Santa Clara, Calif. – A pair of San José State greats on the diamond have been selected for inclusion into the inaugural Mission College Hall of Fame class, the school announced Wednesday.
Happy to announce our first-ever Athletics Hall of Fame Class-- Felicia Anderson, John McLarnan, Sam Piraro, Stephanie Silvia and Lu Tang. Story: https://t.co/4AcaVq8NIZ @CCCAASports @CalCommColleges @mercnews @thesvvoice pic.twitter.com/qlcQ8N3ZPO
— Mission College (@go2MissionSC) September 16, 2020
The winningest head baseball coach in Spartan history (806-632-6), Sam Piraro arrived at SJSU in 1987 after spending the previous seven seasons as Mission's first baseball coach. Piraro won five conference titles while with the Saints in addition to a pair of state championships in 1981 and 1983. In 1996, he became the second-youngest coach to be inducted into the California Community College Baseball Hall of Fame.
At San José State, Piraro guided the club to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. Those runs included a trip to the College World Series in 2000, marking the program's first trip to the CWS. Piraro was honored as the WAC Coach of the Year in 1997, 2000, 2008 and 2009 while tallying over 100 wins against nationally-ranked opponents in his tenure. In all, he produced seven All-Americans, six Freshman All-Americans and 80 all-conference selections.
Go back 20 years with @SanJoseStateBSB to the 2000 CWS! Enjoy the 7th inning w/ commentary from people that lived it. Catch the full TV broadcast tonight, 6pm on Facebook!
— San Jose State Athletics (@SJSUAthletics) April 8, 2020
Sam Piraro
John Fagan
Ryan Brucker
Gary Patchett
Tony Tognetti
Joey Bakerhttps://t.co/05QNPaDVwx
The San José native had plenty of Spartan ties before taking over as head coach of the Mission and San José State programs. Piraro was an infielder on the 1971 and 1972 Spartan teams and received both his bachelor's and master's degrees from SJSU. He then began his coaching career in 1974 as a graduate assistant and junior varsity coach at San José State.
John McLarnan rounds out the Spartan representation in Mission's inaugural Hall of Fame class. McLarnan transferred to SJSU from Mission and was with the Spartans from 1982-1983. The right-hander led the Saints to a state title in just the program's second year of existence, earning All-American and all-state accolades along the way.
McLarnan had the team's best ERA in his first season at San José State, then was named to the all-conference team in 1983 with 77 strikeouts and a 9-4 record. Upon graduation, McLarnan was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 20th round and played seven seasons of professional baseball.
Mission's Hall of Fame ceremony will be held in Spring 2021.