On June 2, FIU Athletics introduced the sixth head baseball coach in program history, Pedro Grifol.
A Miami native and son of two Cuban parents, Grifol becomes one of three active Cuban-American Division I head coaches, joining the University of Miami’s JD Arteaga and Bethune-Cookman’s Johnny Hernandez.
Grifol comes with plenty of experience at the highest level— Major League Baseball. He was on the Kansas City Royals staff the year they won the 2015 World Series and was later named the manager of the Chicago White Sox.
Grifol announced that he will be retaining Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator Brian Jeroloman, Volunteer Coach Chris Bec and Graduate Assistant/Operations Nico Boza on his staff. Joining his staff will be former Major League pitcher Juan Alvarez, who, in parts of four seasons, pitched for the Anaheim Angels, Texas Rangers and Florida Marlins.
A major part of Grifol’s tenure early on will be recruiting and building back a roster that is almost all gone.
“Miami is one of the most talent-rich baseball communities in the country, and FIU possesses all the essential ingredients to build a championship-caliber program,” Grifol said. “We will recruit and develop student-athletes who represent this university with integrity and excellence, while re-energizing our proud alumni and the passionate South Florida community around FIU baseball.”
