In March of 2025, Starfires manager Paul Bonfiglio still needed another staff member for the upcoming season. The 2024 FCBL Manager of the Year had a few in mind, but eventually he picked up the phone and called his former player and Starfire’s alumnus, Ryan Molinari.
Molinari, the Glastonbury, Connecticut native graduated high school in 2018, redshirted one year at Holy Cross then transferred to Wesleyan University in the NESCAC. The outfielder hit .316 in a shortened 2021 season, appearing in 11 of the 12 games for the Cardinals, and then in 2022, Molinari hit .333 in 26 games, helping Wesleyan finish above .500 for the first time since 2018 while also finishing his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and psychology.
The left-handed hitting Molinari still had two years of eligibility remaining then played his summer ball for the Starfires in that season while also committing to NAIA Milligan University down in Tennessee as a graduate transfer.
Molinari then returned to play for the Starfires in 2023 and his final season for the Milligan Buffaloes in 2024. Across his two seasons for the Starfires, Molinari hit .333 with a .432 on-base percentage in 111 plate appearances and despite hitting a career low .268 for Milligan in 2023, the 6’0”, 185 lb slugger went on to hit .327 his second year with the team in 2024.
Molinari mentions that transferring up a level from Division III to NAIA was a big, but beneficial adjustment for him as a player.
“I needed to have a quicker load and be more rhythmic in my swing and change how to use my swing due to the velocity and pitch arsenal I was seeing at Milligan,” he said. “I had to be more disciplined in my approach and make sure I was on time.”
Moving into the 2025 season for the Starfires, Molinari is the Starfires bench coach under his former coach Bonfiglio, with Bonfiglio having been an assistant for the Starfires back when Molinari was a player for them.
“The coaching staff here is awesome,” he mentions. “Having played for coach Bonfiglio, he is always a guy I can bounce ideas off of as is our Associate Manager Nate Cormier.”
“He shows up early, assists in all attributes, and brings an unmatched presence to the team,” says Cormier. “He has an understanding that most coaches and some players may never obtain.”
Molinari’s role on the team is to work primarily with the hitters and outfielders.
“It is important for me to watch swings and more so take note of what approaches are rather than focusing too much on the mechanics,” he says.
Molinari discussed how being a player so recently has helped him become a coach.
“The little things that you don’t think of as a player in terms of the approach to the plate, I am now able to see as a coach,” he noted. “These little things that make or break a game are what stand out to me as a coach now.”
Molinari reflects on some of the best moments as a member of the team, both as a player and a coach, including the road trips to Vermont.
“My favourite moments with my team are weekend trips to Vermont when you’re stuck with people that are initially strangers and then you spend the weekend getting to know the players and the environment,” he says.
Molinari talks about how he was always overlooked as a player and how that has made him into the solid coach that he has become today.
“I want to crush it,” he says. “I want to go the extra mile, and I want to get the best out of every player, and for them to succeed.”
“He is very good to go to when I am struggling because he understands the game from a player perspective,” said Starfires shortstop Evan Menzel.
This autumn, Molinari will continue his baseball coaching career as a graduate assistant for the Springfield College Pride.
“He really knows his stuff,” said Starfires pitching coach Ben Farber. “He operates with maturity that commands respect. He has an extremely bright future in baseball.”
With Molinari’s extensive playing experience, wealth of knowledge from a coaching perspective, and commitment to whatever team he is with, he is bound to succeed as a coach and wherever life takes him.
