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San Diego Toreros
2024 San Diego Toreros baseball team
Founded1958 (1958)
UniversityUniversity of San Diego
Head coachBrock Ungricht (3rd season)
ConferenceWest Coast Conference
LocationSan Diego, California
Home stadiumFowler Park
(Capacity: 1,700)
NicknameToreros
ColorsNavy, white, and Toreros blue[1]
     
NCAA Tournament appearances
2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2022, 2024
Conference tournament champions
2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2022, 2024
Regular season conference champions
2007, 2008, 2010, 2024
WCC West Division: 2002, 2003
For information on all University of San Diego sports, see San Diego Toreros

The San Diego Toreros baseball team is the college baseball program that represents the University of San Diego. The Toreros compete in NCAA Division I as a member of the West Coast Conference (WCC). The team plays its home games at Fowler Park.

The Toreros have appeared in nine NCAA Division I baseball tournaments. As of 2023, 24 USD alumni have played in the MLB, most notably World Series champion Kris Bryant.

History

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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

[edit]
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 MLB's Baltimore Orioles.

Rich Hill era

[edit]

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 crosstown rival San Diego State's home ballpark, Tony Gwynn 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]

On June 18, 2021, Hill resigned from his head coaching position to become the head baseball coach at Hawaii.[16]

2012 MLB draft

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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).[17] Sewald, Pazos, and Haar signed professional contracts.[18][19][20]

Brock Ungricht era

[edit]
The Toreros baseball team at Fowler Park in 2024

Brock Ungricht joined San Diego as a hitting coach and recruiting coordinator in 2019. Upon long-time head coach Rich Hill's departure at the end of the 2021 season, Ungricht was elevated to the head coach position.[21]

Conference affiliations

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San Diego in the NCAA tournament

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Year Record Pct Notes
2002 1–2 .333 Mesa Regional
2003 1–2 .333 Fullerton Regional
2006 1–2 .333 Fullerton Regional
2007 0–2 .000 Hosted San Diego Regional
2008 3–2 .600 Long Beach Regional
2010 1–2 .333 Tempe Regional
2012 0–2 .000 Los Angeles Regional
2013 2–2 .500 Los Angeles Regional
2022 1–2 .333 Corvallis Regional
2024 1–2 .333 Santa Barbara Regional
TOTALS
 11-20 .355

Venues

[edit]

John Cunningham Stadium

[edit]
Main article: John Cunningham Stadium

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.[22] 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][23]

Fowler Park

[edit]
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.[24][25]

Head coaches

[edit]

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][26] Rich Hill was the program's head coach from 1999 until 2021.

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
1999-2021 Rich Hill 23 747–514–4 .592
2022-Present Brock Ungricht 3 65-50-1 .565
TOTALS 4 67 1406–1234–21 .544

Current coaching staff

[edit]
  • Head coach – Brock Ungricht
  • Assistant coach / Recruiting Coordinator – Matt Florer
  • Assistant coach – Erich Pfohl
  • Assistant coach – Ryan Kirby

Yearly record

[edit]

The following is a list of the Toreros' yearly records since the program began play in 1958.[5][12][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]

Statistics overview
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

Toreros in the Major Leagues

[edit]
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]
= All-Star = Baseball Hall of Famer
Athlete Years in MLB MLB Teams
Kerry Dineen 1975-1976, 1978 New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies
John Wathan 1976-1985 Kansas City Royals
Jeff Grotewold 1992, 1995 Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Royals
Mike Saipe 1998 Colorado Rockies
Brady Clark 2000-2008 Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres
Bart Miadich 2001, 2003 Anaheim Angels
Kevin Reese 2005-2006 New York Yankees
Dan Giese 2007-2009 San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics
Freddy Sandoval 2008-2009 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Mike McCoy 2009-2012 Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays
Josh Butler 2009 Milwaukee Brewers
Brian Matusz 2009-2016 Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs
Anthony Slama 2010-2011 Minnesota Twins
A. J. Griffin 2012-2013, 2016-2017 Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers
Zach Walters 2013-2016 Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers
Sammy Solís 2015-2018 Washington Nationals
James Pazos 2015-2020 New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies
Kris Bryant 2015-present Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies
Paul Sewald 2017-present New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks
Dylan Covey 2017-2020, 2023-present Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies
Connor Joe 2019, 2021-present San Francisco Giants, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates
Riley Adams 2021-present Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals[34]

Taken from the 2020 San Diego Toreros Record Book.[35]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Color Palette - USD Brand - University of San Diego". Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 2, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Obituaries: Monsignor I. Brent Eagen; San Diego Diocese Chancellor". Los Angeles Times. October 17, 1997. Archived from the original on April 11, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Athletic Traditions". USDToreros.CSTV.com. San Diego Sports Information. Archived from the original on July 4, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "2012 San Diego Baseball Virtual Guide". San Diego Sports Information. Archived from the original on July 2, 2012. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  6. ^ "University History". USDToreros.CSTV.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  7. ^ "Chapman University Baseball: All-Time Results" (PDF). ChapmanAthletics.com. Chapman Sports Information. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 14, 2010. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  8. ^ a b "John Cunningham". ABCA.org. The American Baseball Coaches Association. Archived from the original on July 7, 2010. 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 June 11, 2016. Retrieved August 12, 2012.
  10. ^ Cooper, Tony (March 20, 1985). "Toreros Making Progress". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 27, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  11. ^ Telander, Rick (May 23, 1977). "School of Soft Knocks". SI.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "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 8, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  14. ^ "2007 NCAA Regionals Scoreboard". CollegeBaseball.Rivals.com. Archived from the original on March 29, 2016.
  15. ^ "2012 NCAA Baseball Schedule". ESPN.com. June 26, 2012. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
  16. ^ "Toreros baseball coach Rich Hill hired at Hawaii". June 19, 2021.
  17. ^ "2012 MLB Draft by School: N-S". CollegeBaseballInsider.com. Archived from the original on July 26, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  18. ^ Johnson, Rob (June 17, 2012). "Mets Have Signed 15 of Their Draft Selection". MetsmerizedOnline.com. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved August 16, 2012.
  19. ^ Rider, Nate (July 31, 2012). "Muckdogs Down Staten Island in 11 Innings". TheDailyNewsOnline.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. 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.
  20. ^ Stohs, Seth (June 18, 2012). "2012 Gulf Coast League Twins Season Preview". TwinsDaily.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2013. Retrieved August 16, 2012. Bryan Haar (22) was the Twins 34th round pick out of the University of San Diego.
  21. ^ "Brock Ungricht - Baseball Coach".
  22. ^ Kenney, Kirk (May 13, 2012). "End of an Era for Toreros' Ballpark". UTSanDiego.com. The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  23. ^ Cunningham Stadium at usdtoreros.cstv.com. Retrieved December 21, 2009. Archived 12/21/09
  24. ^ Kenney, Kirk (January 28, 2012). "New Yard Next Year at USD". UTSanDiego.com. The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  25. ^ Wilson, Bernie (February 15, 2013). "USD Goes Big-Time with Fowler Park". BusinessWeek.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved March 8, 2013.
  26. ^ "2012 Baseball Roster". USDToreros.com. San Diego Toreros. Retrieved July 28, 2012.
  27. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1979". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  28. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1980". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  29. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1981". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  30. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1982". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  31. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1983". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  32. ^ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 1984". BoydsWorld.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2012.
  33. ^ "2012 West Coast Conference Baseball Standings". D1Baseball.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2012.
  34. ^ "Adams shakes off nerves in big league debut". MLB.com.
  35. ^ "BSB Record Book Through 2020 Season" (PDF).
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