Cardenas joined the Sycamores in the summer of 2024 by way of Southern Indiana where he served on Archuleta's staff over the last two years with the Screaming Eagles. He will serve as the Sycamores primary pitching coach as he looks to build on a staff that has gained a reputation as one of the tops in the Midwest over the last few seasons.
Cardenas worked with the USI pitching staff during his time at Southern Indiana helping lead to a reduction in earned run average, walks, and an increase in strikeouts over the course of the 2024 season. Multiple pitchers received conference awards including Gavin Parson earning Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, while additional pitchers earned OVC All-Conference and All-Tournament team honors.
Cardenas arrived at USI in August 2023 after working the past two seasons as the pitching coach\recruiting coordinator for Lake Land College. He was instrumental in improving the program by recruiting top players and developing pitchers, enabling the Lakers to reach the 2023 Region XXIV Championship Finals. Cardenas expanded the Lakers' recruiting base outside of Illinois reaching as far as Hawaii and into the international circuit, while six pitchers committed to NCAA Division I programs.
Prior to his tenure at Lake Land, Cardenas was an assistant coach at Purdue University Fort Wayne University from 2019 to 2021. He was involved with all aspects of running a baseball program, from day-to-day preparations to game lineups and substitutions. The team had immediate improvements on ERA improvements and strikeouts during his tenure.
Cardenas has coached in some of the top summer collegiate leagues. He directed the Madison Mallards (Northwoods League) and the Danville Dans (Prospect League) pitching staffs to top three rankings' in strikeouts in the respective leagues and the Turf Monsters (College Summer League at Grand Park) to a league championship. The Dans also were second in the Prospect in fewest walks allowed.
Collegiately, Cardenas started his career at the University of Hawaii before transferring to Fullerton College, Auburn University, and Marshall University. He led Auburn in ERA (2.70) as a junior, not allowing an earned run in 11 of the 17 games. Cardenas completed his collegiate career as a graduate transfer at Marshall University where he led the team with 23 appearances and had an opponent batting average of .266.
A native of Manhattan Beach, Calif., Cardenas received a bachelor's degree from Auburn in public administration and a master's degree from Marshall in leadership studies.
