CPDA INSTRUCTORS
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 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).
Mark Bonilla
Hailing from The Bronx, Mark graduated from perennial powerhouse St. Raymond's HS before beginning his college baseball career at Dominican University. Mark 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, Mark 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. Mark is currently the Director of Athletics at All Hallows HS, and coaches during the summer with 5 Star National Metro.
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 leads our year-round Rookie Classes. We are happy to have had Nick on our staff for over five years, playing a versatile administrative operations role while also helping grow our vision of prioritizing player development.
George Psarakis, LAT, ATC
From Monroe, George is a certified athletic trainer who is passionate about baseball and sports medicine. George graduated from Monroe-Woodbury High School in 2016 before pursuing a bachelor’s degree in athletic training from Dominican University. While studying at Dominican, George gained hands-on experience through various internships including a summer spent with the New York Jets in 2019. George graduated with honors from Dominican in May of 2020 and became board-certified by July 2020.
After graduating, George worked at SUNY New Paltz until August 2022. After his stint at New Paltz, George was hired by Mount Saint Mary College where he currently works with all of their NCAA Division III teams. As a certified athletic trainer, George specializes in injury prevention, evaluation of injuries, emergency care of injuries, injury treatment and rehabilitation, and wellness promotion. He will be overseeing our player recovery program, Recover Like A Pro.
Stephen Cabarcas
Coach Cabarcas has been the Head Coach at NJCAA DII, SUNY Orange for the past seven seasons. Prior to Orange, he spent two seasons as an assistant at Mt. Saint Mary's College in Newburgh, NY. He was also the recruiting coordinator and the assistant head coach at SUNY Orange from 2009-2014.
As a coach, Cabarcas led the Colts to the 2021 Sub-District Regionals, and posted the second win in program history at the district level. During his tenure as head coach, Cabarcas has helped many student-athletes transfer on to four year universities of all different division levels to finish their degree and playing career.
As a player, Cabarcas had a successful collegiate career. He posted a career batting average of .330 and was selected twice to two different All-Conference teams. His college career started at SUNY Orange where he was selected as a Mid-Hudson Conference All-Team selection, as well as a Region XV All-Team selection after his sophomore season with the Colts. In two years at Mt. Saint Mary's , Cabarcas posted a career average of .325 and led the team in hits his senior year. As a senior, Cabarcas was selected to the All-Skyline Team.
Cabarcas graduated from Mount Saint Mary's College in 2008 with a Bachelor's Degree in history while acquiring his teaching certification in childhood education 1-6. Cabarcas received his Master's Degree in instructional technology in education and is currently employed by the Wallkill School District as a teacher. He currently resides in Hopewell Junction, NY.
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.
Liz Crawford
Liz comes to CPDA with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from Connecticut State University. She is the head softball trainer and Director of Classes at Frozen Ropes in Garden City, NY and previously served as the head softball coach at Nassau Community College. In addition, Liz has also served in the following roles:
- Former Head softball coach at Nassau Community College
- Head Softball trainer of the East Meadow Little League
- Personal trainer XSport Garden City
- Personal trainer Equinox Roslyn
- NASM Certified Personal Trainer/Functional Training Certified
- Precision Nutrition Certified (PN1) Nutrition Coach
- Head softball trainer at Batting 1000 (Freeport)
- Junior Varsity head coach at Carey High School
- Assistant Varsity coach Carey High School
- Head coach Long Island Thunder
- Head coach NY Jaguars
- Showball Softball field coordinator
She is available for private instruction with softball players.
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.
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.
Stevie Branche
Eliakim Stowe
Eli (Poughkeepsie, NY) recently graduated from nearby Millbrook School, where he was a two-way talent for the Mustangs. A NEPSAC Pitcher of the Year Award winner, Eli's experience includes multiple invite-only national events as a high school prospect, including the MLB Player Development Pipeline, Area Code Games, East Coast Pro, and PBR Super60. He is currently in his first year competing for the University of Maryland Terrapins in the Big Ten Conference.
Ryan Murphy
A graduate of Roy C. Ketcham High School in 2017, Ryan was a 3 year starter at Le Moyne College, earning the 2018 Freshman Pitcher of the Year in the NE10. Ryan then was drafted 144th overall to the San Francisco Giants in the 5th round of the 2020 MLB Draft, and in 2021, was the San Francisco Giants MiLB Pitcher of the Year.
Jonnathan Cepeda
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.
Nelson Figueroa
A native of Brooklyn, Nelson was drafted out of Brandeis University (Waltham, MA) in the 30th round of the 1995 MLB June Amateur Draft before beginning a 19-year professional career as a pitcher, including 11 years in the big leagues. Nelson pitched in the majors for the Diamondbacks, Phillies, Brewers, Pirates, Mets, and Astros, and throughout his career was a part of nine championship teams.
Nelson helped pitch Puerto Rico to a second-place finish in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, an effort rewarded with a selection to the All-World Baseball Classic team alongside such household names as David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Yadier Molina.
After his playing career, Nelson was hired as a pitching coach for the Uni-President Lions of the Chinese Professional Baseball League for 2013 and 2014. Nelson currently serves as an analyst for SNY, MLB Network, and DAZN.
From Coach Figueroa:
"Excited to join the Cadets Baseball Academy to help enhance an already tremendous program. Using both my vast playing experience and the technology available at the facility, I know I can help each and every player reach their maximum potential. I have a multifaceted approach to help guide your athlete from training, to competing, to excelling both on and off the field"