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Cornell University Athletics

John Toppa, 2022 headshot

John Toppa

John Toppa is entering his fifth season with the Cornell baseball coaching staff, and his fourth season serving as a full-time assistant coach. Toppa served as a volunteer assistant coach during his first season with the program in 2022.

The Big Red have had 15 All-Ivy honorees during Toppa's tenure with the Big Red, including four First Team All-Ivy and five Second Team All-Ivy selections.

Two of the four First Team All-Ivy selections were awarded to catcher Mark Quatrani, who became the first Cornell player to repeat as a First Team All-Ivy honoree since Ryan Krainz (2017 and 2018).

Quatrani also earned Ivy League Rookie of the Year honors in 2024, marking the third player in program history to earn the honor, joining Bill Walkenbach (1995) and Kellen Urbon (2012). Quatrani hit 11 home runs and drove in 43 runs on the season, both figures tied for the second-most in program history. Along with his home run and RBI totals, Quatrani batted .362, which second in the Ivy League, and posted a 1.231 OPS (.492 on-base percentage and .712 slugging percentage).

In addition to Quatrani's Rookie of the Year honors, he was one of three Big Red players to earn First Team All-Ivy honors in 2024, joining Max Jensen and John Quinlan, who were both unanimously selections. It was the first time Cornell had at least three players receive First Team conference honors since 1982, when a quartet of Cornell players were honored (Greg Myers — pitcher; Mike Branca — first base; Marlin McPhail — second base; John DeMayo — outfield).

A two-year captain at UConn, Toppa played in three NCAA Tournaments and appeared in 222 games while making 211 starts with the Huskies. He graduated with the sixth-most hits in UConn history (237) and earned NCAA All-Oklahoma City Regional team honors as a senior after capping his final season with a career-high .326 average with career highs in runs (50), hits (76), doubles (14), home runs (4), RBI (35), walks (41), stolen bases (15), on-base percentage (.433), and slugging percentage (.438) en route to Second Team All-American Athletic Conference accolades. He also earned a spot on the AAC All-Tournament Team as a freshman in 2016.

During the summer of 2017, Toppa played for the Wareham Gatemen in the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he earned CCBL All-Star honors.

Toppa graduated from UConn in 2019 with a degree in political science and economics. He then spent two years as an investment sales associate at Ariel Property Advisors in New York City, before returning to the diamond as a coach for the Big Red in 2022.