FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton Director of Athletics Jim Donovan has announced the hiring of Jason Dietrich to be the Titans new head baseball coach.
“I am extremely thrilled to welcome Jason back to Cal State Fullerton as the new head baseball coach,” Donovan said. “It became very clear after talking to several of our amazing alumni that Jason is the perfect person to lead this great program in the right direction. He will not only lead the program to success on the field but will demand excellence from our student-athletes in the classroom.
“I’m very appreciative of the work from our search committee and the support we received from President Fram Virjee and Vice President of Student Affairs Tonantzin Oseguera.”
Dietrich, the sixth head coach in the program’s Division I history, comes to Cal State Fullerton after spending the last two seasons as the pitching coach at East Carolina where he helped lead the team to the NCAA Super Regionals this year.
“I’m so very honored and humbled to get this great opportunity to be the leader of Cal State Fullerton,” Dietrich said. “It’s very special to myself and to my family.”
“I really cherish the relationships I made with so many players during my four years here. Not just the players I coached but the former Titans that I met while I was here. That to me is a big piece of what this program is all about. Those alums have done so much for this program, that’s why I’m so thankful and honored to be standing here. This is their program, they’re the ones that have done all the sacrificing and work. I can’t wait to continuously work with them, grow with them, and make great relationships.”
Dietrich is returning to the Titans program after serving as the pitching coach in 2013-16. He also had stints at UC Irvine (2008-12) and Oregon (2017-19) that resulted in eight NCAA Regionals and one College World Series appearance. During his 14 full seasons at the Division I level, which includes two as director of operations, Dietrich has worked under ABCA Hall of Fame Coach Mike Gillespie as well as George Horton and Rick Vanderhook.
In his four seasons as the pitching coach at Fullerton he led one of the premier pitching staffs in the country. He was a part of a group that won 160 games during a four-year span that included three Big West Championships, four NCAA Regionals, two Super Regionals and a College World Series appearance in 2015. The pitching staff ranked among the nation’s best each of Dietrich’s four seasons with the Titans.
Cal State Fullerton led college baseball in one of four major pitching categories nine times in Dietrich’s four seasons. The Titans had the country’s best ERA (2.22) in 2016, while leading the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio three times (2013, 2014 and 2015), WHIP twice (2013 and 2016) and fewest walks per nine innings three times (2013, 2014 and 2015).
In his four seasons at CSF, Dietrich’s pitching staff never finished with a team ERA higher than 2.89 or ranked lower than 11th in the country. In addition to the Titans’ Division I leading 2.22 ERA in 2016, Dietrich’s teams posted ERAs that ranked fourth in the country in 2013 (2.47), third in 2014 (2.24) and 11th in 2015 (2.89).
Dietrich’s pitching staffs at Cal State Fullerton also ranked no lower than third in strikeouts-to-walk ratio during his four seasons, while also ranking no worse than sixth in WHIP and seventh in base on balls per nine innings.
During the 2020 campaign at East Carolina, where the Pirates posted a 13-4 record before the season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, his staff posted a 3.12 ERA allowing 54 runs in 17 contests. The Pirates stood among the national leaders (top 60) in shutouts (32nd/two), strikeout-to-walk ration (45th/2.85) and ERA (54th). Junior Alec Burleson earned First-Team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball after posting a 2-1 record with a 4.24 ERA, while fellow classmate Jake Kuchmaner sported a 4-0 ledger with a miniscule 0.60 ERA. In all, 10 hurlers had an ERA of 1.00 or less and seven registered double-digit strikeouts.
In three seasons with the Ducks (2016-19), Dietrich mentored a pair of All-Americans, three First-Team All-Pac-12 members and six Major League Baseball draft selections, while leading a pitching staff that ranked among the national leaders in strikeout-to-walk ratio, strikeouts per nine innings, walks allowed per nine innings and WHIP from 2017-19.
Ryne Nelson, a junior in 2019, led the club and Pac-12 with 104 strikeouts (fourth nationally) in 65.0 innings. The second round selection by the Arizona Diamondbacks appeared in 23 games (four starts), posting a 3-4 record with four saves while walking just 41.
During the 2018 season, Kenyon Yovan claimed his second consecutive First-Team All-Pac-12 accolade after posting a 6-4 record with five saves and a 2.98 ERA. The right-hander, who started the season as the closer, struck out a team-best 98 batters in 84.2 innings.
In Dietrich’s first season with the Ducks, two of Oregon’s pitchers received All-America honors. David Peterson became the first player in the modern era of Ducks’ baseball to be a consensus All-American. The eventual first-round draft pick of the New York Mets (20th overall) lowered his ERA from 3.63 to 2.51 and was named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser and Golden Spikes Award. Under the tutelage of Dietrich, he also improved his strikeout-to-walk ratio from 2.03 as a sophomore to 9.33 as a junior. Yovan claimed a pair of All-America honors, while also being named a Freshman-of-the-Year by Collegiate Baseball and a freshman All-American by five different organizations.
The Oregon pitching staff, as a whole, ranked in the top 12 in the country in three different categories in 2017. The Ducks stood second in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.25), while ranking 10th in walks allowed per nine innings and 12th in shutouts (7).
Before coaching at Fullerton, Dietrich spent five seasons (2008-12) at UC Irvine where he was the pitching coach during the final two. During his five-year tenure, the Anteaters posted 202 wins and made four NCAA Regionals including a Super Regional appearance in 2008. His club was 17th nationally in both ERA and walks per nine innings in 2011, and were 36th in ERA and 11th in WHIP in 2012.
Dietrich began his coaching career as the pitching coach at Arcadia High School (1999-2001). He became a college pitching coach at Los Angeles City College in 2002 before moving to Irvine Valley College (2003-06) and Cal State Los Angeles (2007). He also spent time as a pitching coach for the Hyannis Mets (2004-05) of the Cape Cod Baseball League and Southern California Fire (2003) of the Western Wood Bat League.
Prior to coaching, he played one year with the New Jersey Jackals of the Northeast Baseball League (1998) and four in the Colorado Rockies organization (1994-98) after being selected in the 19th round of the 1994 MLB Draft out of Pepperdine earning West Coast Conference Honorable Mention accolades. During his professional career, Dietrich posted a 7-2 record with a 2.84 ERA with seven saves in 44 appearances.
From 1991-93, Dietrich played at Santa Ana Community College where he was a team captain, all-conference and all-state selection and helped his club to the California Community College Championship crown in 1993.
Dietrich, a 1999 graduate of Cal State Fullerton, and his wife Bibi have a son (Dean) and a daughter (Leila).
ALUMNI QUOTES
Matt Chapman:
“I Could not be more excited for Jason. Diets is a great man. He is hard working, loves to win and embodies everything it takes to be a Titan. Being a Titan is something we all take pride in. This is a special program, he knows that and has everything it takes to bring it back to the top. He made all of us better players and people during his time at Fullerton and I wish him nothing but the best. Go Titans!”
Phil Nevin:
“I talked to Jason this morning and am very excited about where the program is headed under his leadership. He has a passion for bringing Fullerton back to greatness. That starts with creating relationships with alumni that has been lost and bringing back a community that once was flooded with kids that had dreams of being a Titan. He’s proven to develop great college pitchers and have no doubt he will have a staff around him with the same passion and core values he possesses. The future of Titans baseball will soon be great again.”
Thomas Eshelman:
I’m incredibly excited for Diets to be the next head coach for Fullerton. From the time I stepped on campus, Dietrich has excelled in every aspect in teaching young men about the game of baseball and the game of life. I wouldn’t be the player and man I am today without Diets. His willingness to adapt and grind is what will make him a great coach and create the winning atmosphere at Fullerton once again. I cannot wait for what he will do for the program and the community. Congrats!
Michael Lorenzen:
I’ve never been more proud to call myself a Titan than after hearing about the hiring of Jason Dietrich to be the next Titans manager. We need Titans leading Titans which is why I am extremely proud that we hired from within our own family. Jason is someone I’ve been able to really connect with because of his eager desire to grow and get better at any cost necessary. He has the ultimate growth mindset and will be able to bridge the gap between the old school, hard-nosed baseball that we love and the new era of technology driven baseball that we need. With this kind of leadership, I am eager to see the Titans step into the College World Series powerhouse we have always known as. Jason, congratulations! No one deserves this more.”
