San Diego Toreros baseball

San Diego Toreros
Founded 1958 (1958)
University University of San Diego
Conference WCC
Location San Diego, CA
Head coach Rich Hill (16th year)
Home stadium Fowler Park
(Capacity: 1,700)
Nickname Toreros
Colors Navy, White, and Toreros Blue[1]
              
NCAA Tournament appearances
2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013
Conference tournament champions
2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2013
Conference champions
2007, 2008, 2010
WCC West Division: 2002, 2003

The San Diego Toreros baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of the University of San Diego, located in San Diego, California, United States. The program has been a member of the NCAA Division I West Coast Conference since prior to the 1985 season. Beginning in 2013, its home venue will be Fowler Park, located on the University of San Diego campus. Rich Hill has been the program's head coach since prior to the 1999 season. As of the end of the 2012 season, the team has appeared in seven NCAA Tournaments, all since 2002. It has won four conference championship series, three regular season conference championships, and two regular season division championships. As of the start of the 2014 Major League Baseball season, 15 former Toreros have appeared in Major League Baseball.

History

The team began play in the 1958 season as an independent school in the NCAA College Division, made up of the athletic programs of small universities and colleges.[2] The school, founded in the early 1950s, was then known as the San Diego College for Men, and its athletic programs were known as the Pioneers.[3][4] Mike Morrow was the program's head coach for its first six seasons (1958–1963), and the team had an 82–64 record during his tenure.[5] In 1961, the school's athletic programs were renamed the Toreros, for the Roman Catholic school's connections to Spain.[4][6]

John Cunningham era

John Cunningham Stadium, the team's home venue from 1970–2012.

In 1964, John Cunningham became the program's second head coach. In 1966, the team joined its first conference, the College Division's Southern California Athletic Conference (SCAC). In four seasons in the conference (1966–1969), the team had a conference record of 25–26–1. Prior to the 1970 season, the Toreros left the SCAC to become a College Division Independent again.[5][7] Also in 1970, the team began playing in a new venue, which would eventually be dedicated to John Cunningham.[8]

In 1972, the San Diego College for Men merged with the San Diego College for Women to form the University of San Diego.[3]

Through the 1973 season, NCAA institutions had competed in two divisions– the large-school University Division and the small-school College Division. After the 1973 season, however, the NCAA reorganized into its modern, three-division format. The University Division became the modern Division I, while the College Division became Division II and Division III.[9] San Diego, which had previously competed as a College Division Independent, became a Division II Independent.[2][5]

After five seasons as a Division II Independent, the Toreros transitioned to Division I prior to the 1979 season, joining the Southern California Baseball Association (SCBA).[10] The SCBA, which began play in the 1977 season, was the southern division of a baseball-only merger of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAC) and the West Coast Athletic Conference (WCAC). The SCBA's counterpart, the Northern California Baseball Association (NCBA), also began play in the 1977 season.[11][12] San Diego played six seasons in the SCBA, never finishing higher than fourth in the conference.[5]

The SCBA and NCBA stopped operating after the 1984 season, and the PCAC and WCAC returned to sponsoring separate baseball conferences. As a result, San Diego joined the WCAC following the 1985 season. Shortly thereafter (following the 1988 season), the conference was renamed the West Coast Conference (WCC).[12] San Diego struggled in its first several seasons in the league, finishing no higher than fourth from 1985–1991. In 1992 and 1993, however, the Toreros had consecutive second-place finishes and consistently finished highly in the 1990s.[5]

Following the 1998 season, John Cunningham retired after 35 seasons. The team's venue had been renamed John Cunningham Stadium in 1988, and Cunningham retired as San Diego's all-time wins leader with 843 wins. Then-San Francisco head coach Rich Hill was hired to replace Cunningham.[5][13]

Brian Matusz pitching for the MLB's Baltimore Orioles.

Rich Hill era

In 1999, Rich Hill's first season, the WCC split into two, four-team divisions, the West Division and the Coast Division. The Toreros finished third, second, and second in 1999, 2000, and 2001, respectively. The team then won the West Division and the West Coast Conference Championship Series in both 2002 and 2003, appearing in its first two NCAA Tournaments. San Diego again qualified for the tournament in 2006.[12]

In 2007, the Toreros had a 43–18 overall record and an 18–3 WCC record.[5] After winning the WCC Championship Series, the team received a berth in the 2007 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament as the #8 National Seed. The team hosted a Regional at Cunningham Stadium but was eliminated after consecutive losses to Fresno State and Minnesota.[14]

Individually, in both 2007 and 2008, pitcher Brian Matusz was named a First-Team All-American. Matusz is the only San Diego player to be named to the First Team.[12]

The team returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2008, 2010, and 2012, but failed to advance out of the Regional round.[5][15]

Conference affiliations

Venues

John Cunningham Stadium

Fowler Park

John Cunningham Stadium, located on the university's campus, was the program's home venue from prior to the 1970 season until after the 2012 season. Before the field's 1970 construction, the program had played at several different venues in San Diego.[16] The field had a capacity of 1,200 spectators and was named for former San Diego head coach, John Cunningham, who coached the team from 1964–1998.[5][17]

Fowler Park

Main article: Fowler Park

Beginning in the 2013 season, the team will play at Fowler Park, built on the location of Cunningham Stadium, which was demolished in summer 2012. Fowler has a capacity of 1,700 spectators that can be expanded to 3,000. The park is named for Ron and Alexis Fowler, who donated much of the stadium's $13 million construction cost. The playing field itself is named Cunningham Field, dedicated to the same coach for whom the program's former venue was named.[18][19]

Head coaches

The team's most successful head coach is former coach John Cunningham, who won 843 games from 1964–1998. Also, Cunningham's 35 seasons as head coach make him the longest tenured coach in program history.[8][20]

Year(s) Coach Seasons W-L-T Pct
1958–1963 Mike Morrow 6 82–64 .562
1964–1998 John Cunningham 35 843–839–18 .501
1999–present Rich Hill 14 481–331–3 .594
TOTALS 3 55 1406–1234-21 .544

Current coaching staff

Yearly record

The following is a list of the Toreros' yearly records since the program began play in 1958.[5][12][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]

Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Independent (College Division) (1958–1965)
1958 Mike Morrow 7–12
1959 Mike Morrow 17–7
1960 Mike Morrow 19–8
1961 Mike Morrow 16–10
1962 Mike Morrow 14–11
1963 Mike Morrow 9–16
1964 John Cunningham 12–19
1965 John Cunningham 17–21
Independent (College): 111–104
Southern California Athletic Conference (College Division) (1966–1969)
1966 John Cunningham 20–26 8–6
1967 John Cunningham 14–26 6–8
1968 John Cunningham 13–24–1 5–6–1
1969 John Cunningham 22–17 6–6
SCAC: 69–93–1 25–26–1
Independent (College Division/Division II) (1970–1978)
1970 John Cunningham 21–16
1971 John Cunningham 34–12
1972 John Cunningham 20–19
1973 John Cunningham 19–22
1974 John Cunningham 23–15
1975 John Cunningham 19–20
1976 John Cunningham 26–16
1977 John Cunningham 24–19
1978 John Cunningham 33–22
Independent: 219–161
Southern California Baseball Association (1979–1984)
1979 John Cunningham 32–19–1 13–12–1 4th
1980 John Cunningham 30–25–1 12–13–1 5th
1981 John Cunningham 30–25–1 15–12 4th
1982 John Cunningham 29–24–1 13–15 4th
1983 John Cunningham 17–27–1 10–18–1 6th
1984 John Cunningham 20–36–1 6–21–1 8th
SCBA: 158–156–6 69–91–4
West Coast Athletic Conference/West Coast Conference (1985–present)
1985 John Cunningham 17–39–1 5–19 7th
1986 John Cunningham 26–25–2 6–18 7th
1987 John Cunningham 29–25–1 8–14–1 t-5th
1988 John Cunningham 28–28 9–14 4th
1989 John Cunningham 22–31–1 5–17 6th
1990 John Cunningham 24–32 16–14 5th
1991 John Cunningham 21–34–2 11–22 5th
1992 John Cunningham 28–24 14–13 2nd
1993 John Cunningham 36–17 19–11 2nd
1994 John Cunningham 29–25–1 14–16 3rd
1995 John Cunningham 25–27 14–14 3rd
1996 John Cunningham 27–27–1 21–7 2nd
1997 John Cunningham 25–27–2 13–15 4th
1998 John Cunningham 29–30 18–12 t-3rd
1999 Rich Hill 28–27–1 13–16–1 3rd (West)
2000 Rich Hill 34–27–1 14–16 2nd (West)
2001 Rich Hill 35–21 20–10 2nd (West)
2002 Rich Hill 39–23 20–12 1st (West) Tempe Regional
2003 Rich Hill 32–30 18–12 1st (West) Fullerton Regional
2004 Rich Hill 35–21 19–11 2nd (Coast)
2005 Rich Hill 30–27–1 16–14 2nd (Coast)
2006 Rich Hill 33–25 13–8 3rd Fullerton Regional
2007 Rich Hill 43–18 18–3 1st San Diego Regional (#8 National Seed)
2008 Rich Hill 44–17 16–5 1st Long Beach Regional
2009 Rich Hill 29–25 11–10 5th
2010 Rich Hill 37–22 19–2 1st Tempe Regional
2011 Rich Hill 22–31 11–10 t-3rd
2012 Rich Hill 40–17 15–9 2nd Los Angeles Regional
2013 Rich Hill 37–25 15–9 t-2nd Los Angeles Regional (2nd Place)
WCAC/WCC: 1216-961-14 411–353–2
Total: 1443–1259-21

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Notable former players

Former Torero A. J. Griffin, who was named a Freshman All-American in 2007 and a Second-Team All-American in 2008, shown pitching for the MLB's Oakland Athletics.[12]

Below is a list of notable former Toreros.[5][28]

2012 MLB Draft

In the 2012 Major League Baseball draft, the following four Toreros were selected: P Paul Sewald by the New York Mets (10th round), P James Pazos by the New York Yankees (13th round), OF Bryan Haar by the Minnesota Twins (34th round), and P Calvin Drummond by the Oakland Athletics (38th round).[29] Sewald, Pazos, and Haar signed professional contracts.[30][31][32]

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ University of San Diego Brand Standards and Guidelines (PDF). 2016-02-16. Retrieved 2016-04-06.
  2. 1 2 "Football Bowl Subdivision Records". NCAA.org. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 30, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Obituaries: Monsignor I. Brent Eagen; San Diego Diocese Chancellor". Articles.LATimes.com. The Los Angeles Times. October 17, 1997. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "Athletic Traditions". USDToreros.CSTV.com. San Diego Sports Information. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "2012 San Diego Baseball Virtual Guide". San Diego Sports Information. Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  6. ↑ "University History". USDToreros.CSTV.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Chapman University Baseball: All-Time Results". ChapmanAthletics.com. Chapman Sports Information. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 30, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  8. 1 2 "John Cunningham". ABCA.org. The American Baseball Coaches Association. Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  9. ↑ Liska, Jerry (August 7, 1973). "NCAA Splits Into Three Divisions". The Portsmouth Times. Portsmouth, Ohio, USA. Associated Press. p. 8. Archived from the original on August 12, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  10. ↑ Cooper, Tony (March 20, 1985). "Toreros Making Progress". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  11. ↑ Telander, Rick (May 23, 1977). "School of Soft Knocks". SI.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Past WCC Standings" (PDF). 2012 West Coast Conference Baseball Record Book. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  13. ↑ "Rich Hill #10". USDToreros.CSTV.com. San Diego Sports Information. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  14. ↑ "2007 NCAA Regionals Scoreboard". CollegeBaseball.Rivals.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012.
  15. ↑ "2012 NCAA Baseball Schedule". ESPN.com. June 26, 2012. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  16. ↑ Kenney, Kirk (May 13, 2012). "End of an Era for Toreros' Ballpark". UTSanDiego.com. The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  17. ↑ Cunningham Stadium at usdtoreros.cstv.com. Retrieved December 21, 2009. Archived 12/21/09
  18. ↑ Kenney, Kirk (January 28, 2012). "New Yard Next Year at USD". UTSanDiego.com. The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  19. ↑ Wilson, Bernie (February 15, 2013). "USD Goes Big-Time with Fowler Park". BusinessWeek.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  20. 1 2 "2012 Baseball Roster". USDToreros.com. San Diego Toreros. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  21. ↑ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1979". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  22. ↑ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1980". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  23. ↑ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1981". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  24. ↑ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1982". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  25. ↑ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1983". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  26. ↑ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1984". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  27. ↑ "2012 West Coast Conference Baseball Standings". D1Baseball.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012.
  28. ↑ "University of San Diego Baseball Players Who Made it to a Major League Baseball Team". Baseball-Almanac.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  29. ↑ "2012 MLB Draft by School: N-S". CollegeBaseballInsider.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  30. ↑ Johnson, Rob (June 17, 2012). "Mets Have Signed 15 of Their Draft Selection". MetsmerizedOnline.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  31. ↑ Rider, Nate (July 31, 2012). "Muckdogs Down Staten Island in 11 Innings". TheDailyNewsOnline.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2012. After looking over-matched in the ninth against James Pazos and on the first two pitches he saw from Varnadore, Montero fouled a pitch straight back and then proceeded to lace one directly over second base to plate the game-winner.
  32. ↑ Stohs, Seth (June 18, 2012). "2012 Gulf Coast League Twins Season Preview". TwinsDaily.com. Archived from the original on August 16, 2012. Retrieved August 16, 2012. Bryan Haar (22) was the Twins 34th round pick out of the University of San Diego.
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