Last Updated: July 14, 2011
ACTION PHOTO GALLERY
Veteran high school coach Matthew Cilento has been named as an assistant baseball coach for the 2012 season by head coach Jerry Smith.
Cilento joins the Gothic Knight staff after serving as a high school coach in Central Jersey for nine seasons, most recently at Point Pleasant Boro High from 2009-10. He was head coach at Arthur L. Johnson High School in Clark, NJ for two seasons (2006-07) and his alma mater, Colonia (NJ) High School, from 2004-05. He also served as an assistant coach at Colonia for three years (2002-03, 2008).
Outside of high school coaching, Cilento worked alongside Smith in 2001 on the JFK American Legion squad, which earned a No. 2 ranking in the state while finishing third in the national regional tournament. He currently serves as an instructor at the nationally renowned Joe Wladyka Baseball instructional camp.
A four-year collegiate standout and former team captain at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida for Coach Chris Cafalone, Cilento played shortstop and second base for the Bucs’ first-ever trip to the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament in 1998. He was awarded the 2001 Earl Oster Leadership Award, bestowed upon a Barry senior that excelled as a leader on and off the field. More than 10 years after graduating, Cilento still ranks tied for third in school history in career triples (7), sixth in career assists (338), and 10th in double plays turned (48). He graduated in May 2001 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing.
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CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
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Assistant Baseball Coach, New Jersey City University, 2011-present
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Head Baseball Coach, Arthur L. Johnson High School, 2006-07
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Head Baseball Coach, Colonia High School, 2004-05
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Assistant Baseball Coach, Point Pleasant Boro High School, 2009-10
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Assistant Baseball Coach, Colonia High School, 2002-03, 2008
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Assistant Baseball Coach, JFK American Legion, 2001; club was ranked #2 in state and finished third in national regional tournament
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Played collegiate (shortstop/second base) at Barry University, 1998-2001
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Winner of 2001 Earl Oster Leadership Award at Barry University
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Ranks among Barry’s career leaders in triples, assists and double plays turned
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Winner of Gene Haley Athlete of the Year award in 1997
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At Colonia was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and baseball…Third-Team All-State, First-Team All-Middlesex County and First-Team All-GMC division in baseball; All-County and All-Division in football
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Cilento twice hit two homeruns in a game for the Bucs—April 14, 1998 vs. Trinity International University and April 13, 2001 against Florida Tech—and is tied for second place on Barry’s single-game homerun charts. He also is tied for second place all-time at Barry in a single-game defensive category after compiling nine infield assists against Mercy College on February 19, 2001.
For his collegiate career, Cilento played in 153 games, making 120 starts, while posting a career .249 average with 107 hits in 430 at bats. He scored 81 runs and drove in 67 RBIs while producing 31 extra-base hits—16 doubles, seven triples and eight homeruns—for 161 total bases and a .374 slugging percentage. He added 47 walks and 14 sacrifices while tallying a .330 on-base percentage. Defensively, he owned a .933 fielding percentage in 597 chances. As a senior in 2001, he committed only four errors in 194 chances for a .979 fielding rate.
Offensively, his most productive season was in 1998 when he batted .320 (32-100) with 25 RBIs, 23 runs, six doubles, two triples and three homeruns in 36 games (27 starts). In 1999, Cilento batted .313 in 25 games.
A 1997 graduate of Colonia High School, Cilento was honored that year by the ‘Home News Tribune’ with its Gene Haley Athlete of the Year award, presented annually to the best male athlete in Central New Jersey.
Cilento was a four-year, three-sport athlete in football, basketball and baseball. As a four-year baseball varsity standout for Coach Frank Notaro, he earned Third-Team All-State, and First-Team All-Middlesex County and First-Team All-GMC division accolades for the Patriots. Cilento added All-County and All-Division honors to his resume as a three-year varsity football player for Coach Ben LaSala while playing two years on the varsity basketball club for Coach Ken Pace.
Currently a special education teacher at Point Pleasant Boro High School, the 33-year-old Cilento resides in Brick, NJ with his wife Kelly. The couple has four young children—Connor (7), Kyleigh (5), Kayden (4) and Khloey (2).
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GET TO KNOW COACH CILENTO
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Hobbies:
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Golf
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Favorite part about coaching:
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The Camaraderie
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Hero:
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My father
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Favorite sports team:
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Washington Redskins
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Favorite song:
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‘Three wooden crosses’
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Favorite music artist:
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Tim McGraw
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Favorite movie:
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‘We Were Soldiers’
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Favorite food:
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Pizza
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Personal attributes:
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Work ethic, calmness, diligence, humble, loyalty, patience, positive mental attitude
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