As a Miami Dade College student years ago, Lazaro Llanes took baseball coach Charlie Greene’s comprehensive class on the sport.

Twice.

It’s not that Llanes failed it the first time. Rather, Llanes found it so rich in information that he decided to take it again.

Now, nearly four decades later, the MDC baseball world has come full circle. Llanes is the Sharks’ new baseball coach, making it clear that the ex-MDC student has now become the teacher.

Llanes, 56, clearly has a lot of baseball knowledge to share. He has spent more than 30 years in the game, serving as a scout for the Milwaukee Brewers (2018 to 2023) and the Miami Marlins (2014 to 2017). Among other jobs, Llanes also served six years as the head coach at Archbishop Carroll, and he spent a couple of seasons as the sports director at a baseball academy in the Dominican Republic.

“Lazaro is the right guy for us because of everything that has to do with the words ‘integrity, champion and leadership’,” said former major-league pitching star Alex Fernandez, who is now a senior advisor to MDC Athletics.

“We had a lot of qualified guys apply for this job. But when Lazaro threw his name into the pot, I was thrilled. We’re lucky to have him.”

Llanes joins impressive company.

MDC has a proud tradition of head baseball coaches, a list that includes Demie Mainieri, who led MDC to a national title in 1964; the aforementioned Greene, who led MDC to a national title in 1981; Steve Hertz, who led MDC to fifth place at the Junior College World Series in 2001; and Danny Price, who led MDC to a second-place national showing in 2014.

Llanes replaces Adrian Morales, who left to become the head coach at Nova Southeastern University. Morales, who had replaced Price, won two NCAA College World Series titles as the South Carolina Gamecocks third baseman.

On the day Llanes was introduced to the media as MDC’s coach, Price and Hertz endorsed the new leader of the program.

“I think it’s a great pick,” Price said of Llanes. “Lazaro is so involved with South Florida baseball – he’s an excellent hire.”

Added Hertz: “I think (Llanes) is a perfect fit. He has a lot of contacts after having been a scout for so many years.”

MDC's Athletic Director Mike Balado said he’s confident Llanes will bring in talent.

“His ability to identify good players and recruit were big draws,” Balado said. “His experience and work ethic were other huge factors.”

Llanes said he was honored to have the support of people such as Hertz and Price.

“It means everything to me,” Llanes said. “Without guys like (Hertz and Price), we wouldn’t have MDC baseball. It’s a great legacy.”

Llanes said he hadn’t been planning to leave the Brewers.

But when Morales left MDC, things fell into place for Llanes, who believes that scouting has kept him current with the latest baseball trends.

“This is close to my heart because I went to school here,” said Llanes. “That class (taught by Greene) broke down every play possible in baseball.”

Besides baseball, Llanes is also noteworthy for his academic success.

In 1989, Llanes earned an Associate in Arts degree from MDC. After that, he majored in Physical Education at FIU, earning a Bachelor’s degree. He then added a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Carlos Albizu University in Doral.

Fast forward to 2023, and Llanes’ first job since being hired by MDC was to put together a quality staff.

Without question, Llanes has met that challenge.

Interestingly, three of the four assistants he hired are former catchers: Nelson Santovenia, Rudy Arias and Frank Suarez. The fourth assistant is a former pitcher, Andrew Cabezas.

And of the five coaches on staff, three of them – Llanes, Santovenia and Airas – are former MDC students.

The way the staff will work in 2024 is that Santovenia – who as a player won national titles at MDC and with the Miami Hurricanes in consecutive seasons -- is the new hitting coach and bench coach.

Cabezas, a former Miami Hurricanes star, will serve as the pitching coach.

Arias, who is the first-base coach, will also work with the catchers. Like Santovenia, Arias is a former major-league catcher. Arias also has MLB experience as an assistant, serving as the New York Yankees’ bullpen catcher during the 1996 World Series championship.

And Suarez, who coaches outfielders, teaches base-running and organizes practices, has been in baseball virtually his whole life because his father was a coach.

Llanes, a native of New York City who was raised in Miami since age six, has made his next goal simple.

“We want to win a (Junior College) World Series,” he said. “I want to develop these players as people. But, on the field, there’s no other goal besides winning the national championship.”

LAZARO LLANES CAREER

1986-1989: Head Coach at his high school alma mater, Interamerican Military Academy

1991-1993: Assistant Coach at Westminster Christian high school

1998-2004: Head Coach at Archbishop Carroll

2004-2008: Assistant Principal at Monsignor Pace high school

2008-2010: South Florida Associate Scout for the Houston Astros

2011-2013: South Florida Part-Time Scout for the Chicago Cubs

2014-2017: South Florida/Puerto Rico Area Scout for the Miami Marlins

2018-2023: South Florida/Puerto Rico Area Scout for the Milwaukee Brewers

2023 to Present: Head Coach Miami Dade College