CADETS PLAYER DEVELOPMENT ACADEMY
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.
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 the Cadets, 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).
Nelson Muñoz
A native of Puerto Rico, Nelson comes to the Cadets Player Development Academy after a professional playing career for his hometown of Humacao. Nelson started his career off with a bang for the Orientales de Humacao, leading La Liga de Béisbol Doble A Juvenil de Puerto Rico (LBDAJPR) with a .394 batting average in 2015. Nelson received a promotion to play for the Grises de Humacao the following year, where he was primarily utilized as a catcher in Liga de Béisbol Superior Doble A de Puerto Rico (LBSDAPR). Nelson also saw time at 1st base, 2nd base, and 3rd base during his professional career.
Nelson currently coaches for the Cadets Baseball Academy.
Albert Avila
First-time instructor Albert Avila joins us from his hometown of La Romana, Dominican Republic, where he was signed to a professional contract in July 2017 with the Oakland Athletics. Making his Dominican Summer League debut at the young age of 16, the left-handed outfielder played three seasons with the DSL Athletics. His time with the Athletics was highlighted by a 2021 season in which he posted a .378 OBP, while stealing 12 bases over 110 professional games. He is currently a free agent, and is available for hitting and fielding instruction.
Jimmy Filingeri
Jimmy brings 30 years of coaching experience to the Cadets Player Development Academy, from T-ball to high school varsity baseball.
Jimmy now coaches for the Cadets Baseball Academy, while also serving as the head coach for the junior varsity baseball team at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains. Jimmy holds a Coaches Certification with USA Baseball, and is a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).
Steve Alhona
Reid Oreste
Reid, a native Long Islander, has been a catcher since the 5th grade. He was the captain of his high school team his senior year before going on to play four years of college baseball at SUNY New Paltz. At New Paltz, Reid studied to earn his Bachelor’s Degree in Biology with a minor in Deaf Studies.
Although he graduated in the Spring of 2020, his passion for the game still remained. He began coaching travel ball for a variety of age groups in Long Island before moving back to the Hudson Valley in the Spring of 2021.
Currently he is a member of the Cadets coaching staff as well as a Graduate Assistant Coach at SUNY New Paltz while studying to receive his Masters in Adolescent Education.
Missy Sadler
Missy joins the CPDA staff after recently completing her collegiate career at St. Thomas Aquinas College, where she played four years of both softball and basketball for the Spartans. A graduate of Marlboro High School, Missy patrolled the outfield for the Spartans while compiling at least a .310 batting average during her last 3 full seasons, including a .351 mark as a sophomore. Missy has recently been hired to be the Assistant Coach for the STAC softball program.
Sadler capped her outstanding five-year career last spring with her best season. Her dynamic play on offense and defense helped the Lady Spartans post a 24-12 record en route to their first ever appearance in the East Coast Conference championship round. Sadler led the team in almost every offensive category while playing brilliant defense in center field and won first-team All-ECC honors for her play.
Sadler finished her career as one of the college’s best all-around females ever based on her softball success and her terrific four-year career in basketball. Her teams compiled an outstanding record of 93-28 that included an ECC title, two appearances in the East Regionals and post-season bids in all four seasons. In her senior year, she was named to the All-ECC and All-Met teams and she closed her career with 844 points.
She is available for private instruction with softball position players on hitting and fielding fundamentals.
Jonnathan Cepeda
Trevor Purcell
A native of Walden, NY, Trevor Purcell joins us while currently serving as the Assistant Athletic Director at Mount Saint Mary College. He was the assistant baseball coach from 2010-2018, and he played at The Mount from 1999-2003. Purcell was named the player of the year in his conference both junior and senior seasons. He also holds Mount Saint Mary College school records in the following categories: hits, triples, runs, RBI, slugging percentage, wins, ERA, and complete games. He was inducted into the MSMC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.
Stevie Branche
Nick Scuderi
Nick played four years of high school baseball for the John Jay Senior HS Patriots as both a pitcher and outfielder. Nick then began playing in the Hudson Valley National Adult Baseball Association (HVNABA), where he has played for six years.
Passionate about teaching the fundamentals of the game to youth players, Nick currently helps run our fielding/throwing and pitching Rookie Classes.
He has been a member of the Cadets Player Development Academy staff for four years, and occasionally assists with practices for the Cadets Baseball travel teams as well.
Jonathan Brezac
Jonathan pitched for the John Jay Senior HS Patriots before enrolling at Dutchess Community College where he studied exercise science. He joins the staff at CPDA as an alumni of the Cadets Baseball Academy.
Chris Hayes
Chris Hayes brings 15 years of playing and training experience to the Cadets Player Development Academy. He played baseball at Roy C. Ketcham High School where he earned All League, All County and Poughkeepsie Journal 1st team All Section. Hayes went on to play college ball at St Thomas Aquinas College receiving All-Conference and All-Tournament Team in the NCAA World Series.