July 11, 2011
BERKELEY -
California Golden Bear Head Coach David Esquer was named the 2011 Coach of the Year by CollegeBaseballInsider.com. It was the second Coach of the Year honor earned by Esquer this season. Esquer was earned the National Coach of the Year Award, presented by the National College Baseball Writers Association, earlier this summer.
"David Esquer of California had as much success off the field as on, helping save the Golden Bears baseball program while guiding them to the College World Series. For these amazing accomplishments, Esquer has been named national Coach of the Year by CollegeBaseballInsider.com," the publication stated when announcing the award.
Esquer was selected from a group of finalists that included Ray Tanner of South Carolina, Kevin O'Sullivan of Florida, Tim Corbin of Vanderbilt, Mike Fox of North Carolina, Rob Childress of Texas A&M and Dan Heefner of Dallas Baptist.
"David Esquer experienced something no coach should ever go through," said Sean Ryan, co-founder of CollegeBaseballInsider.com. "But he handled it all with class and dignity. The trip to Omaha was well-earned icing on the cake for an eventful year."
After going 29-24 a season ago, including 13-14 in the Pac-10, Cal went 31-20 in 2011 during the regular season with a 13-13 conference mark.
The Bears earned their 12th NCAA tourney bid and entered the Houston Regional as the No. 3 seed. Cal dropped a 6-4 decision to Baylor in the opener before posting four straight wins to advance to its first Super Regional. The Bears swept Dallas Baptist in the Santa Clara Super Regional to earn their sixth trip to the College World Series and first since 1992.
Cal dropped a close 4-1 decision to top-seeded Virginia before defeating Texas A&M 7-3 for its first win in Omaha since 1980. The memorable season, the 12th for Esquer in Berkeley, came to an end with an 8-1 loss to the Cavaliers.
Complete Release at CollegeBaseballInsider.com.
Past CBI Coaches of the Year
2010 - John Savage, UCLA
2009 - Brian O'Connor, Virginia
2008 - Paul Manieri, LSU, and Mark Marquess, Stanford
2007 - Tim Corbin, Vanderbilt, and Rob Childress, Texas A&M
2006 - John Cohen, Kentucky
2005 - Pat Casey, Oregon State
2004 - David Perno, Georgia
2003 - Elliott Avent, North Carolina State
