Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/654411
PAC-12 CONFERENCE 6 2016 PAC-12 BASEBALL MEDIA GUIDE // PREVIEW The Pac-12 Conference truly is the "Conference of Champions," as it owns 2 8 b a s e b a l l n a t i o n a l c h a m p i o n s h i p s s i n c e 1947, more than any other conference. The Pac-12 also claims 36 first-team All-Americans s i n c e t h e y e a r 2 0 0 0 (Baseball America), 11 national coaches of the year (NCBWA, Baseball A m e r i c a a n d T h e Sporting News) and 15 national players of the year (Baseball America, Baseball Coaches' Association and The Sporting News). The powerful and prestigious Pac-12 Conference has historically dominated college baseball. There has been a Pac-12 representative in all but six (2015, 2014, 1996, 1991, 1989, 1962) NCAA College World Series fields since the championship began in 1947. In 37 of those championships, a Pac-12 team has finished either first or second. USC has more NCAA titles than any other school in the nation with 12 and Arizona State is fourth with five. Four other Pac-12 schools have claimed at least two national titles, including Arizona (four), California (two), Oregon State (two) and Stanford (two). In 2013, UCLA became the seventh different Pac-12 team to earn a title as they captured the CWS National Championship for the first time in program history. USC is second only to Texas in College World Series wins with 74 to the Longhorns' 82. The Trojans have 21 appearances, placing behind Texas (34) and Miami (24), and tying with Arizona State. The Pac-12 has also placed 187 players on the All-College World Series teams over the 45 seasons in which it has had a participant, including 22 MVPs, more than any other conference. Some of Major League Baseball's most prominent players have passed through this Conference. Big leaguers who got their starts in the Pac-12 include: Barry Bonds (ARIZONA STATE) – Major League Baseball's only seven-time MVP and all-time home run record holder; Randy Johnson (USC) - four-time Cy Young Award winner and 2001 World Series co- MVP; Dustin Pedroia (ARIZONA STATE/Boston Red Sox) - 2007 AL Rookie of the Year and 2008 AL MVP; Tim Lincecum (WASHINGTON/ San Francisco Giants) - 2008 and 2009 NL Cy Young Award winner; Barry Zito (USC) - 2002 American League Cy Young Award winner; Jeff Kent (CALIFORNIA) - 2000 National League MVP; Troy Glaus (UCLA) - 2000 American League home run leader; Aaron Boone (USC) – son of Bob Boone and a third-generation major-leaguer; Mark Prior (USC); Paul Lo Duca (ARIZONA STATE); Xavier Nady (CALIFORNIA); Trevor Hoffman (ARIZONA); and Mark Hendrickson (WASHINGTON STATE). Players such as these have left their marks on the Pac-12, helping to sustain the nation's marquee baseball Conference. Through the years, the Pac-12 has also spawned some of the best to ever coach the game. Rod Dedeaux's tenure at USC (1943-45, 1951- 86) – in which his Trojans claimed 11 NCAA titles – stands as one of the greatest coaching accomplishments to date. Former Sun Devil skippers Bobby Winkles (1959-71) and Jim Brock (1972-94) brought three and two national crowns to Arizona State, respectively. Former Arizona coach Jerry Kindall (1973-96) won three championships with the Wildcats, and current coaches Mark Marquess (Stanford) and Pat Casey (Oregon State) currently own a pair of NCAA titles. USC was also honored by Baseball America in its Feb. 1, 1999 issue, in which it named the Trojan program as the top collegiate baseball program of the 20th century. In recent years, Pac-12 baseball has continued to enjoy much success on the national level. In 1993 and 1994, Arizona State made back-to- back trips to the CWS, the only Pac-12 team to do so in the 90's. Five Southern Division squads ventured to NCAA regionals, with Stanford and UCLA making it all the way to the CWS in 1996. In 1998, four schools made it to the NCAA regionals, while USC and ASU advanced to the CWS and the Trojans won their 12th title. In 2003, Stanford made its fifth-consecutive trip to the NCAA College World Series and finished second (its third national championship game in four years). In 2004, Arizona advanced to the CWS for the first time since 1986. Arizona State made its 19th trip to Omaha in 2005, while Oregon State returned to college baseball's biggest stage for the first time since 1952. In 2006, the Beavers returned to the College World Series for the second-consecutive year, where they won their first national title, Oregon State's second NCAA title in school history. The following season in 2007, OSU returned to the CWS as an at-large bid and did the unthinkable as it captured its second-consecutive national title, becoming the first team seeded in the lower half of the NCAA Tournament field to win the CWS in the 20 year-history of the event. In 2008, Stanford made its way back to the CWS after a four-year absence. The Cardinal went 2-2 in its 16th CWS and finished in a tie for third place. In 2009, Arizona State advanced to the CWS for the 21st time in program history and went on to finish in third place. In 2010, both Arizona State and UCLA represented the then-Pac-10 in the CWS, with the Bruins making their first appearance in the finals. In 2011, Cal made a magical run to the CWS just nine months after the school announced the program would be cut for monetary reasons. The Golden Bears finished in a tie for fifth place in the program's first CWS appearance since 1992. In 2012, Arizona went 10-0 in postseason play to capture the national championship for the fourth time in school history. In 2013, UCLA earned a second-consecutive Pac-12 team to earn the national title, also going 10-0 in postseason play. The Pac-12 has now won four of the last ten College World Series National Championships, further solidifying the rich history of excellence in Pac-12 Baseball. The UCLA Bruins won their first-ever National Championship after an unbeliev- able postseason run in 2013.