Tony Mellaci, who served as an assistant coach at Fordham and as Director of Baseball Operations over three decades of service at Rose Hill, moves into the role of special assistant to the head coach in 2018. Over the past 30 years, he has directed the infield play, and the defense served as first base coach and championed Fordham's strong recruiting program, which has brought some of the finest players coming out of high school and junior colleges to Rose Hill.
Along with 2005 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year Nick Restaino, Mellaci helped the Rams have a resurgent year in 2005, posting 34 overall wins and 17 conference wins. The 34 wins were the most since the 1997 campaign, while the 17 conference victories were the most by Fordham since joining the Atlantic 10 in 1995-96.
As a member of the Atlantic 10, Mellaci has helped Fordham to the Atlantic 10 Tournament on eight occasions, including the 1998 and 2019 titles. Mellaci has also helped coach fifteen All-Atlantic 10 players, four Players of the Year, and three Rookies of the Year.
Among the team accomplishments in Mellaci's tenure, Fordham has had ten 30-win seasons and captured eight league titles (3 - MAAC, 3 - Patriot League, 2 - Atlantic 10).
Before Fordham, Mellaci's first significant stop was at Westchester Community College, where he was the head coach for five years. His club won four Mid-Hudson Conference Championships, in the process notching 106 wins against just 43 losses for a better than .700 winning percentage. This stretch was highlighted by a 30-4 record in 1981 when the diminutive general led his troops to a National Junior College World Series appearance.
Mellaci moved to Iona College following the 1983 season, and not coincidentally; the program turned around. He helped the Gaels to two MAAC titles in the mid-1980s, including an ECAC playoff bid in 1985. Mellaci served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the New Rochelle, NY school for four years before joining Fordham's staff in a similar role in 1987. Tony also owns and operates T. Mellaci Baseball Instruction, where he runs private lessons, coaches clinics, youth camps, and team training.