Last Updated: August 3, 2010
Michael Tallarida begins his third season as assistant baseball coach at New Jersey City University in 2011, and will serve as the pitching/catching instructor and third base coach. “Tally” returned to NJCU in 2009 after spending four years behind the plate as a catcher for the Gothic Knights from 1998-2001. In each of his first two seasons with the Knights, the club has reached double figures in victories.
Before returning to his alma mater, Tallarida spent the previous seven seasons as a high school coach from 2001-08. He was the head coach of the junior varsity program at his high school alma mater, Hudson Catholic, during the 2007 and 2008 seasons. Prior to that, he was an assistant varsity coach from 2001-05 at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, NJ.
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CAREER HIGHLIGHTS:
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- Assistant Coach, New Jersey City University, 2009-present
- Head Coach, Hudson Catholic High School (junior varsity), 200708
- Assistant Coach, St. Benedict’s Prep (varsity), 2001-05
- Four-year baseball player at NJCU from 1998-01
- As a player, helped Hudson Catholic win the 1995 Hudson County baseball championship
- 1997 Hudson Catholic team captain and Most Improved Player
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Tallarida split time as a catcher and designated hitter in his first three seasons for NJCU, before winning the full-time starting catching job as a senior in 2001, and took advantage of his time by becoming a defensive stopper behind the plate. Tallarida posted a .990 fielding percentage for the season, committing just one error in 104 chances while throwing out seven attempted base stealers. In 26 games (23 starts), he batted .247 with 18 hits (18-73), 10 runs, three doubles, a triple and 11 RBIs. He had a .333 on-base percentage and posted one steal. He netted three RBIs at Rowan on April 28, 2001 and had 14 putouts against Stevens Institute of Technology five days earlier.
In 11 games in 2000, he was perfect in 11 chances defensively, making eight starts. As a rookie in 1998, he hit .333 (7-21) in 15 games (seven starts), with six runs, six RBIs, three doubles and a triple.
For his career, Tallarida scored 21 runs and had 25 RBIs, with 31 hits, nine doubles and three triples, and was successful in four of five steal attempts.
A 1997 Hudson Catholic graduate, he played four seasons, including three on the varsity level for Coach Mike Zadroga. As a sophomore he helped the Hawks win the 1995 Hudson County championship. He was a team captain as a senior in 1997 and was named “Most Improved Player”.
Tallarida, a Lyndhurst native, is currently pursuing a degree in physical education from William Paterson University, with the intention of teaching upon completion of his studies.
The 31-year-old resides in Nutley, NJ with his wife, Nicole, and their two-year-old son, David. His wife, Nicole Tallarida, was hired as NJCU’s head women’s volleyball coach, on March 2, 2009. She was a former NJCU women’s volleyball player who competed in four seasons for NJCU from 1998-01, as a setter and defensive specialist, finishing her career with 496 assists and 354 digs. When not coaching, Tallarida enjoys watching the New York Yankees and playing with his son.
