Anthony Granato steps down as Sacred Heart Prep baseball manager

With a 5-year-old son at home, Granato cited family reasons for stepping away from the small private high school that he helped put on the PAL baseball map.

“That’s a big deal in terms of time with my son,” Granato said. “And I didn’t want to shortchange the program or the players. It was a tough decision. The school has been great … but it was the best decision for me and my family.”

Granato will still continue to run and expand his private baseball school, GamePrep Baseball Academy, out of its San Carlos location but — with GamePrep anchored at SHP for the past seven years — he has yet to determine what fields the organization’s four teams will call home.

When Granato took over at SHP in 2015, it was a big shift in baseball culture. The Gators had a long tradition of success under their previous coach, Gregg Franceschi, but joining the PAL in his final year of 2014 was a monumental step for the program.

“He’s potentially the most overqualified small catholic high school coach out there,” said Andrew Daschbach, who played for Granato from 2015-16.

Daschbach was heading into his junior season when Granato arrived at SHP in 2015. A former shortstop, Granato was a year out from retiring from his professional baseball career and an appearance with Team Italy in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He was 24 at the time, and brought a technical and developmental approach that, to a group of high school players, seemed a bit out of left field.

“We were wondering why the heck we’re doing this stuff every day,” Daschbach said. “And then we go on to win a CCS championship.”

Daschbach knows plenty about coaching changes. During his collegiate career at Stanford, the high-profile change that saw longtime coach Mark Marquess retire and current coach Dave Esquer take over came prior to Daschbach’s junior year. And in his two seasons of professional baseball with the Baltimore Orioles A-ball affiliate Aberdeen IronBirds, Daschbach played for Kevin Bradshaw in 2019, and — after the COVID closures of 2020 — for Kyle Moore in 2021.

While it took the better part of a year for SHP’s varsity players to get acclimated to Granato’s coaching style in 2015, however, Daschbach quickly developed a strong rapport with his new coach.

“We were incredibly close,” Daschbach said. “We were kind of gelling from Day One. Baseball, I knew it was my favorite sport … so we were pretty like-minded. We both had great work ethics, we were both multi-sport athletes, and both loved the mental and physical grind of baseball. So, he was a big mentor of mine.”

Granato said GamePrep could potentially continue to use the field at SHP, but this is yet to be determined. His contract with SHP runs through August, so GamePrep will use the facilities there at least until then.

“We had seven great years with Anthony and, as good of a coach as he is, he’s a better person,” said Frank Rodriguez, Sacred Heart Prep assistant principal of athletics. “So, we’ll miss him for sure … but it was the right time. He needed to step away … and we’re grateful for what he did for the program, and we wish him the best.”

As an alumnus of Skyline College, Granato has worked as a part-time volunteer coach there for the past four years and is also considering moving GamePrep’s base of gameday operations to the San Bruno campus.

The change in geography in moving 30 minutes north to the opposite spectrum of the county is a looming factor, Granato said. It could potentially change the draw of players. But that potential change would come with an upside.

“I am concerned if I am I going to lose some families, but I’m also gain some families from other areas,” Granato said.

Granato said he won’t be looking for another high school coaching position, at least for the immediate future. In terms of his place in SHP baseball history, though, he did what he set out to do in elevating the program and leading it to its first-ever CCS championship. And he did this quickly, as the Gators and their magnificent seven seniors hoisted the CCS Division II trophy in Granato’s rookie season.

“For me, it was an opportunity for me to see if I could take a program and turn it around,” Granato said. “That was a challenge for me. And that’s why I wanted to take it.”

SHP has posted the singular position of varsity baseball head coach and program director and is collecting resumes through July. The athletics staff convenes Aug. 2, at which time they will begin to conduct interviews.