In 2024, Brad Sanfilippo begins his seventh season as the head coach for San José State baseball.
Sanfilippo was promoted to the position of head coach on June 12, 2018 after serving one season as the program's interim head coach. In his six seasons with the Spartans, he has posted 119 wins total and 65 victories in conference play.
In 2023, Sanfilippo guided the Spartans to their first appearance at an NCAA regional since 2002 by winning the program's first-ever Mountain West Championship. The Spartans also clinched a share of the Mountain West regular-season title. The Spartans finished the season with records of 31-27 overall and 18-11 in conference play. In recognition of the team's success, Sanfilippo was named the Mountain West Coach of the Year while six of his players were named to the All-Conference team, including Charles McAdoo who was taken in the 13th round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In 2022, under the leadership of Sanfilippo, the Spartans won 30 games for the first time since 2011, finishing third in the regular season with a 16-14 league record. San José State made its first trip to the Mountain West Championship Game, and finished with a winning record for the first time in over a decade (35-26 in 2011). Three Spartans were named to the All-Tournament team (Jonathan Clark, Theo Hardy and Jack Colette). The Spartans won two conference tournament games for the first time since the 2011 WAC tournament. San José State finished the year with a single-season school record 66 home runs.
In 2021, the Spartans earned back-to-back Mountain West Pitcher of the Week awards (Trevor Ernt, Jonathan Clark) under the guidance of Sanfilippo. After the season, the program saw its highest MLB Draft pick in 17 years when Ruben Ibarra was selected in the fourth round by the Cincinnati Reds.
Shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, Sanfilippo coached the Spartans to five victories on the 2020 campaign. The highlight of the abbreviated season came in a series win over Creighton where the Spartans exploded for 17 runs in the final two contests of the weekend. Three of Sanfilipo's student-athletes - Jonathan Clark, Ruben Ibarra and Troy Viola were selected to the All-Mountain West team at season's end.
In 2019, Sanfilippo led the Spartans to a 20-34 record overall and a 13-17 mark in conference play. The Spartans fell just one game short of playing in their second-straight Mountain West Tournament. SJSU began the season with a 12-6 mark in conference play before injuries began to pile up and take its toll on the program. Senior Kellen Strahm was a First Team All-MW selection after leading the conference with a .382 batting average. Fellow senior Andrew Mitchel was the MW strikeout leader with 112.
In 2018, Sanfilippo coached the Spartans to their most wins in a single season since 2011, and their most conference wins in nearly a decade with 16. The team posted its highest batting average in nine seasons and lowest ERA since 2012. The Spartans finished the 2018 season in third place, their highest finish since joining the Mountain West in 2013. Sanfilippo coached four All-MW players including Mitchel, a first team selection and the MW Co-Pitcher of the Year. Brett Bautista also earned first team honors while Fineas Del Bonta-Smith and Shane Timmons earned second team honors.
Prior to his promotion to head coach, Sanfilippo was an assistant coach at San Jose State in 2013 and 2014. He also was an assistant coach at California for the 2010 through 2012 and the 2015 through 2017 seasons, reaching the College World Series with the Golden Bears in 2011.
He coached 21 Golden Bear players that were drafted by major league teams. Four of them are currently on Major League rosters - Mark Canha (Oakland Athletics), Marcus Semien (Oakland Athletics), Andrew Knapp (Philadelphia Phillies), and Trevor Hildenberger (Minnesota Twins).
Sanfilippo has seven seasons of high school head coaching experience leading Los Gatos (Calif.) High for six seasons and one at Willow Glen High in San Jose.
As a head coach, Los Gatos High won four El Camino League titles (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009) and the 2006 and 2009 Central Coast Section (CCS) Division II championships. The 2006 team was the first Los Gatos High team to win a CCS baseball title and finished the season ranked 12th in the state. The Wildcats were 139-51 during Sanfilippo's tenure.
Following the 2009 season, Sanfilippo was inducted into the Los Gatos High School Hall of Fame.
Sanfilippo is a 1998 UC Davis graduate. He was a three-year starter on the Aggies baseball team and a team captain in 1998. Sanfilippo and his wife, Colleen, have two daughters, Frances and Scarlett.
All-Time Record (Entering 2024 season): 119-162