Dan Berlind, a 6’7” right-handed pitcher, was drafted by the Minnesota Twins. (Pictured at top right.) Shortstop David Fonseca (pictured at bottom right) will be playing for the Milwaukee Brewers and outfielder Dan Heller for the Baltimore Orioles. And just before the Major League Baseball draft, right-handed pitcher Travis Turek signed with the Cleveland Indians.

“Pierce has always had a history of very good ballplayers coming out of here,” said Bob Lyons, former athletic director. “But this is an exceptional year.”

Lyons gave much of the credit to Bob Lofrano, who stepped into the position of athletic director recently.

“Coach Lofrano has done a great job in attracting players and then developing their talents.”

In fact, Dan Heller never even played baseball in high school. It was during his time at Pierce that Lofrano urged him to pursue his dream after recognizing his talent.

“Dan took it seriously this time around and not only will he be playing professionally this summer, but he was also named as the Western State Conference player of the year,” said Lyons.

“This shows you the opportunity the community college offers people who want to succeed regardless of their past, be it in athletics or academic endeavors,” he added.

And succeed they have. Barry Zito, who played with Pierce in 1998, was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 1999. After the 2006 season, Zito signed a $126 million contract with the San Francisco Giants, the largest contact ever for a pitcher at the time of signing.

Covelli "Coco" Crisp, now a center fielder for the Boston Red Sox, played at Pierce in 1999. His Red Sox teammate Bryan Corey was a Brahma in 1993.

Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Doug Slaten and Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Kurt Birkins played with the Pierce team in 2000 and 2001, respectively.

“Can you imagine?” said Lofrano. “We’re just a junior college at the west end of the valley and five guys in the Major Leagues last year were from Pierce.”

Other Pierce players from last year’s team went on to continue their education. Pitcher Ryan Platt received a scholarship to attend the University of California at Riverside, and infielder Michael Notaro received a scholarship to Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma.

“As a coach you hope to contribute to their success by the way you conduct practice,” said Lofrano.

“You try to teach them what you’ve learned about the game of baseball both on and off the field. How do you take the ups and downs of baseball? How do you handle failure? It’s not just about teaching them how to throw the ball correctly.”