PEABODY — Bishop Fenwick announced on Friday that it has hired Peabody native and former St. John’s Prep star Matt Antonelli as the school’s baseball coach.
Antonelli — who was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2006 out of Wake Forest University — takes over the job from Russell Steeves, who left as the program’s second-winningest coach with 102 victories.
“Bishop Fenwick High School is excited to welcome Matt Antonelli into the Fenwick family as the new head baseball coach,” Bishop Fenwick Athletic Director Dave Woods said in a statement. “Matt’s reputation in the baseball community is unmatched and the Antonelli name is synonymous with excellence. We have such high regard for Matt, not only as a baseball coach, but as a person of integrity and character. Matt is exactly the type of person we want influencing our student-athletes. We are blessed and look forward to having him lead our baseball program and represent our school.”
After starring in baseball, hockey and football at St. John’s Prep, Antonelli chose baseball and played collegiately at Wake Forest — becoming a first-round draft pick of the San Diego Padres in 2006.
He made his Major League debut in 2008 and played eight seasons for the Padres, Nationals, Orioles, Yankees, and Indians. After his playing career ended, he coached at Wake Forest and was the recruiting coordinator and assistant coach at The College of the Holy Cross.
Antonelli will take over a Fenwick program that has earned back-to-back Division 3 North championships in 2019 and 2021.
