James Cisco has been Head Coach for the baseball program since fall of 2014 and has amassed 69 victories with the Lightning.
While this is Cisco’s first head coaching position at the college level, but he is no stranger to college baseball. A four-year member of the Fordham University program, he was a starter on the 1998 Atlantic 10 Championship team. A four-year starter, he still ranks among the school’s all-time leaders in hits, with 219, and in at bats, with 677. He had a career batting average of .323.
In his first season at the helm, he guided the Lighting to a 14-14 record. Lehman ended the season leading the country in home runs. The Lightning were also fourth in slugging percentage and fifth in scoring. CUNYAC Player of the Year Steve Smith not only led the conference but ranked third in the nation in strike outs per nine innings (12.65).
In his sophomore campaign the Lightning ended the season by placing third in the CUNYAC post-season tournament while owning a 10-28 overall mark. He coached Carlo Fransisco, the conferences leader in home runs, triples and hits.
A Bronx native, Cisco serves as an integral part of the Highlander Training Academy, as the head coach of the under-18 baseball team and head instructor of baseball/softball skill development. With the under-18’s, he has several tournament championships.
A true student of the game, he uses video extensively, to assist in training and skill development. Specifically, he focuses on the mental approach at the plate while instilling proper hitting techniques.
Additionally, he has served as an assistant coach for several high school varsity programs, including Clarkstown South (2014) and Yonkers High School (2010-12). At Yonkers, he helped the team improve its batting average from .209 to .350 in one season.
Cisco currently resides in Yonkers with his wife Stephanie, and son Christian.
