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).
Chris Hayes
Chris Hayes is one of CPDA's most sought after instructors with 15 years of playing and training experience. 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. During the off-season Hayes is the lead hitting instructor for the Cadets Baseball Academy. Coach Lugo and Coach Hayes have worked together to create an Elite Hitting Program for the Cadets Player Development Academy.
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.
Steve Elting
Steve attended nearby John Jay Senior HS in East Fishkill, where he earned the team’s Most Improved Player award, helping the Patriots to secure the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Section 1 League C Championship in 2008. Primarily utilized as a pitcher, Steve would go on to enjoy a collegiate career taking the mound for the Mercy College Mavericks.
Steve now coaches for the Cadets Baseball Academy, while also serving as an assistant coach for the varsity baseball team at John Jay Senior HS.
Reinaldo Lopez
Reinaldo has played eight years with the Tampa Bay Rays up to double A and three years playing independent ball. Throughout his career, he has received pitcher of the week, played in two championships and earned a spot on the All-Star team.
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).
Oscar Colon
Originally from Brooklyn, Oscar played for Wallkill Senior HS, where he pitched, played shortstop, and earned team MVP honors during his sophomore season. Oscar later enrolled at SUNY Delhi, where he helped organize the school’s first recreational baseball team.
Oscar has amassed over 35 years of experience in baseball, including 11 years volunteering for the City of Newburgh and Cal Ripken Baseball. Oscar continues to play today, competing in the Hudson Valley National Adult Baseball Association (HVNABA) and the Hudson Valley Men’s Adult Baseball League (HVMABL), while also serving as a coach for the Cadets Baseball Academy.
Dan Schweitzer
A native of Poughquag, Dan played for the Arlington HS Admirals in LaGrangeville, serving as the team captain for the school’s baseball and basketball teams. He continued to pursue his athletic career in both sports at SUNY Cortland for the Red Dragons.
Dan spent his collegiate baseball career playing for highly decorated head coach Joe Brown, who currently owns the best winning percentage of any active coach in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) having at least ten years experience.
Turning in a remarkable senior season in which he captained the Red Dragons to the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) regular-season title - fueled by an 18-0 conference record that made SUNY Cortland the only school in the NCAA to go undefeated during conference play in 2019 - Dan helped the Red Dragons finish the season tied for ninth place across all of NCAA Division III baseball.
Playing in each of the team’s 48 games as the starting shortstop, Dan tied for the team lead in hits with 61, sporting a hefty .379 batting average. His efforts on the field were rewarded, as Dan was selected to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Region Third Team, as well as the D3baseball.com All-Region Third Team.
Dan now coaches for the Cadets Baseball Academy, while also serving as an assistant coach for the varsity baseball team at Arlington HS.
Anthony Cervone
A product of nearby Beacon, Anthony joins our staff years after he first started attending the Cadets Player Development Academy as a player. After achieving All-State honors as a member of the baseball and football teams at Beacon High School, Anthony would pack his bags and head to Queens to begin his collegiate career at St. John’s University. Pitching for the Red Storm, Anthony would finish his career as a three-time Big East champion, having subsequently participated in three NCAA Tournaments. Anthony would return to his hometown to serve as the varsity pitching coach for the Beacon Bulldogs for two seasons.
Andrea Bombace
A product of nearby Roy C. Ketcham HS, Andrea began her high school career while in the 8th grade, and graduated in 2015 as the school’s all-time home run leader with 43. In the spirit of consistency, she graduated to capture a pair of school records during her three-year career at Syracuse University as well, capturing the top spot for both batting average and slugging percentage as a freshman in 2016.
Alyssa Oliva
After graduating from John Jay Senior HS in East Fishkill where she played 1st base, Alyssa would begin her career as a pitcher at SUNY New Paltz. Her sophomore season as a Hawk was electric, chucking a one-hitter against SUNY Potsdam and earning Athlete of the Week honors in 2010. That same season, she led the team in wins (10), ERA (2.31), complete games (10), solo shutouts (2), shared shutouts (3), innings pitched (112) and strikeouts (77), and finished with a 10-5 record overall.
Alyssa currently serves as the pitching coach & an assistant coach for the Dominican College Chargers.
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.
Alex Lowden
Following a brief career as a pitcher for the John Jay Senior HS Patriots, Alex would enroll at the University of South Florida, where he earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in Sports Business, as well as a Master of Science (MS) degree in Sport and Entertainment Management from the University of South Florida.
Alex is a Certified Personal Trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).