MORAGA, Calif. —Saint Mary’s Director of Athletics and Recreational Sports Mark Orr has announced the signing of SMC baseball head coach Eric Valenzuela to a multi-year extension after Valenzuela led the Gaels to their most successful season in program history last spring.
The Saint Mary’s baseball team won its first-ever regular season West Coast Conference title in 2016 and backed that championship up by winning the WCC Tournament with a record 34 runs in three games. All of that secured the Gaels their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament, where they traveled to Raleigh, N.C., for the NC State Regional to face eventual national champion Coastal Carolina and Navy, along with host NC State.
Valenzuela was named 2016 WCC Coach of the Year after leading the Gaels to series victories in eight of nine WCC series, as well as wins over five eventual NCAA Tournament teams. Saint Mary’s had an All-American (Corbin Burnes) and six all-WCC players in 2016, including three first team honorees. Four players were drafted in the 2016 MLB Draft, matching the most in program history. It was the first time four SMC players went in the top-20 rounds, with three going in the top-10 for the first time since 2012.
“We’re excited to extend Eric Valenzuela as our head baseball coach,” said Orr. “It’s well-deserved. We appreciate his commitment to Saint Mary’s College and we’ve certainly made a commitment to him.”
Valenzuela arrived on campus in 2013 and immediately set to work improving the program. After a 16-39 first season in 2014, Valenzuela lifted the Gaels to their first back-to-back .500-or-better seasons in seven years with a 28-27 record in 2015 and a 33-25 mark last spring. In his three years with the program he has coached two All-Americans (Burnes, Zach Kirtley), 13 all-WCC selections (five first-team) and seven MLB Draft picks (five selected in top-20 rounds).
“I’m excited about the direction of the program and I’m thankful to Mark Orr and the administration for giving me the opportunity to be here,” said Valenzuela. “I’m very lucky. This is where I want to be for a very long time.
“We talk about improving on a daily basis. We’re not going to talk about last year. This is a new team and we’ve got to find a way to get these guys to improve and get better. We didn’t win the national championship, so we’ve got a lot of work to do still. We’re proud of where the program is but we’re a long ways away from where we want to be on a yearly basis.”
“There are bright days ahead for Saint Mary’s baseball,” added Orr. “I have the 100 percent confidence in the teaching and expertise of Eric Valenzuela providing leadership for the program. This is a great day to be a Gael.”
Saint Mary’s will return to campus in the fall with 21 letterwinners from a year ago and a bevy of newcomers. The Gaels begin fall team practice on Oct. 7, with the annual intersquad Navy vs. Red World Series slated for Nov. 17-19.
