Former Old Westbury baseball player turned coach, Mike Manetta, is all smiles after practice. Photo Credits: Jacob Taormina.
If you’ve paid any attention to Old Westbury baseball in years, then you probably recognize the name Mike Manetta. Manetta first came to SUNY Old Westbury in the fall of 2017. By the spring of 2018, he had earned the starting shortstop spot, a role he would go on to hold down for four years. Manetta was a career .337 hitter and a two-time All-Skyline Conference player. He also helped lead the Panthers to a Skyline Conference Championship appearance in 2019 and 2021.
After serving his four years at Old Westbury, Manetta found himself in a unique situation in which he still had two years of athletic eligibility due to the years given back to athletes because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Manetta went on to use these years at West Texas A&M University, a powerhouse Division II school located in Canyon, Texas. This opportunity came about due to his success during his time at Old Westbury as well as success in collegiate summer leagues down south, which garnered him attention from a few schools. He eventually landed at West Texas A&M where he had two solid years.
Prior to his time in college, he played varsity baseball at Farmingdale High School under Head Coach, Frank Tassielli. During his senior year of highschool, Manetta had no offers to play college baseball… that is until SUNY Old Westbury Head Coach Rod Stephan came along. Six years later, Manetta now coaches alongside Coach Stephan as an assistant coach. Manetta will work primarily with the infielders and hitters, and hopes to bestow some of the knowledge he has picked up throughout his career onto the players at Old Westbury. Best of luck to Coach Manetta and best of luck to the SUNY Old Westbury Baseball team going forward.
