Raphael Cerrato, Rhode Island Rams

Raphael Cerrato was named interim head coach of the Rhode Island Rams on July 17, 2014 and following a successful first season with the Rams officially became the program’s permanent head coach on June 23, 2015.

With the interim tag lifted and a core group of players returning in 2016, Cerrato’s Rams won seven of their eight conference series en route to a 18-6 mark in league play as well as the Atlantic 10 regular-season title. It was Rhody’s first outright Atlantic 10 regular-season title since 2006. Making the program’s second-ever appearance in an NCAA regional, the fourth-seeded Rams were sent to the Columbia Regional, where they opened the tournament with a 5-4 win over top-seeded South Carolina. The win over the Gamecocks – who were ranked sixth in the nation at the time – marked Rhode Island’s first NCAA postseason victory.

Highlighting the historical season for the Rams was a wide array of recognition, including Cerrato’s second consecutive A-10 Coach of the Year award. Sophomore Tyler Wilson also collected a pair of First Team All-America nods – in addition to NEIBA and Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year honors – while junior Martin Figueroa, redshirt sophomore Chris Hess and sophomore Jordan Powell all earned All-New England accolades. Additionally, two graduating seniors moved on to the minors as Chase Livingston was drafted by the Kansas City Royals and Steve Moyers signed with the Seattle Mariners.

During his interim season, Cerrato led URI to a 26-25-1 overall record (15-9 Atlantic 10) after the team had gone 13-40 (7-18) and failed to qualify for the conference tournament the year before. Rhody’s first victory under Cerrato’s direction was a 6-3 upset over 11th-ranked North Carolina.

The Rams went on to open their 2015 Atlantic 10 schedule with a series loss at Saint Louis, but bounced back with six consecutive conference series wins – including a three-game sweep of Saint Joseph’s and a pair of 2-1 road weekends at both Richmond and 2015 NCAA Super Regional participant VCU.

Overall, Rhode Island finished just one game behind regular season champion Saint Louis and – with a strong core of veteran players and a talented class of newcomers – played its way into the finals of the Atlantic 10 Championship. Despite falling to VCU, 5-3, it was clear that the team had taken a huge step forward in advancing to its first A-10 final si...