Raphael Cerrato enters his fifth season as head coach of the University of New Haven baseball team in 2011. During his three years at UNH, Cerrato has posted a record of 105-79, including a 67-43 conference mark.
In 2009, the Chargers joined the Northeast-10 Conference and instantly made their presence by earning a trip to the conference tournament semi-finals. Last season, UNH completed the regular season in third place and earned a selection to the NCAA Tournament, its first appearance since the 2006 season. Furthermore, standout closer Mitch Rossi collected All-America honors, another feat that hadn’t been accomplished in three years.
In 2008, standout catcher Michael Moras conclude an outstanding career at UNH and has drafted in the 20th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft. UNH had four players earn All-Conference recognition and fell one win short of the conference championship finishing with a 24-25 record. After a very difficult early season schedule the team rebounded and advanced to the conference championship game.
In Cerrato’s first season (2007), Tommy Myette, in his only season as a Charger, broke the school’s single-season batting record by leading the nation at .503. David Anderson broke the school’s single-season home runs record with 17. UNH had two First Team and two Second Team All-Conference award winners, two Daktronics Third Team All-Americans, and one ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-Northeast Region.
Cerrato became just the second head coach in the history of the UNH baseball program on July 1, 2006. He replaced Frank “Porky” Vieira, who founded the Charger baseball program and served UNH for 44 years. Cerrato joined Vieira’s staff as UNH’s associate head coach in June of 2005 following a five-year stint as an assistant coach at Brown University. He served as the Bears’ hitting, outfield and infield instructor and coordinated student-athlete recruitment.
In 2006, Cerrato helped UNH post a 35-12 overall record, win the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference’s regular season title and advance to the NCAA Championship Tournament for the 26th time in the program’s history.
According to Vieira, the New Haven baseball program is in good hands. Said Vieira, “Raphael is one of the best young coaches in the business. He is sharp as a tack in his knowledge of all parts of the game, and most importantly, he has created a great relationship with our players which is a big part of a winning program.”
Before his time at Brown, Cerrato served as the top assistant at the University of Massachusetts for three years, coordinating recruiting and the organization of UMass youth clinics.
He has also served as the head coach of the Rhode Island Gulls of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, a prestigious summer league sanctioned by the NCAA and funded by Major League Baseball. In addition, he spent time as the assistant baseball coach at his alma mater, the University of Rhode Island, and worked as an assistant coach with the Knickerbocker Baseball Club of the Northeastern Collegiate Baseball League.
A 1994 graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and Health, Raphael was a member of the URI baseball team from 1989-1993. He was an All-Conference performer in 1992 and was the Rams’ captain in 1993.
Cerrato is a native of Enfield, Connecticut and currently resides in East Haven.
