Another head coach is out at St. Joseph, as Dennis McCaffrey exits Falcon baseball program

After two seasons – and a GMC Tournament championship in his debut season of 2025 – Hall of Fame coach Dennis McCaffery no longer is the head baseball coach at St. Joseph of Metuchen.

McCaffery confirmed the news to Central Jersey Sports Radio Monday morning, but did not immediately – nor by Tuesday morning – respond to further messages as to whether he stepped down of his own accord, or whether it was the school’s decision.

New Athletic Director Carl Porambo, responding to an email for comment from CJSR, would only say that the school and Coach McCaffery had “parted ways,” but did not give a reason, nor did he answer a question as to when the decision was made.

A replacement has not yet been chosen by the school, Parumbo said.

McCaffery is the latest coach to depart from St. Joe’s, where boys’ basketball coach Mark Taylor resigned earlier this month after one season, and has since been replaced by former St. Thomas Aquinas girls’ coach Tim Corrigan; both are Falcon alums.

Taylor also brought about a GMC Tournament championship. But leading up to his departure, three high profile basketball players who had transferred in when Taylor arrived – Andrew Kretkowski, Aiden Carter and Joel Patrick – all transferred again, this time to out of state academies. Since his departure, Imaad Johnson has transferred out as well.

McCaffery had no known significant departures, but graduation losses took a toll on the Falcons in his second season, resulting in a downturn in 2026. They went 6-17 last season, 4-10 in the GMC Red, coming off a 16-7 debut year for McCaffery in 2025, where they went just 7-6 in the Red, but embarked upon a GMC Tournament title run in which the Falcons won all four of their games in their final at bat, and never led for a single pitch. They reached the Non-Public South A semifinals that season, losing 6-3 to Christian Brothers Academy.

McCaffery was hired to replace Mike Murray, who stepped down after nine seasons and three GMC Tournament titles – in 2017, 2021 and 2023 – along with numerous division titles. Murray was one of the New Jersey baseball coaches who helped create the “Last Dance” tournament in the Summer of 2020, a chance for baseball players whose season had been wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic to play one last “season,” and he served as the tournament director.

Ironically, McCaffery and his players from Cranford won the Last Dance tournament, beating the team from Jackson, 12-2, in the tournament final down at Arm & Hammer Park in Trenton, now known as Trenton Thunder Ballpark.

McCaffery had been at Cranford for 25 years before retiring in September of 2024, and took the St. Joe’s job after retiring as principal of the Lincoln School in Cranford in December of that year. He has won over 500 games in his career – fourth among Union County coaches all-time, with 511 while at Cranford – along with four state titles and multiple Union County championships.

He’s a member of the New Jersey Scholastic Coaches Hall of Fame since 2010, and in the Union County Baseball Association Hall of Fame since 2012.