Softball: HNT Coach of the Year is East Brunswick Magnet’s Mike Buonaguro
The East Brunswick Magnet High School softball team steamrolled the Greater Middlesex Conference Gold Division without a loss for the second year in a row this spring.
But, unlike last year, when the Tigers compiled a 17-3 record without scheduling a game against a GMC team from a higher-level division, East Brunswick Magnet faced a gauntlet of non-division foes in 2024 and still managed to produce a 15-7 ledger despite ending the season on a five-game losing streak -- all to larger schools.
For maintaining that level of excellence while challenging his team, at the same time and overcoming the hurdles of coaching at a magnet school, East Brunswick Magnet’s Mike Buonaguro is the choice as Home News Tribune Softball Coach of the Year.
“This year, I thought they were good enough to experiment in the higher divisions, so I discussed it with Mike Pede, our Athletic Director,” Buonaguro said. “I thought it would be a good experience for the girls.”
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Since rain washed out the first few days of the season, East Brunswick Magnet wound up opening the campaign with a 2-0 loss against its Group 4, Summerhill-Road neighbor, East Brunswick, the eventual runners-up in the White Division. While the Tigers failed to get a hit in that contest, the fact that senior ace Aralyn Torres struck out seven while keeping them in the game, while getting a solid defensive effort, was promising.
“The unfortunate thing was our lead-in games were cancelled, so coming in against a team like that (was tough),” Buonaguro began, explaining the lack of success at the plate. “But our defense played great and it gave us a boost, a sense of confidence.”
The Tigers scheduled games against one Red, three White and one Blue Division team, losing four out of five, but getting some valuable experience against better-quality pitching. Unfortunately, those last three losses of the season eliminated the squad from the GMC, NJTAC and Central Group 2 playoffs.
Sustaining this level of success will be difficult without the presence of Torres, who owned all 44 of the team’s decisions the last two years and struck out 518 batters over 329 1/3 throughout her three-year varsity career.
Torres is a twice-in-a-decade type of player for a magnet school, and catcher Makayla Caban represents another. Caban has two more years remaining, while freshman Isabella Serronico is expected to replace Torres in the circle.
Buonaguro said that Torres, Caban, Isabella and Reyna Serronico and senior Nicolena Giddis were the lone experienced softball players on this year’s team. He has to constantly spend time reviewing the rules with his squad and every fly ball with a Tiger on base is an adventure.
“We have to teach them how to catch, how to throw, how to hit. The basic rules,” Buonaguro explained. “We do have people who have no knowledge of the game and we have to mold them into varsity players.”
Students choose a magnet school, primarily, to learn a trade, not to hit a softball.
“It’s our shops that attract the students, not the sports,” the coach said. “You don’t really find athletes that leave their school district to come here to play ball.”
How Buonaguro got to East Brunswick Magnet is another story. He worked as an attorney for 25 years before leaving that profession to become a substitute teacher at Perth Amboy Magnet. A full-time position then opened up 11 years ago at East Brunswick Magnet, where he serves as soccer and softball coach.
East Brunswick Magnet is expected to move up from the Gold to the Blue Division next spring, and Buonaguro eagerly awaits to see what the freshman class brings to ease that promotion.
“Strong pitching, strong catching and role play by the bulk of the team,” Buonaguro cited as his formula for success. “The supporting players enable the highly-skilled players to execute and drive in runs and win the games, so it’s not just relying on the star players.”
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Softball: HNT Coach of the Year, Mike Buonaguro, East Brunswick Mag
