It was a special night for Coronado High School Class of 2022 valedictorian Nico DiMatteo and his family when he was awarded the San Diego Padres Foundation Jerry Coleman Scholarship. The presentation took place at home plate on the field at Petco Park before a sold out game on July 6.
The scholarship is in honor of Jerry Coleman, a New York Yankee World Series Champion and World Series MVP, as well as long-time Padres announcer and San Diego icon. Coleman was also a Marine Corps aviator who flew in WWII and Korea in the F-4U Corsair at the same time as Nico’s grandfather and namesake, CDR Dominic DiMatteo, who also flew the Corsair. Coleman’s wife Maggie presented the award to Nico.
There to congratulate Nico was Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman, plus Randy Jones, Jake Peavy, and Padres owner Tom Seidler. The Padres were playing the Texas Rangers, so former long time Padres Manager Bruce Bochy congratulated Nico as well.
Nearly 1,000 applicants from all over the world applied for this award through the Tailhook Educational Foundation.
Nico maintains a 4.0 average at UCLA, plays rugby for the nationally ranked UCLA team, is team president, and will graduate with honors. For the award presentation, Nico flew home for the weekend from New York City, where he has a summer internship with KPMG Consulting.
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