Phil Cundari is currently in his 11th season as an assistant coach on the Seton Hall staff.  A former All-American hurler for the Pirates, Cundari serves primarily as the team's pitching coach.

                Under his tutelage, Cundari has coached 16 players who were either drafted in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft or signed as a free agent.  He currently has 10 former pitchers - Isaac Pavlik, Elvys Quezada, Chris Noonan, Tim Sabo, Dan McDonald, Dan Merklinger, Corey Young, Greg Miller, Keith Cantwell, and Sean Black - pitching in the minor leagues.

                Cundari mentored B.J. Benik, drafted as both a junior and senior, towards establishing career records for innings pitched and games started.  Under Cundari, Shawn Tarkington was a First Team All-BIG EAST selection in 2001, as was Young in 2008. On top of that, Young was named the 2008 New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association's (NJCBA) Pitcher of the Year, while Chris Roach received the NJCBA Rookie Pitcher of the Year, and Joe DiRocco was honored by making the NJCBA All-Rookie Team.

The same campaign also saw BIG EAST Weekly honors to three of Cundari's pitchers.  Young took home the BIG EAST Conference Pitcher of the Week honors on two occasions along with conference Weekly Honor Roll.  Sean Black earned a conference Pitcher of the Week award, and Matt Singer picked up a conference Weekly Honor Roll award.

                After a successful 2008 season, Cundari witnessed more accomplishments for his staff in 2009.  By finishing second in the conference in ERA, his pitchers did not go unnoticed when it came time for postseason awards.  Keith Cantwell took home the NJCBA Co-Pitcher of the Year honor while also being named to the All-BIG EAST First Team.  Sean Black earned All-NJCBA First Team honors as a starting pitcher as well as All-BIG EAST Second Team.  Singer found himself on the both the NJCBA and BIG EAST Teams by earning second team and third team awards respectively.  DiRocco earned All-NJCBA Second Team honors and freshman Henry Walsh received NJCBA All-Rookie Team honors.

                In addition to the postseason accolades, Cantwell, Black, and DiRocco each earned BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week honors, while Singer and DiRocco were awarded to the conference weekly honor roll.  DiRocco also was named the ECAC Pitcher of the Week during the final week of March.

                For the past 10 years, Cundari has run his own private practice as a sports performance consultant.  A licensed psychotherapist, he specializes in peak performance and mental toughness training for athletes of all levels.

                Following a stellar three-year career for the Pirates from 1983-85, Cundari was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in 1985. He pitched in the Oakland organization for four years, reaching as high as the AA level in 1987 before his career was cut short by an arm injury.

                At Seton Hall, Cundari ranks second in career wins (26), third in games started (36) and sixth in strikeouts (217) while playing just three seasons.  He capped off his career in fine fashion, garnering BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year and Second Team All-America honors in 1985 after winning 12 games, striking out 98 and posting a 1.74 earned run average.  Cundari's 1.22 ERA in BIG EAST games still stands as a conference record.  Cundari was inducted into Seton Hall's Hall of Fame in February 2010.

                Cundari returned to Seton Hall to earn his bachelor's of social work in 1989. He completed his master's degree in psychiatric social work from Rutgers University in 1990. A native of Cliffside Park, NJ, Cundari and his wife Trish currently reside in Shrewsbury, NJ.  They have two children - Christina (17) and Philip (14).