Bio

Michael Villafana enters his first season as the General Manager of the Holly Springs Salamanders.

Villafana brings vast experience having worked for various CPL and MiLB teams. He steps into the General Manager role after serving in the same capacity for the Greenville Yard Gnomes during their inaugural season this past summer. Greenville was owned by Capitol Broadcasting Company (CBC), who also owns the Salamanders.

Prior to his time with the Yard Gnomes, Villafana spent three seasons with the St. Paul Saints and one season with the Worcester Red Sox. He began his career in 2019 with the St. Paul Saints, Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, as a Ticket Sales Executive before being promoted to Ticket Sales Manager in 2021. He then made the move to Worcester, Massachusetts and joined the WooSox, Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, as their Director of Corporate Partnership Services. He oversaw 40 of their corporate accounts, where the WooSox ranked #1 in corporate sales in all of MiLB.

Villafana was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He graduated from Seton Hall University in 2019 with bachelor’s degrees in Sport Management and Marketing. In his free time, he loves all things sports, musical theatre, and participating in the community as a youth hockey referee.