Aug. 29, 2006

By Nathan Saverino, Redhawks Sports Information

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - (Tuesday, August 29, 2006) Southeast Missouri State head baseball coach Mark Hogan ended his search for a new assistant coach with the hire of Chris Cafalone. Cafalone fills the vacancy left by former assistant coach Scott Southard after he resigned this summer to pursue private business in his hometown of Pensacola, Fla.

Cafalone, 38, comes to Southeast from Oswego, NY after spending the last 11 years in head coaching roles. Since 2001, he served at the helm of Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, NY, where he also lettered as a catcher in 1990.

Prior to coaching at Onondaga, Cafalone spent six years as the head coach at Barry University, an NCAA Division II school in Miami Shores, Fla. During his six-year tenure, he became the winningest coach in school history with an overall record of 179-144. Additionally, he was named Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year in 1998 and 2001. Cafalone also led the Buccaneers to their first ever NCAA Division II Tournament berth in 1998.

Before earning a promotion to head coach at Barry in 1995, Cafalone spent two years as an assistant coach for the Bucs. He worked primarily with catchers and infielders, sculpting a defense that led the nation in double plays in 1995. Cafalone's coaching career began in 1992 as a graduate assistant at Hardin-Simmons, and he also spent time in the Northeast Collegiate Baseball League, an NCAA-sanctioned summer wood bat league.

Cafalone received his bachelor's degree in communications from Hardin-Simmons University in 1992 and also earned an associate's degree in 1990 from Onondaga. He played collegiate baseball at Onondaga and Utica (NY) College before transferring to Hardin-Simmons. At Hardin-Simmons, Cafalone played catcher and designated hitter, earning the HSU Coaches Award in 1991.