Bio

Anthony Granato returns for his fifth season as Hitting Coach for the Trojans.  Coach Granato is instrumental on both sides of the ball, working with the hitters and infielders.  Well respected throughout the baseball community, Anthony brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from his amazing playing and coaching career.

In his tenure with the Trojans, Coach Granato has consistently developed some of the best offenses and offensive players in the state.  Over four seasons, the Trojans are hitting .313 as a team, stealing over 100 bases every year, while ranking in the top 15 in runs scored, extra base hits, runs batted in, stolen bases, and batting average.

Individuals have also benefited from Coach Granato’s guidance, as 26 Trojans have taken home all-conference honors.  Under Coach Granato’s guidance, four Trojans (Elijah Fairchild, Jace Jermiah, Jesse Pierce, Ethan Bergan) were named All-Americans, with two (Michael Sarhatt, Max Coupe) being named All-Northern Californian.  Additionally, Coach Granato developed two (Preston Lau, Nick Tobin) Coast Conference North batting champions.

The founder of GamePrep Baseball Academy, Coach Granato has helped groom some of the top baseball players to come from the Bay Area.  With the goal of providing an academy unlike anyone else, GamePrep has become both locally and nationally recognized as it has helped prepare, develop, and move on over 100+ players into the college and professional baseball ranks. Such players as Jared Mettam (St. Mary’s College), Kyle Pruhsmeier (Fresno State University), Thomas McCarthy (University of San Francisco), Nick Lopez (Stanford University), Nate Fleischli (Stanford University), and Drew Dowd, 8^th round draft pick of the Tampa Bay Rays and former Stanford University LHP, have all gone through the academy on their path to success.

Coach Granato has also served as an Associate Scout with the Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball organization from 2017 - 2021, and was responsible for identifying professional talent in the greater Bay Area and much of Northern California. Currently, Coach Granato serves as the National Infield Coordinator for the New Balance Future Stars Series and Program 15.

Prior to joining the Trojans, Anthony served as the Head Coach for Sacred Heart Preparatory high school for 6 seasons.  Joining the Gators paid immediate dividends, as Sacred Heart Preparatory won their first ever CCS title in Coach Granato’s first season at the helm.  Along with team success, Coach Granato has helped individual athletes succeed and receive scholarships to the next level.  During his five season Coach Granato has moved on such athletes as Will Johnson (Tulane University), Cole March (UC Davis), Angelo Tonas (Georgetown University), Dominic Cacchione (Arizona State University), and Andrew Daschbach (Stanford University).

Graduating in 1999 from Burlingame High School, Anthony was a three sport (baseball, basketball, football) star throughout his high school career.  Setting multiple records in multiple sports, Anthony was highly recruited to play both baseball and football collegiately.  Deciding on baseball, Anthony began his collegiate career at Skyline College, playing two unbelievable seasons for the Trojans.

In two seasons at Skyline College, Anthony proved to be the best player to ever play in a Trojan uniform.  Hitting over .500 in his two years, Coach Granato additionally led the Trojans in almost every offensive category in both his years at Skyline College while earning All-American honors during his sophomore season.  The success at Skyline College earned Anthony a scholarship to Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).  While at VCU Anthony was equally amazing.  In two seasons at VCU, Anthony hit .319 with 10 homeruns, 10 triples, 27 doubles, while stealing 66 bases and only getting caught 7 times.  Specifically, Anthony stole 44 bases his senior season, second in the nation, an earned Louisville Slugger All-American 2^nd Team honors.

Following his amazing collegiate career, Coach Granato played professionally for 10 years.  During his professional career, Coach Granato spent time with the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, multiple Independent Baseball organizations, and international professional organizations.  Highlighting his professional career, Coach Granato was the starting shortstop for the Italian National Team that competed in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. 

Coach Granato earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology from Virginia Commonwealth University and is a proud dad of his son Dempsey.