West Essex Selects 'Gench'
As New Head Baseball Coach

NORTH CALDWELL- It is fitting that West Essex, which has had a rich baseball tradition that includes terrific players such as former Major League catcher and current Princeton coach Scott Bradley, and legendary coaches such as Scott Illiano, would select a true baseball ‘Lifer’ as the next man to guide the Knights diamond squad.

Anthony Genchi, 43, who has spent the past 20 years coaching the sport he loves, including as both the head coach and then co-head coach at Montclair, was approved for his latest position during this past Monday night’s West Essex Board of Education meeting.

Also recently naming new baseball coaches in Essex County have been Livingston with former JV coach Sean Cruz taking the reins after longtime, successful head man Mickey Ennis retired after last spring’s campaign with the Lancers, and Lou Nucci at Millburn, the 37-year-old pitching coach for the Millers the past two seasons, who takes the reins of a program previously directed by another very successful coach in Brian Chapman, who is now the athletic director at St. John Vianney.

Nicknames are part and parcel of the mosaic in baseball and everyone who follows the Essex County high school scene refers to the Knights’ new mentor of the program as ‘Gench,’ who is thrilled to have his new opportunity to lead a storied program into the future.

“I’m very excited and it is great opportunity to be the West Essex baseball coach,” said the former Mounties mentor, who resides with his wife Amanda and their sons Teo, 5, and Nash, 4, in Fairfield, one of the four towns in the regional high school’s sending district. “It is a program with both a great history and tremendous tradition.

“I always admired how Coach Illiano went about his business of running his program, and it’s an honor to step into a position he once held to coach such a fantastic high school baseball program.”

West Essex Athletic Director Tim Walsh, who did a superb job last winter in finding the Knights a new head football coach in Hanover Park’s Dan Fulton when Chris Benacquista accepted the Wayne Valley head job, appears to have found another superb coach in another high-profile sport in Genchi who  moves into a position that was vacated when Joe Cardinale decided to step aside after three solid seasons at the helm, including guiding the Knights to a North 1, Group 3 final where they finished as a runner-up to state power Morris Knolls.

West Essex finished 16-9-1 last spring with the season ending in a loss to West Morris in the N2G2 sectional semifinals. The Knights graduated a number of key players in June but will return one of the top pitchers in Essex County in hard-throwing right-hander Jackson Lodgek (4-1, 1.74 ERA in 2025) along with fellow seniors Colin Fogg and Caden Lozito.

“We’re very happy and really thrilled that Coach Genchi is coming aboard with us at West Essex,” said Walsh, who has been at West Essex a number of years before moving into the AD spot a couple of years back when Anthony Minnella retired. “We’ve had a bit of turnover in coaching the past few years and we’re looking forward to having Coach Genchi now lead our baseball program into the future.”

Illiano along with another former coach Mike Llauget were among those on the committee which reviewed candidates while finding who they felt was the right man to be the new West Essex baseball coach.

The man known as ‘Gench’ had filled many different roles for a successful Montclair program while working alongside Ron Gavazzi in directing Mountie diamond squads that captured a N1G4 state sectional title and reached the overall Group 4 state final in 2021, and won Greater Newark Tournament championships in both 2012 and 2019.

Genchi was the lone head coach at Montclair for three seasons from 2014-2016 when Gavazzi left for three years to concentrate on his college football coaching career.

The two men then coached the Mounties together from 2017-2025. The 2024 team that finished 22-8-1 was edged by Livingston, 4-3 in a memorable North 1, Group 4 state sectional final. Last season’s team, which several new faces in the lineup, struggled to a 10-17 mark. 

All told, it was quite the successful run for the co-head coaches.

“I had so many great relationships with the Montclair players along with Coach Gavazzi and our staff that I will treasure forever,” said Genchi. “I just felt at this time that this opportunity was something that was right for me and my family.

"Everyone I dealt with in the West Essex school administration, including Tim Walsh and (schools superintendent) Damion Maoci, have been great and Joe Cardinale has been terrific throughout the process as well."   

Gavazzi, who surpassed the 300-win plateau in 2024 as one of the winningest active coaches in the state, said he will very much miss his fellow coach and close friend.

“Gench is a dear friend of mine,” said the longtime Mountie baseball coach. “He is a wonderful father and husband.   His new appointment is a testament of his character, leadership ability, and many years of dedicated service to Montclair baseball.  West Essex is getting an excellent baseball coach who will care deeply about the kids and do great things for them.”  

“He served many different roles for the Mounties in the last 20 years, including head Senior Legion Coach, Fall Middle School Coach, camp counselor, head scout, head Freshman coach, JV Pitching Coach, head JV coach, varsity pitching coach, co-varsity head coach, and head varsity coach for three seasons when I stepped down to focus on coaching college football.

"Through it all, he always put the program first.  His loyalty to me and to the players was unmatched.

“His impact on our baseball community has been profound, and he will be very difficult to replace.  I fully support his decision, and am deeply thankful for everything he has done for me and more importantly for the kids in the program.  He always went above and beyond anything I ever asked of him”  

“I will miss working side by side with him and I know the kids are going to miss him too.  It was an emotional goodbye when we met before coaching our last middle school championship weekend this fall.

“The memories we’ve made will certainly last a lifetime!”