Coaching & Administrative Staff
MICKEY BONO - Director of Operations
12U Softball & 12U Baseball Coach
MIKE BONO - General Manager & Founder
Mickey has been coaching and instructing baseball in Central Florida for the past thirty two years. First starting out coaching while stilll in high school. He played his high school baseball at Lake Brantley before attending Seminole Community College. After high school Mickey played for Chet Lemon’s Juice where he competed for a national championship. He worked one season with Doyle Baseball in their summer training program and worked with Chet Lemon Baseball for two seasons. Mickey coached the Central Florida Suns team for five years from 1995-2000, where along with his dad Mike, he coached his younger twin brothers, Ryan and Kyle. For seven years he coached the Lake Mary High School fall team in UCF's fall league. He was also one of the original instructors at the Hit & Run Baseball training facility from 2005-2013. Mickey's niece Addison Bono is a member of the Suns 12U softball team and nephew Landon Bono is on the 12U Suns baseball team and nephew Austin Bono is on the Suns 9U baseball team.
Mickey has played in a competitive wood bat 28+ men’s baseball league for the past seven years. He was a member of the Orlando Marlins from 2006-2012. In 2013, he joined the Orlando Indians where he helped them to a 24-2 record and the spring season championship. He has been selected a league all-star five times.
Kyle was a two-time all-state performer in high school at Lake Mary playing for Coach Allen Tuttle. He attended UCF on a baseball scholarship where under the coaching of Craig Cozart and Jay Bergman, he became one of the nation’s dominant closers his freshman year with a UCF single season record 0.83 ERA in 28 appearances. As a sophomore Kyle earned two All-American honors with an 8-2 record and 1.93 ERA. Kyle ended his college career as UCF’s all-time career ERA leader with a 1.66 ERA and the single season shutout record holder with 5. All of his UCF records still stand today. After being drafted in June of 2004 by the Boston Red Sox, Kyle decided to play for the Chatham A’s in the premier collegiate summer league, the Cape Cod League with his, twin brother and catcher, Ryan, before signing. He earned all-star honors with 8 saves and an ERA of 0.00 at mid-season.
Kyle signed with the Red Sox on July 20, 2004 for a record signing bonus and began his professional career at Lowell, MA. In 2005 Kyle pitched for Wilmington in the Carolina League. As the trading deadline approached the Red Sox traded Kyle to the Diamondbacks for major leaguer outfielder, Jose Cruz, Jr. Kyle finished the 2005 season at Lancaster in the California League. He retired from baseball in 2006 to pursue other interests. Kyle and with his twin brother Ryan, own their own landscaping company Landscapes of Florida. In the fall of 2013 he joined his older brother Mickey on the Orlando Indians.
Kyle has conducted benefit camps as a way to give back to his former high school and one of his coaches who died unexpectedly at age thirty-eight. A true student of the game Kyle shares what he has learned from his college and professional pitching coaches. He has developed a comprehensive training program that can be adapted to any age player. Kyle has a son named Landon who is on the Suns 12U baseball team
KYLE BONO - 12U Baseball Head Coach
RAY CRUCIATA - 12U Softball Coach
DAVID VIGLIONE - 8U Softball Head Coach & 12U Softball Coach
BRIAN BICE - 8U Softball Coach
PAT KENNY - 12U Baseball Coach
BRANDON RICE - 8U Softball Coach
CHAZ BARKER- 8U Softball Coach
DANNY FELICIANO - 12U Baseball Coach
FREDDY EPPLEMAN - 12U Baseball Coach
Mike been coaching amateur baseball for the past fourty years and Bono Baseball has become one of the most recognized baseball names in Central Florida. He coached all three of his sons, Mickey, Ryan and Kyle as they grew up. An Indiana native, he went on to play Division I baseball at Murray State University in Kentucky from 1969 to 1973. Mike has consulted with several area leagues in growth, improvement, coaches training, facility improvement and league affiliation changes.
Mike’s teams have won Florida championships in Pony, Babe Ruth, American Legion and AAU baseball. He has coached in the West Seminole Pony, Longwood and Altamonte Babe Ruth and Maitland and Northwest Little League programs. As a charter member of Florida’s AAU Baseball Committee, he helped launch AAU baseball in Central Florida. His AAU teams served as feeder a program for several of Central Florida’s top high schools.
Most noted was the nationally ranked Lake Mary High School 2001-2002 teams where 14 of his players went on to play collegiate baseball. In 2000, the Central Florida Suns-17U team competed for AAU’s national championship, finishing third in the nation. In 2001, he sponsored and coached American Legion Post 53 that compiled a 51-2 record falling one game short of the World Series. His Seminole scout team placed third in the 64-team 2001 Perfect Game Wood Bat National Championship.
Mike also serves on the board of the Hamilton Foundation, an organization that provides high school and college scholarship funds based on need and merit. Mike is co-publisher of the book Peak Power Baseball, “How to turn little league dream into major league reality”. Mike is married to Sheila with four children and six grandchildren. Mike and Sheila have been married for 50 years.
RYAN BONO - 12U Softball & 9U Baseball Head Coach
Ryan was a four-year starter at UCF playing both catcher and first base. He ended his career as a .300+ hitter and an all-time Top-10 performer in seven offensive categories. Through his leadership and competitive drive he served as “a coach on the field” for coaches Jay Bergman and Craig Cozart. Defensively he only allowed eight passed balls in his career while throwing out nearly 40% of the base runners. During his senior year he was nominated for the prestigious Johnny Bench Award, an award that goes to the nation’s top catcher. He finished as one of the ten semi-finalists. He is considered the “best overall catcher in school history” by both the pitchers and coaching staffs. Following college Ryan signed as a free agent with the Houston Astros, but decided to start a business rather than pursue baseball.
His career highlights include both power and finesse. He had two game-winning walk-off home runs, one coming against 24th ranked Oklahoma State in the 2004 NCAA regional at Dick Howser Stadium at Florida State. Against 8th ranked Clemson he executed a game-winning suicide squeeze bunt giving his twin brother, Kyle, a complete game pitching victory.
Ryan also earned an opportunity to play in the prestigious Cape Cod League in 2004 following his sophomore year. Playing for the famous Chatham A’s was one of his most favorite baseball memories as he competed against the best players in the nation and where he threw out three runners in one inning.
He prepped at Lake Mary High School where he lettered three years in baseball and two years in basketball. He was coached by Allen Tuttle and named all state, all-conference and all county as a junior and senior. He finished his prep career with a batting average of .395, hitting .462 as a senior where he led Lake Mary as the nation's fifth-ranked team according to Baseball America. He was also an honor roll student at Lake Mary. Ryan is married to wife, Chelsea Rozell Bono and has a daughter, Addison, who is member of the Suns 12U softball team and son Austin who plays on the Suns 9U baseball team.