After serving for two seasons as an assistant coach in the Winthrop High School baseball program, Tom Capasso began his new position as head coach Monday.
Appointed by Athletic Director Mark DeGregorio to lead the Vikings in the fall, Capasso officially made his debut as tryouts began for the 2026 season.
Capasso, 52, welcomed 36 players to the program, which will field varsity and junior varsity teams that will compete in the Northeastern Conference. Capasso said he coached some of the current sophomores and juniors on a Winthrop-based 13-year-old team in the Lou Tompkins All-Star Baseball League.
Among the returning starters for the Vikings are shortstop Joseph Pumphret, first baseman/catcher Dom Spinale, centerfielder Michael D’Ambrosio, and pitcher/infielder Braedon Lounsbury, all of whom just completed a strong run to the MIAA Division 4 Final Four in ice hockey. Returning starter Desmond Cassidy is sidelined with an injury.
Capasso has tabbed Lounsbury as the starting pitcher for the March 30 home opener against Northeast Regional.
Capasso’s coaching staff includes assistant head coach Mike Vatalaro, and assistants Dan Shannon, Jack Wallace, Paul Pellechia, and Frankie Fabiano.
Weather permitting, the Vikings will play their first of three pre-season scrimmages Saturday (11 a.m.) against Rockport in Winthrop. They’ll travel to Stoneham on Tuesday, March 24 and host Everett on Saturday, March 28.
East Boston roots
Capasso grew up in East Boston, where he was a two-time All-Star in the East Boston National Little League.
“East Boston had three Little Leagues when I played – American, Central, and National, which was in Orient Heights at Noyes Park,” recalled Capasso.
He was a standout for the East Boston Senior Little League 13-year-old team that claimed the Massachusetts state championship. Other key members of that team were Jason Casaletto, Steven Autilio, Parrish Rossi, Derek Disciscio, and Craig Pacitta. Kim Rossi, Parrish’s father, was the head coach.
Capasso went on to play three varsity baseball seasons at Boston Latin School, one (sophomore year) alongside his older brother, Tullio Capasso, when the Wolfpack advanced to the MIAA Division 1 quarterfinals. A 1992 graduate of the nation’s oldest public school (founded in 1635), Tom was a two-year starter, excelling as a right-handed hitting infielder and outfielder.
“We used to play at a field in Brighton right behind the movie theater in Cleveland Circle which was near Boston College,” recalled Capasso.
He returned to coach an East Boston American Legion baseball team with Ronnie Jordan and then piloted an Eastie travel team for two years in a regional tournament in Haverhill.
Northeastern, Suffolk
Law graduate
Capasso majored in English at Northeastern University before receiving his Juris Doctor (J.D.) from Suffolk Law School in 1999.
He holds a prestigious leadership position as the deputy court administrator for the Massachusetts Juvenile Court system that oversees all court cases for persons under the age of 18 throughout the Commonwealth.
“I hope I can be a role model for the kids – that’s part of the plan, here, to teach our student-athletes life lessons, it’s not just about baseball,” offered Capasso.
Capasso and his wife, Lauren, live in Winthrop, with their three daughters, Talia, a game day captain for the Winthrop High cheer team, Alena, a member of the Winthrop JV cheer team, and Daniela, a middle school student.