A soccer veteran with a wealth of experience in the professional, collegiate and club game, Frankie Sanfilippo enters his fifth season with San Diego men’s soccer in 2025 as an assistant coach.
During Sanfilippo's time with the Toreros he has helped establish the program's winning culture which included the program's third straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2024. San Diego reached the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since the 2012 season as the Toreros defeated UC Davis and Duke in postseason play. As the team collected 15 wins in 2024, the Toreros went 7-1 in conference play for their third straight West Coast Conference title. Sanfilippo was a key piece leading the roster as USD earned the conference's Goalkeeper of the Year, four All-WCC First Team picks, an All-WCC Second Team selection, two All-WCC Honorable Mentions and a pair of All-WCC Freshmen Team picks.
San Diego continued their strong momentum during the 2023 season as the program posted an 11-win campaign on their way to a second straight conference championship. USD continued its dominance of conference play as they put together a 5-1-1 overall record that included a shutout victory over Gonzaga at Torero Stadium on Senior Night to secure the automatic bid. The Toreros also tacked on some more hardware as they boasted the WCC Offensive Player of the Year, two All-WCC First Team nods, a trio of All-WCC Second Team picks, two All-WCC Honorable Mentions and two members of the All-WCC Freshmen Team.
Sanfilippo helped orchestrated one of the best seasons in program history in 2023. After the Toreros were selected to finish seventh in the WCC Preseason Poll, USD went a perfect 6-0-1 in conference play to secure the WCC Championship and advance to its first NCAA appearance since 2014. San Diego lost just twice in its last 15 matches (8-2-5), and finished undefeated in WCC play for just the second time in program history (first since 2000). The Toreros outscored opponents 17-4 in WCC play. Sanfilippo helped guide the team to two All-Region selections, the WCC Defender of the Year, the WCC Co-Goalkeeper of the Year, the WCC Freshman of the Year, and 13 total All-WCC selections. Not surprisingly, USD earned United Soccer Coaches West Region Coaching Staff of the Year.
Sanfilippo joins the Toreros from Albion FC, where he coached from 2018 to early 2021. In his tenure with the club, he served as its General Manager/Director of Operations in addition to instructing the U-19 Developmental Academy teams. In 2019, he led the ’04 squad to the Fall NPSL 2019 Championship. While with Albion FC, Sanfilippo was the head coach for both the ’04 and ’06 MLS next teams.
Sanfilippo, a native of San Diego, California, attended San Jose State University, playing four seasons for the Spartans from 1999-2003 while earning a degree in Criminology. After his time at SJSU concluded, Sanfilippo put together a decorated professional career, playing for six different clubs from 2004-2016. A 2006 USL All-Star with the Rochester Rhinos, he won the 2012 NASL Championship with the Tampa Bay Rowdies, with whom he was named a team captain and made over 100 appearances.
