Tony Schifano joined the baseball coaching staff in the summer of 2025.
Schifano came to Cal State Fullerton after serving as the head coach at San Francisco State for the past 10 seasons.
In his 10th season at the helm in 2025, Schifano led San Francisco State to a 33-23 record and advanced to regionals for a second straight season. They finished with a conference record of 25-15 to tie for second in the CCAA, the best conference finish in school history. SF State made it back into the CCAA Conference Championship game for a second year in a row.
In 2024, Schifano led the Gators to one of their best seasons in program history, compiling a 34-26 record and advancing to regionals for the first time since 1995. The 34 wins were the most in the CCAA era. SF State Baseball received votes in both the ABCA and NCBWA polls to end the season. The Gators finished the regular season fourth in the CCAA and played for their first CCAA Tournament title, forcing a winner take all game with eventual CCAA Champions Cal State Monterey Bay. Six Gators went on to earn All-CCAA honors.
Schifano led the Gators to a bounce back season in 2023, finishing 27-22 overall and ranked as high as fifth in both the NCBWA and NCAA West Region. Schifano coached ten players to All-CCAA honors, the most in school history.
In 2018, the Gators reached the CCAA Tournament for the first time in program history under Schifano and finished with the program’s best conference record since 2004. Six Gators earned All-CCAA honors.
SF State made back-to-back CCAA Tournament appearances in 2019 after earning the most wins in a season since 2004. SF State was ranked No. 17 in the Collegiate Baseball Poll in addition to reaching No. 4 in the NCBWA West Region Poll and No. 5 in the NCAA West Region Poll.
In his first season, Schifano guided the 2016 team to a 23-25 overall record, the most wins by a Gators baseball team dating back to 2004. SF State also produced four All-CCAA selections that season and followed with three All-CCAA selections in 2017.
Prior to taking over the program at San Francisco State, Schifano was the recruiting coordinator at his alma mater, UC Davis, and was in charge of the Aggies’ offense and outfield. Schifano assisted the Aggies’ to a 30-26-1 overall record and a bid to the 2008 NCAA Division I Regionals, joining the program's 2008 squad as the only two teams to record 30 wins during the program’s Division I era. The Aggies had seven All-Big West honorees including two First Team selections, the first All-Big West first team selections in the program’s Division I history.
Before joining the staff at UC Davis, Coach Schifano, was the head assistant coach at Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos, California, from 2004-08. Los Gatos captured 90 wins over a four-year span, including the 2006 CCS Championship.
As a student-athlete, Schifano enjoyed a stellar collegiate career with the Aggies from 1994-97. During that time he was a three-time All-Northern California Athletic Conference first-team selection. He was a member of the 1995 team that won a regional championship and advanced to the NCAA Division II College World Series under legendary Aggies coach Phil Swimley. Schifano held the single season record for most chances without an error (103) and is in the top ten in several other offensive and defensive categories at UC Davis. In 2010, Schifano was inducted into the UC Davis Baseball Hall of Fame.
Schifano signed as an undrafted free agent with the Florida Marlins in 1997 and worked his way through the minor league system until making it to the Triple-A level with the Houston Astros in 2001. He also played professionally with the independent Central League and Northern League. In 2000, Schifano was a member of Team USA at the Panama Cup.
An Orange, Calif. native, Schifano earned his BA in Political Science and Minor in Sociology from UC Davis in 1997.
