Staff

Craig Koppelman

  • Lettered as varsity second baseman for 2 seasons at the University of Rhode Island (Division l, Atlantic 10 Conference)
  • Lettered as starting second baseman in Atlantic 10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll for 3 seasons
  • Won Inaugural Ironman Competition at URI
  • Health and Physical Education teacher 1999-2007
  • Varsity Baseball Coach for 4 seasons at Dwight Morrow High School, Englewood, NJ
  • Professional Tryout with the Montreal Expos in June 1999
  • Started CK’S Baseball in 2002

Jake Werb

  • Played Varsity Baseball at Sayreville War Memorial High School for 2 years
  • All-Area honorable mention senior year
  • Coached for 3 summers for the Sayreville Summer Legion Team
  • Coached 1 season as assistant Freshman Coach at Sayreville High School
  • “Hard works beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard”
  • Joined CK’S staff in the spring of 2016

Jesse Matos

Bio Coming Soon!!!

Johnny Johnson

  • Johnny is the Head Baseball Coach at Brookdale Community College. 
  • He has held that position for the last 22 years and has compiled a record of 725 wins against only 275 losses. 
  • His teams have won 6 Region 19 Championships and have appeared another 6 times in the College World Series. 
  • Coach Johnson has won Coach of the Year honors 5 times. 
  • Johnny played his collegiate ball at Nationally ranked University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) in 1983 and 1984 as well as at national powerhouse Miami Dade Community College. 
  • Johnny grew up in the area playing at Middletown South High School where he won many All County, All Shore and All State Honors. 
  • Johnny joined CK's staff in the Fall of 2020 and specializes in Catching and Hitting instruction.

Keith Striano

  • Captain at Midwood High School in Brooklyn, NY
  • Continued his baseball career at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, NY where he played shortstop and was named All-State, All-ECAC, and All-Conference
  • In 1998. Keith led his teams in hits, stolen bases, triples, RBIs, BA, and was named Athlete of the year
  • Keith has played against professional teams in Belgium, and Italy, and was invited to try out for the NY Mets and Detroit Tigers
  • Helped run and coordinate many baseball camps in the NY/NJ area,
  • Keith has coached and instructed all levels of baseball for over 20 years and looks forward to sharing his experience during clinics, teams. And individual lessons
  • Joined CK’S during the spring of 2017

Ryan Tomao

Ryan Tomao:

Pitching, Speed, Agility & Conditioning

•       Joined CK staff in the summer of 2019.

•      Played Independent Professional Baseball in 2020 for the Saranac Lake Surge of the Empire League. Finished in the top 3 of the staff in innings pitched & strikeouts. Also finished 11th in strikeouts in the league.

•         Currently playing independent pro ball with the Road Warrior Blacksox of the Yinzer League.

•        3 Year Varsity Pitcher at Robbinsville High School from 2012-2015.
        •       Attended Bucks County Community College in Pennsylvania from 2016-2017. Lead the pitching staff in all categories both freshman and sophomore year. Single season leader in strikeouts sophomore year. Most wins in a single season since the baseball program came back into business.
        •       Graduated in 2017 with an associates degree in health and physical education.
        •       Attended William Paterson University of New Jersey from 2018-2019. A member of the 2019 New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) All-Academic Team during senior year.
        •       Graduated in 2020 with a bachelors degree in sport management.

Sal Palmieri

  • Graduate of Holmdel High School where he was the varsity catcher
  • Attended Bloomfield College in New Jersey
  • Accepted a college coaching position at Rutgers-Newark as an assistant coach
  • Formerly the assistant coach at Kean University, which won the 2007 Division lll National Championship
  • Joined CK’S staff during the winter of 2009 and specializes in catching, hitting, and fielding

Xavier Warner

  • K.A. “Coach X” joined CK’S Baseball family after coaching at various levels in all sports
  • Founded the Division ll Club Baseball team at Montclair University
  • During his time at MSU, X was National Player of the week 4 times, and Conference Player of the week 7 times in his 3-year career
  • Played Division ll Basketball at Mansfield University in P.A. while pursuing his graduate degree
  • Specializes in Hitting, Fielding, Speed, Agility and Conditioning
  • Joined CK’S staff during the summer of 2017