Sam Marsonek

In 1996, Sam Marsonek was a 1st Rd Draft pick by the Texas Rangers, out of Jesuit HS in Tampa. He went on to play for nearly 12 professional seasons, reaching the Major Leagues with the NY Yankees in 2004. After exiting the game in 2008 as a player, he began coaching HS baseball at Cambridge Christian in Tampa, Fl. It was that season he knew the Lord placed a calling on His life to use the game to share the Gospel. He coached CCS from 2008-2012, landed in the state final four a few years, coached several college players including Levi Gilcrease (Baylor) Peter Miller (Florida State), Nick Eicholz (Alabama) and was able to see many players come to faith. At the conclusion of 2012, the Lord opened the door for Sam to start a travel baseball program under the umbrella of SCORE International (a faith-based ministry). From 2012-2024 he was able to coach 100s of players from Florida, Alabama, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Bahamas, Canada and Puerto Rico. Nearly all went on to the college level while nearly 150 went on to sign professional contracts. To date Sam has coached 9 players that have reached the Major Leagues including Nate Pearson (Cubs), Luis Gil (Yankees), Eloy Jimenez (White Sox), Gilberto Celestino (Twins), Alex Faedo (Tigers), Carson Ragsdale (Braves), Ryan Fernandez (Cardinals), Yennsy Diaz (Blue Jays), Carlos Espinal (Yankees).

As of 2025, Sam no longer coaches baseball teams but has shifted full time into coaching softball. The change may have been inevitable since he and his wife Kristen have four girls, three of which play. It started out the spring of 2021 with one team, Softball Country Dream. And since then, there has been 5 more teams with around 70 families involved in the ministry known as Softball Country.

“I got into softball because our oldest daughter McKenna wanted to play. I soon developed not only a love for the game, but a love to help girls understand that their value and worth doesn’t come from how they perform. It comes from the Lord, the One that created them and gave them all their talents and abilities. It has now become my mission to help transform the landscape of travel softball by not only developing local players from 10u through HS that will compete at the highest collegiate level but also creating a platform where they can compete on a national stage without wearing a national brand. Throughout this softball endeavor with so many other families, we will focus not only spreading the Gospel as we go out and compete, but we will also continue pouring into the lives of all the families and coaches that are out here in the Country!”