ATLANTA– Georgia State University is excited to announce the appointment of Christian Castorri and Michael Leeder as the new assistant coaches for the baseball program, head coach Brad Stromdahl announced on Wednesday.
Castorri brings a wealth of experience to Georgia State, with a distinguished background in both playing and coaching baseball. Most recently, Castorri served as the director and partial owner of the 5Star Atlanta Baseball Organization, part of one of the nation's premier travel baseball programs. His role with 5Star Atlanta allowed him to develop young talent and shape the future of baseball at the youth level.
Prior to his tenure at 5Star Atlanta, Castorri held the position of area scouting supervisor for the Miami Marlins, where he was responsible for scouting talent across Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, and Florida. His eight years with the Marlins gave him extensive experience in talent evaluation and a unique perspective in player development.
Castorri's relationship with Coach Stromdahl dates back to 2012, when he was the first addition to Stromdahl's coaching staff at Georgia Gwinnett College. Together, they built the program from its inception, laying the foundation for its success in its inaugural season.
His coaching journey began at Middle Georgia College, where he served as the assistant baseball coach and recruiting coordinator from 2009 to 2012. During this time, Castorri focused on managing and developing the pitching staff, helping to hone the skills of young pitchers. Over his 3 seasons at Middle Georgia, he was fortunate to coach 13 players that ultimately signed professional contracts with MLB organizations.
Throughout his years scouting, Castorri had the honor to coach at various prestigious events across youth and high school ages including Team USA's National Team Identification Series events in Cary NC for 6 years, MLB and Team USA's inaugural Prospect Development Pipeline PDP, and as an assistant coach for East Coast Pro for 5 years.
A former draft pick of the Minnesota Twins in 2002 out of Thomas County Central High School (Thomasville, GA), Castorri spent 2 years playing at Middle Georgia College, helping the Warriors to an NJCAA World Series appearance in 2004. Castorri then moved on to Georgia College and State University, serving as team captain for two seasons and helping his team carry the #1 national ranking for much of the 2006 season, finishing one game away from the NCAA DII World Series. After finishing at GCSU, Castorri signed a free agent contract with the Gateway Grizzlies of the independent Frontier League in 2006 before the Pittsburgh Pirates purchased his contract in 2007. He pitched 3 seasons between A ball and AA in the minor leagues.
Michael Leeder joined the Georgia State staff as an assistant coach in July of 2024 following four seasons at Ole Miss, most recently serving as the Director of Player Development.
With the Rebels, Leeder assisted in day-to-day operations of the baseball program, including pitching and hitting analytics, recruiting, scouting, and game planning. He also developed a performance evaluation tool for the Ole Miss offense. In his first three years with the Rebels, Leeder served as a graduate assistant while pursuing his Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law. During Leeder's tenure in Oxford, the Rebels reached the No. 1 national ranking in two of his four seasons, won two NCAA Regionals (2021 and 2022), one NCAA Super Regional (2022) and captured the 2022 Men's College World Series Championship. As Director of Player Development, Leeder also served as the camp director for Ole Miss Baseball Camps, facilitating the camp experience for over 800 youth and high school players over the course of a year.
Leeder also served as Head Coach of the Carroll Merchants of the MINK Summer Collegiate League in 2022, where he helped spearhead the restart of the Merchants franchise. During its inaugural season, the Merchants led the MINK in batting average, slugging percentage, and extra base hits. Under Leeder's guidance, the Merchants fielded seven MINK All-Stars in its first season, good for second-most in the league. Five student-athletes went on to compete at the NCAA Division I level.
Prior to Ole Miss, Leeder was a four-year letter-winner at Emory University as a pitcher and first baseman. He served as a team captain his senior year. At Emory, Leeder was a member of the 2017 team that reached a No. 1 national ranking and appeared in the NCAA Regional Tournament. He was awarded University Athletic Association (UAA) Academic All-Conference honors for all three years eligible for the award (2018, 2019, 2020). Leeder also served on both the Emory and UAA Conference Student-Athlete Advisory Council.
A native of Ellaville, Georgia, Leeder earned his bachelor's degree in economics from Emory University and Juris Doctor from the University of Mississippi School of Law.
