Catholic University of America

Natoli Highlights (Updated 6-5-25)

• Six Landmark Conference championships (2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2018, 2025)
• Six NCAA Tournament appearances (2011, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2024, 2025)
• NCAA Super Regionals (2022)
• NCAA Division III World Series (2022)
• One of less than 50 coaches in NCAA Division III history to amass 800+ wins 
• One of 26 coaches to amass 800 or more wins while coaching at just one institution
• Winningest coach in Landmark Conference history (445 wins)
• D3baseball.com Region Coach of the Year (2022)
• Landmark Conference Coach of the Year (2018)
• School-record 34 wins in 2022
• 88 All-Landmark Selections (42 1st Team, 43 2nd Team, 3 Honorable Mention)
• 51 All-Capital Athletic Selections (17 1st Team, 34 2nd Team)
• 1 LC Player of the Year (Peter Giombetti, 2022)
• 4 LC Pitcher of the Year (Roman Tozzi, 2024; Tucker Alch, 2023, 2022; Jon Mierzwa, 2019)
• 3 LC Rookie of the Year (Logan Eilbacher, 2024; Dante Pozzi, 2022; Tommy Little, 2008)
• 2 CAC Player of the Year (Justin Siller, 2003; Ben Crowley, 1999)
• 3 CAC Rookie of the Year (Joseph Maca, 2005; Chris Peregoy, 2000; Drew Zachry, 1997)
• 5 D3baseball.com All-Americans (Roman Tozzi, 2nd; Tucker Alch, 4th; Peter Giombetti, 4th; Brennan Cotter, 3rd; Michael Bzozowski, HM)
• 25 D3baseball.com all-region selections (8 1st Team, 6 2nd Team, 11 3rd Team)
• D3baseball.com Region Player of the Year (Peter Giombetti, 2022)
• D3baseball,com Region Pitcher of the Year (Roman Tozzi, 2024)
• 3 ABCA All-Americans (Roman Tozzi, 2nd; Tucker Alch, 3rd; Peter Giombetti, 3rd)
• 21 ABCA all-region selections (5 1st Team, 6 2nd Team, 10 3rd Team)
• 2 ABCA Region Pitchers of the Year (Roman Tozzi, 2024; Tucker Alch, 2022)
• ABCA Region Gold Glove Winner (L.J. Travaglia, 2010)
• 1 CoSIDA/CSC Academic All-American (Drew Zachry, 2000)
• 21 CoSIDA/CSC Academic All-District selections

Ross Natoli recently finished his 40th season at the helm of the Catholic baseball program. Natoli's group ripped off 11 wins in a row at the end of the regular season into the postseason to help capture the team's sixth Landmark Conference Championship and first since 2018. The team earned an auto-bid into the NCAA Tournament making the squad's third trip to the dance in the past four seasons, finishing with a 29-18 record. The Cardinals picked up two wins over the host Mount Union before falling to Rowan in the regional championship. 2025 saw a few single season records fall under Natoli including Steve Thomas who broke the program's single season hits and runs record and Mitchel Johnson who broke the single season walks record and tied the program's career home run record.

The 2024 campaign proved to be a historic one in the long and successful career of Natoli. The Cardinals amassed 33 wins, pushing the skipper over the 800 career win mark and securing a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time. 

The 2024 season saw Natoli and the Cardinals reach the 30-win mark prior to postseason play for the first time in program history. The 33-win season was one shy of the program record set in 2022 and marks the third time that Catholic won 30 or more games in a year. Catholic is in the midst of the winningest stretch in program history, logging 93 wins over the past three years. 

Under Natoli's leadership in 2024, Roman Tozzi became the third player in program history to earn ABCA All-America recognition and the fifth to earn D3baseball.com All-America honors. The sophomore left-hander was named Region Pitcher of the Year by both organizations and picked up the same honor at the conference level. As listed above, Natoli has now seen over 80 all-conference selections for Catholic since the Landmark formed in 2007-08. Add in Natoli's time at the helm while Catholic was a member of the Capital Athletic Conference and the head man has seen more than 130 all-conference selections during his time. 

Natoli led the Cardinals to one of the best seasons in school history in 2022 as the team posted a school record 34 wins and made its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III World Series after winning the Winchester Regional and Ithaca Super Regional. As a result, he was selected as the Region 5 Coach of the Year by both the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and D3baseball.com.

Catholic totaled a then-school record 31 wins in 2018 while winning its fifth Landmark Conference championship. The Cardinals had six players earn All-Landmark Conference honors while Natoli was named Coach of the Year for the fifth time. The Cardinals advanced to the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional while Brennan Cotter was selected as a Third Team All-American by D3baseball.com after set a new Landmark Conference single season record with 70 RBIs.

The Cardinals won 28 games in 2017 and had five players earn All-Landmark Conference honors, three of whom received all-region accolades in Paul Burmester, Brennan Cotter and Jon Mierzwa. Catholic led the Landmark Conference in batting average, runs, RBIs, on base percentage and slugging percentage. On the mound, the team struck out a league-best 314 batters.

In 2015, the Cards posted a 27-16-1 record, competed in their eighth consecutive Landmark Conference tournament, capturing their fourth championship. They advanced to the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional

In 2013, the Cardinals posted a 26-17 overall record winning the Landmark Conference regular season with an 11-7 mark. Offensively, catcher/1st baseman Chris McCloud, catcher Mark Kalokitis and third baseman Marc Hanna led the way while All-Landmark pitchers Robin Mowatt and closer Chris Nee excelled on the mound.

The 2012 Cards won 24 games, including 11 Landmark Conference victories. Five Cardinals were named First Team All-Landmark.  Pitcher Justin D'Alessandro, a senior Architecture major, signed with the Toronto Blue Jays organization and is currently playing professional baseball in Australia.

The 2011 season was one for the ages for Natoli and CUA as the Cardinals captured their third Landmark Conference championship in the previous four years and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1977.  CUA won 23 games on the year and defeated the nation's third ranked team, Kean University, 3-2 in the NCAA Regional opener behind a terrific pitching performance by senior Ron Esposito.   Individually, the Cardinals placed five players on the All-Landmark Teams and seven scholar-athletes were named to the Landmark Academic Honor Roll.

In 2008, the Cardinals won the inaugural Landmark Conference Championship and finished the season with a ten-game winning streak en route to a 26-13-1 overall record. The Cardinals repeated as Landmark Conference Champions in 2009, winning 10 of their last 12 games including an 11-3 victory vs. Merchant Marine Academy in the Landmark Championship.  CUA placed six players on the 2009 All-Landmark Conference team, with five Cardinals earning first-team honors.

A native Washingtonian, Natoli was a standout outfielder at George Washington University, earning his bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering in 1981. After playing for two teams that advanced to the ECAC (1977) and NCAA Division I (1979) tournaments, Natoli served as GWU’s top assistant coach from 1981-1984.  Natoli became the Cardinals' head coach in the fall of 1985, and is also widely recognized for founding and directing the Ross Natoli Baseball Camps & Clinics for Washington area youth and college prospects since 1987.

Throughout his career, Natoli has continually upgraded CUA's baseball facilities, which are widely regarded to be among the finest in the East.  In the fall of 2002, Natoli's significant fundraising efforts produced the baseball field's first electronic scoreboard. It coincided with the dedication of Robert J. Talbot Field, named for the former CUA Athletics Director, Hall of Famer and baseball coach, who in 1977 led the "Cardiac Cardinals" to the NCAA Division I playoffs. In 2023, thanks to generous support from the Jones family, the Cardinals played their first-ever game under the lights at Talbot Field. 

Since 2007, through the generous contributions of CUA alumni and program friends, several significant baseball facility upgrades have come to fruition. These include a newly resurfaced infield provided by the Ripken Design Group, installation of 300 stadium-style chair-back seats for spectators, a modern press box, sound system and professional quality bullpens, and  enhancements to both outdoor and indoor batting cages.  Natoli feels that the Cardinals’ state-of-the-art playing and practice facilities are among the finest in all of NCAA Division III baseball and provide the Cardinals with the ideal environment to prepare for success.

In addition to serving as Catholic's head baseball coach, Natoli works as an Environmental Protection Specialist at the U.S. Department of Energy.

Natoli and his wife, Nancy, live in Silver Spring, Md. The couple has three children, Rachel, Rebecca and Nicholas.