Pomona-Pitzer Colleges Football

John Walsh has served as head coach of the Sagehens since 2016, winning the program's first two conference championships in school history and two Coach of the Year awards during his tenure, leading the program to new heights under his leadership. Entering the 2025 season, Walsh has a career record of 47-30 as head coach of the Sagehens. His defensive coaching prowess as head coach has been demonstrated via 25 defensive All-SCIAC selections, including 12 First-Team selections since the 2016 season. Walsh began his coaching career with the Sagehens, where he coached outside linebackers and special teams for the 1997 season. Walsh was later brought back on to the Pomona-Pitzer staff prior to the 2013 season, serving as the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for four seasons before taking the helm. In addition to his time at Pomona-Pitzer, Walsh has an extensive collegiate coaching background, including prior stops at Yale, Georgetown, Tufts. Throughout his coaching career, Walsh has commanded multiple All-Conference and All-American players while leading some of the top defensive units in the nation. When coaching outside linebackers at Yale, Walsh oversaw a unit that helped the Bulldogs attain a No. 1 ranking in scoring defense, allowing only 10.5 ppg, and the No. 2 in passing efficiency defense across the FCS level in 2008. At Tufts, Walsh oversaw the Jumbos defense as they finished first in the NESCAC in passing defense and pass efficiency in the 2003 season. Bef

Brian Carroll is entering his tenth season with the Pomona-Pitzer football program and his eighth as offensive coordinator. Carroll has coached three SCIAC Offensive

Dennis Hester is entering his second season as the quarterbacks coach with the Sagehens. In his first year as quarterbacks coach, Hester coached Grady Russo to First-Team All-SCIAC honors. Hester had 13 years of coaching experience prior to joining the Sagehens, including his most recent stop at Rancho Cucamonga High School. His first coaching job was at his alma mater, Claremont High School. He played collegiately for Mount San Antonio College, where he was a member of the 2009 CCCAA State Championship team. Hester thanks his wonderful wife Chelsea for her support throughout his coaching career. The two recently welcomed their now 1-year-old son, Cody.

Jon Hart is the longest tenured coach on the Sagehen staff. Hart first coached with the Sagehens in 1987 as a linebackers coach under Head Coach Clarence Thomas. He rejoined the staff in 2011 and currently serves as the outside linebackers coach for the Sagehens. His prior coaching stops include head coaching positions at Needles and John W. North High Schools. He also served as a coach and director for several football programs in Finland for four years. His last year coaching in Finland, he led his team to a 10-1 finish and a league championship. Hart graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering before getting his master's in education from the University of La Verne. He and his wife Jean have lived in Claremont for the last 43 years, 36 of which Hart spent as a math teacher in the area.

Kevin Cummings is entering his eighth season with the Pomona-Pitzer football coaching staff, coaching the running backs. Cummings’ prior coaching experience includes

Matt O’Connor heads leadership and professional development activities for Pomona-Pitzer football.   As a two-time captain, O’Connor excelled during his playing

Michale Spicer joined the Pomona-Pitzer Football Coaching Staff in 2017 as the defensive line coach and special teams coordinator. In his time as the Sagehens

RJ Maki has held the role of receivers coach on the Pomona-Pitzer staff since 2018. He previously held the wide receiver coach role in 2011 as a graduate student

Roger Ollano has been coaching the Sagehens defensive backs since 2013. In his tenure as defensive backs coach, Ollano has coached multiple members of the Sagehen secondary to All-SCIAC honors. Ollano was formerly a defensive backs coach for Brethren Christian (Huntington Beach, Calif.), where he coached with former NFL wide receiver and punter and College Football Hall of Fame Inductee, Pat McInally. As a player, Ollano was a defensive back for the Sagehens, including a season spent under Coach Walsh in 1997. His high school career took place at nearby Bishop Amat High school in La Puente, California. Ollano holds his bachelor's in political studies from Pitzer College and received his master's in business administration from the Drucker School of Management. He currently resides in Chino, California with his lovely wife, Cecilia, and has three children – Justin, Jonas and Noelle.

Thomas Thongmee is the offensive line coach, recruiting coordinator, video coordinator, and director of football operations for the Sagehens. Thongmee has coached three different players to first-team All-SCIAC selections since the 2022 season. He also serves as Director of Analytics for the Pomona-Pitzer baseball team. Thongmee began as a student assistant coach with the Sagehen football in 2019-2020, when he also worked as a student manager for the basketball team and in analytics for the baseball team. Upon his graduation from Pitzer College in 2021, Thongmee joined the football and baseball staff in his current positions. Before Pitzer, Thongmee attended Seattle Central College in his hometown of Seattle, Washington, and Deep Springs College in Big Pine, California. He coached football, basketball, and baseball at his alma mater Lakeside School for 4 seasons in the Metro League.

Vaishnav Siddapureddy is entering his third year coaching the defensive backs after a four-year career as a Sagehen defensive back himself and also serves as Assistant Director of Football Operations. As a player, Siddapureddy was a 4-year starter in the Pomona-Pitzer secondary that saw the Sagehens complete the best season in program history, including a 2022 SCIAC Conference Championship and berth to the D3 Playoffs. As a high school athlete, Siddapureddy was a First-Team Academic All-State award winner in the state of Michigan and team captain. He lettered in a total of four sports and was a member of the National Honors Society during his high school career. Siddapureddy has coached one first-team and one second-team All-SCIAC player since his coaching career with the Sagehens began in the 2023 season.