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 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.
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.
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.
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 5 Star National Metro coaching staff as well as a Graduate Assistant Coach at SUNY New Paltz while studying to receive his Masters in Adolescent Education.
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.