On this episode of the CVCS Baseball Podcast, head coach Clemente Bonilla talks to Phil Shallenberger, the Head Baseball Coach at Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, PA.

A 2010 graduate of Geneva College, Shallenberger was a four-year baseball player for the Golden Tornados splitting time between shortstop and the mound. Shallenberger was Geneva's everyday shortstop and also served as the team's closer. After finishing his time on the field, Shallenberger stayed on the bench for three years at Geneva as a graduate assistant coach.

Shallenberger then headed to Cairn University to serve as an assistant coach and resident director. After two years, he headed to Nashville and took a resident director role at Belmont University when he had the chance to work as a graduate assistant for their Division I baseball program as well. After just one year in Nashville, Shallenberger went back over to take the head coaching position at Cairn University.

With Shallenberger at the helm, Cairn earned their first-ever berth into the CSAC Tournament in 2019, advancing to the Conference Championship Series. While the Highlanders fell to national-power Keystone in the final, Shallenberger was named the Conference Coach of the Year for the Highlanders' aggressive style. Cairn was second in the country in stolen bases with 140 while also setting the program record for home runs in a season with 22.

Shallenberger spent the summer of 2020 in Savannah, Ga. with the Savannah Bananas, a top-tier collegiate summer league team that had three players drafted in the 2021 MLB draft and two other signed to professional contracts.

He joined Messiah College as the Head Baseball Coach in 2021, and has since led the Falcons to an impressive 42-19 record in conference play.