After spending the 2018 season as interim head coach at San Jose State, Sanfilippo was promoted to the job long term.

[5] Sanfilippo also taught eighth grade English at Willow Glen Middle School in San Jose for seven years.

[10] But in September 2018, the National Collegiate Athletic Association placed San Jose State on two years of probation and reduced practice time for the 2018–19 school year after finding that previous head coach Hawkins violated rules about practice time.

[12] But San Jose State won just one of the last 14 conference games, in part due to starting center fielder Kellen Strahm being injured.

[13][14] Then in 2020, San Jose State was 5–12 when the NCAA canceled all sports competition in March that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

[19] San Jose State baseball advanced even further in 2023, finishing 18–11 in Mountain West play with the regular season co-championship, the first conference title for San Jose State since the 2009 Western Athletic Conference regular season title.

[24] Following the season, second baseman Charles McAdoo was selected in the 2023 MLB draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 13th round.

[25] In 2024, San Jose State went 24–33 overall but 16–14 in Mountain West games, the third straight season with a winning conference record.