John Knott is in his 5th season as the Bearcats head baseball coach. Prior to coaching at Bonita, Coach Knott spent three years as an assistant coach at San Dimas High School and also worked for three years at Azusa Pacific University under Head Coach Tony Barbone. Coach Knott’s goal is to create an environment that is rich in talent with quality and dedicated individuals. “We hope to create an atmosphere where each player is excited about being here and working hard to become the best baseball player they can.” Coach Knott teaches Physical Education and Geography at Bonita High, and currently lives in La Verne with his wife Sam.

Coach Newell is currently in his 9th year coaching varsity baseball and his 4th with Bonita as the pitching coach. His prior coaching experience includes 2 years at Western Christian High School (with Dave Cates), 1 year at Mountain View, and 2 years at El Monte High School. He played his collegiate baseball at Delta JC in Stockton, CA and Azusa Pacific University. He graduated with a degree in Business Administration in 2001 and followed that up with his teaching credential and Masters in Education in 2006. He currently teaches math at Ramona Middle School. “I am extremely excited to work with this staff and these players. I think we have a lot of talented pitchers and a ton of potential. If we work hard and compete on the mound we should have a great season.”

Coach Cates is entering his 4th season at Bonita and 12th year as a varsity level coach. His teams have made the CIF playoffs the last ten consecutive years, including a CIF championship at Monrovia in 2002 and two semi-final appearances at San Dimas in 1997 and 2000. Coach Cates played baseball at Glendora High School where he was a three year starter. He then went on to play ball at Citrus Junior College and finally at Azusa Pacific University. “I have really enjoyed coaching here at Bonita, the kids work hard and the parents are very supportive.”