's North Atlantic NTIS. In 2017, he opened the Hudson Valley RBI program, which is dedicated to getting inner-city players back on the softball and baseball fields.
Mark Bonilla
Hailing from The Bronx, Coach Bonilla graduated from perennial powerhouse St. Raymond's HS before beginning his college baseball career at Dominican University. He spent two years patrolling the outfield for the Chargers, earning a place in the school's Athletic Hall of Fame before finishing his career at Hofstra University.
Following his playing career, Coach Bonilla turned his talents over to the coaching side, where he has played a role in developing players that have gone on to play professionally at the major and minor league levels, as well as in competitive conferences such as the ACC, Big Ten, and Big East. Coach Bonilla is currently the Director of Athletics at All Hallows HS, and coaches during the summer with 5 Star National Metro.
Isidoros "Ross" Bartziokas
Originally from Middletown, NY, Coach Bartziokas is a graduate of Minisink Valley High School. He attended the College of Mount Saint Vincent (CMSV) and was an integral part of the Dolphins Baseball team from 2017-2022. He was a five-year starter as well as one of the Team Captains for three years. As an infielder he was selected to the Skyline's Second-Team All Conference in 2021.
Coach Bartziokas was the hitting and infield coach at the Stevens Institute of Technology. He is currently the assistant coach for St. Thomas Aquinas College baseball.
John Barone
Coach Barone is a graduate of Iona University where he was a four-year starter and two-year captain, and was selected to the MAAC All Conference Team as a senior. He led his senior year team to school and conference win percentage records.
After Iona, Coach Barone spent three years playing professionally in the independent Frontier and Northern Leagues. When his playing career completed, he transitioned to coaching. He spent three years as an assistant coach at Iona, primarily working with the pitching staff. In that three-year period six players moved on to professional careers, including three pitchers.
Coach Barone has spent almost a decade working with youth players in the Town of Poughkeepsie Cal Ripken/Babe Ruth Baseball League. He has coached in both the recreation and all-star programs, as well as the Poughkeepsie Lightning travel program. He also serves on the league's Board of Directors.
Diego Gonzalez
Diego led the Baruch College Campus HS Blue Devils (New York, NY) to its first playoff appearance in school history during his sophomore season before transferring to Benjamin N. Cardozo HS in Queens, where he captained the Judges to a 35-2 combined record during his junior and senior seasons.
Selected as a New York City Mayor’s Cup All-Star in 2012 prior to his collegiate career, Diego went on to play first base and outfield for the Hofstra University Pride and the Queens College Knights. Serving as team captain during his tenure at Queens, Diego was selected as a North Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League (NACBL) All-Star in 2015, the same season he led the Knights in extra-base hits and RBI.
Currently coaching for 5 Star National Metro, Diego also serves as the Assistant Director of Player Development for the CPDA. Diego holds a Coaches Certification with USA Baseball, and is a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).
Skyler Ohrvall
A native of Fishkill, Skylar graduated from nearby John Jay Senior HS before playing collegiately at SUNY Brockport, obtaining a degree in Physical Education. Skylar is currently a physical education teacher and continues to coach at the high school and travel level with 5 Star National Metro.
Jonathan Caceres
Jonathan joins us from his hometown of San Juan, PR with an abundance of experience in the game, ranging from coaching youth travel baseball to coaching and playing in the Hudson Valley National Adult Baseball Association. Jonathan holds a Coaches Certification with USA Baseball, and is a member of the Hudson Valley Amateur Baseball Umpire Association. In the spring of 2022, Jonathan was also an assistant baseball coach for the Wappingers Middle School modified team that went undefeated. He is currently an assistant coach of the Vassar College baseball team.