The winningest head baseball coach in Spartan history (806-632-6), Sam Piraro arrived at SJSU in 1987after spending the previous seven seasons as Mission’s first baseball coach. Piraro won five conference titles while with the Saints in addition to a pair of state championships in 1981 and 1983. In 1996, he became the second-youngest coach to be inducted into the California Community College Baseball Hall of Fame.

At San José State, Piraro guided the Spartans to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. Those runs included a trip to the College World Series in 2000, marking the program’s first trip to the CWS. He was honored as the WAC Coach of the Year in 1997, 2000, 2008 and 2009 while tallying over100 wins against nationally-ranked opponents in his tenure. In all, he produced seven All-Americans, six Freshman All-Americans and 80 all-conference selections. Following his stellar collegiate coaching career, Piraro led the Willow Glen Rams to a Central Coast Section title.

Sam Piraro was inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.