The USC Trojans baseball program represents the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

in college baseball. Established in

1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...

, the team is a member of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athlete, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic sports, ...

and the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

. USC’s home field is Dedeaux Field, which is named in honor of former head coach and National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Rod Dedeaux. The USC Trojans are one of the most successful programs in the history of college baseball. The Trojans have won more baseball national championships than any other program across all divisions of college baseball. With 12 national championships, USC is far and away the leader in that category; no other Division I school has more than six. As of June 14, 2021, USC also ranked fifth in all-time College World Series (CWS) appearances with 21, trailing only

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

(37), Miami (FL) (25), Florida State (23), and Arizona State (22). The Trojans have won more individual CWS games (74) than any program but Texas (85). USC also ranks fourth in all-time NCAA Tournament wins with 173—trailing only Texas (245), Florida State (199), and Miami (194)—and 10th in total NCAA Tournament appearances with 37. The Trojans have compiled an all-time record of 2,944–1,745–29 ()—ranking sixth in all-time wins and 22nd in all-time win percentage—and have captured outright or tied for 38 conference championships, as of the end of the 2021 season. USC's most notable baseball coach was Rod Dedeaux, who coached from 1942 to 1986 and led the school to 11 of its NCAA championships, including five straight from 1970 to 1974. The first Trojan national championship came in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

. The 12th and most recent NCAA championship came in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

History

The early years

The Trojans began recognizing baseball as a school sport in 1889. As with many programs during the late 19th century and early 20th century, the Trojans lacked a consistent head coach, when they even had one at all. It was not until 1908 that the Trojans had an official head coach, Harvey Holmes, but Holmes only coached the team for one year. Holmes also coached other sports at USC including football and track. The team would get another coach during the 1911 season, Curtiss Bernard. Bernard also only coached for a year, and in 1912 the Trojans once again had a one-year coach in Len Burrell. During the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

years, the USC baseball team was made up mostly of law school students, but the team opened up to all students for the 1916 and 1917 seasons. Following the conclusion of the war, the baseball team was coached by "Gloomy Gus" Henderson in 1920 (who would also coach the Trojan basketball team for two years and the football team for six). Henderson would join forces with Willis Hunter as co-coaches for the 1921 season, but the team was left without a coach for the 1922 season. In 1923 the team was coached by George Wheeler, who also coached the law students during the 1914 season. Wheeler coached the team for a year, and would mark the last time the Trojan baseball team has lacked consistency at the coaching position.

Sam Crawford era

Sam Crawford, Detroit Tigers, baseball card portrait LCCN2007685676

Long-time

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

player and multiple MLB record-holder Sam Crawford took over as head coach of USC baseball in 1924. Crawford would mark the end of inconsistency at the coaching ranks for the baseball program. During his tenure, the program slowly began to rise to national prominence, and Crawford helped to create the California Intercollegiate Baseball Association (CIBA) in 1927. Crawford coached the Trojans for six years before turning the reigns over to Sam Barry. Crawford compiled an overall record of 59-46-3, including a second-place finish during the initial campaign for the CIBA.

Sam Barry era

In 1930, Sam Barry took over the USC baseball program and immediately built off of the success his predecessor had. On his arrival at USC in 1929, he was named head basketball coach and was made an assistant for the USC football team under his friend and colleague, Howard Jones. When Jones died suddenly in 1941, Barry was named his successor, and served as head coach for all three major USC sports teams simultaneously. Barry won the CIBA title in his first year, finishing 11–2 and 25–5–1 overall. During the next decade, Barry would claim four more CIBA titles. Barry coached the Trojans from 1930–1941 before joining the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It include ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. As he left, he recommended that Jeff Cravath become the head football coach, Julie Bescos become the head basketball coach, and Rod Dedeaux, the captain of his 1935 team, become the head baseball coach. Upon his return, Barry would resume coaching the Trojans alongside Dedeaux. Barry finished with a career mark of 219–89–3. He remains one of only three coaches to coach a Final Four game and in a College World Series. Barry was elected to the inaugural class of the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1966.

Barry-Dedeaux years

When Sam Barry returned from World War II in 1946, Barry and Dedeaux served as co-coaches, with Dedeaux running the team each year until Barry finished the

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

season. The arrangement was so successful that USC won the College World Series in 1948.

1948 National Championship

After finishing the season 40–12–1, USC met Yale for the 1948 NCAA Division I baseball championship at the second College World Series. The CWS in 1948 was a best 2-out-of-3 format. The games were played on June 25 and June 26, with June 26 being a doubleheader if necessary. USC won the first game, 3–1 to take a 1–0 series lead, but lost game 2 by a score of 8–3. The third and final game immediately followed game 2. USC scored a run in the first inning to claim a lead it would not surrender. USC claimed their first national championship with a game 3 victory, 9–2. Although USC won, they were unable to prevent future President of the United States of America, George Bush, from collecting a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

in the final game.

Rod Dedeaux era

After being co-head coach in 1942 with his former college coach Sam Barry, Dedeaux took over the USC program in 1943. Barry recommended Dedeaux to coach the team when Sam Barry joined the Navy. Dedeaux coached the Trojans by himself for the next three years, until once again joining forces with Barry as co-head coaches. After Barry's death in September 1950, Dedeaux became the sole coach of USC baseball. After taking over in 1951, Dedeaux became the sole coach and proceeded to build on the early success to establish the strongest program in collegiate baseball. The Trojans claimed 11 straight CIBA championships in Dedeaux's first 11 years. The Trojans claimed nine outright titles and tied for first in 1953 and 1957. Following the 1957 campaign, Dedeaux's team finished the season 36–8 overall and earned the first of his 10 national championships as sole coach.

1958 National Championship

1961 National Championship

1963 National Championship

1968 National Championship

1970 National Championship

1971 National Championship

1972 National Championship

1973 National Championship

1974 National Championship

1978 National Championship

Retirement and Legacy

After a total of 45 years as head coach of USC, Dedeaux decided to retire following the 1986 campaign. Dedeaux drastically changed college baseball and left historic marks on the sport that might never be touched. Dedeaux won a total of 11 national championships, 10 by himself and one with Sam Barry, compiled a record of 1,332–571–11, and completed a stretch of 37 years without a losing season. He retired as the winningest coach in college baseball history and held that distinction until 1994 when Texas head coach Cliff Gustafson broke it. While he was at USC, Dedeaux also served as coach of the United States national baseball team at both the 1964 Summer Olympics in

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, Japan, and the 1984 Summer Olympics in

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, with baseball being a demonstration sport prior to its elevation to full medal status in 1988. Following his retirement, Dedeaux became the Director of Baseball for USC, and for the rest of his life remained a beloved annual presence at the College World Series in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

. The field the Trojans currently play their games at is named after him. He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association's Hall of Fame in 1970, and in 1999 was named the Coach of the Century by ''Collegiate Baseball'' magazine. Dedeaux died at age 91 in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents ac ...

, of complications from a December 2, 2005, stroke. He was survived by his wife of 66 years, the former Helen Jones, and their four children. On July 4, 2006, Dedeaux was inducted as a member of the first class of inductees into the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Post Rod Dedeaux

Mike Gillespie

USC reached out to Mike Gillespie, one of Rod Dedeaux's former players, to replace the recently retired coach. Gillespie played under Dedeaux from 1960–1962, and after a successful coaching stint at the College of the Canyons, he was named just the fourth head coach of USC baseball since 1924.

=1998 National Championship

= Gillespie was named National Coach of the Year in 1998.

=Retirement and legacy

= After 20 years as the head coach of the Trojans, Gillespie decided to retire following the 2006 season. During his career, Gillespie kept Trojan baseball in the spotlight, especially in the years leading up to and following the 1998 championship. He finished with an overall record of 763–471–2 during his tenure as coach of the Trojans. As a result of his success, Gillespie earned the honor to coach the 2000 USA National Team. During his tenure he was named Pac-10 coach of the year four times, while his teams produced 44 All-America selections, 94 draft picks, and 25 Major League players. After sitting out the 2007 season, Gillespie was named coach of the UC Irvine Anteaters in September 2007. Gillespie replaced Dave Serrano, who had just guided the Anteaters to their first CWS appearance but left to take over at Cal State Fullerton, his alma mater, after

George Horton George Horton (October 11, 1859 – June 5, 1942) was a member of the United States diplomatic corps who held several consular offices in Greece and the Ottoman Empire between 1893 and 1924. During two periods he was the U.S. Consul or Consul ...

left Fullerton to head the new program at

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

Chad Kreuter

In June 2006, Chad Kreuter became only the fifth man to earn the title of head baseball coach at USC since 1924. Kreuter replaced his father-in-law, Mike Gillespie, after Gillespie retired. Kreuter failed to reach the postseason in each of his four years as head coach. He produced an overall record of 111–117 during this time, never posting a winning record. During his tenure, the Trojans twice finished in last place in the Pac-10, and never higher than fifth in the conference. Although his players flourished in the classroom, he came under heavy criticism late in his tenure. He was relieved of his duties in August 2010 and replaced by assistant coach and former Loyola Marymount head coach

Frank Cruz Frank Cruz (born 1959) is an American college baseball coach, who most recently served as the head coach of the USC Trojans baseball team. He held the position from 2011 through 2012. Cruz was relieved of his duties for "knowingly violating NC ...

2010s

On May 30, 2019,

Dan Hubbs Daniel William Hubbs (born January 23, 1971) is an American baseball coach and former player. He was the head coach of the USC Trojans baseball team from February 13, 2013 to May 29, 2019. He was previously an assistant coach at USC and was the p ...

was informed that his contract would not be renewed by the university. On June 14, 2019, former Loyola Marymount head coach Jason Gill was hired to be the head coach for the Trojans.

Jason Gill

On June 14, 2019, Former Loyola Marymount head coach Jason Gill was hired to be the new head coach of the USC Trojans baseball program.

Ball Parks

Bovard Field

Bovard Field was the former home of USC baseball until Dedeaux Field opened in 1974. The baseball field was aligned (home to center field) similar to Dedeaux Field, but a few degrees clockwise, nearly true north, but just slightly west. Home plate was located in today's E.F. Hutton Park and left field was bounded by Watt Way. Beyond first base, a large eucalyptus tree came into play; while its trunk was in foul territory, some of its branches crossed into fair territory and guarded the foul line in shallow right field.

Dedeaux Field

Dedeaux Field is the home field for the USC Trojans baseball team. It is named after the former legendary USC coach Rod Dedeaux, who coached from 1942 to 1986. The Trojans moved into the ballpark in 1974, the same year that they won their fifth consecutive national championship. After many renovations, the current capacity is 2,500 people.

Head coaches

*''Records are through March 11, 2020''

Year-by-Year Results

''Through the end of the 2021 season.''
''Final Rankings are from Collegiate Baseball Division I Final Polls (1959–2006)''

National Championships

USC in the NCAA tournament

*The NCAA Division I baseball tournament started in 1947. *The

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of the tournament has changed through the years.

NCAA records

Individual records

Team records

Player awards

All-Americans

The following is a listing of first team selections. Other selections are available at USC's official website. *1948 : Wally Hood (p) - ABCA : Art Mazmanian (2b) - ABCA :

Hank Workman Henry Kilgariff Workman (February 5, 1926 – March 16, 2020) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in two games in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees during the season. Workman was listed at tall and . He threw ...

(of) - ABCA *1949 :

Jim Brideweser James Ehrenfeld Brideweser (February 13, 1927 – August 25, 1989) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played from 1951 to 1957 for the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. He was ta ...

(p) - ABCA *1950 :Jay Roundy (of) - ABCA *1952 :Hal Charnofsky (ss) - ABCA *1953 :Ed Simpson (1b) - ABCA *1956 : Kent Hadley (1b) - ABCA *1957 :Bill Olson (cf) - ABCA *1958 :Jerry Siegert (of) - ABCA *1959 : Bill Thom (p) - ABCA : Johnny Werhas (3b) - ABCA *1960 :Bruce Gardner (p) - ABCA *1961 :Willie Ryan (1b) - ABCA *1964 :Walt Peterson (p) - ABCA *1970 :

Brent Strom Brent Terry Strom (born October 14, 1948) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher and current pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks. His MLB playing career spanned from 1972 to 1973 and 1975 to 1977 for the New York Mets, Cleveland ...

(p) - ABCA *1971 : Steve Busby (p) - ABCA *1972 : Fred Lynn (of) - ABCA *1973 : Roy Smalley (ss) - ABCA *1974 : Rich Dauer (3b) - ABCA *1975 : Steve Kemp () - ABCA *1978 :

Bill Bordley William Clarke Bordley (born January 9, 1958) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher with the San Francisco Giants. Bordley was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2011, he was named vice president for Major League Baseb ...

(p) - ABCA *1981 :Dan Davidsmeier (ss) - ABCA *1984 : Mark McGwire (1b) - ABCA & BA *1988 : Jim Campanis (c) - BA *1991 : Mark Smith (of) - BA & CB *1995 : Gabe Alvarez (ss) - ABCA :

Geoff Jenkins Geoffrey Scott Jenkins (born July 21, 1974) is an American former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers (1998–2007) and Philadelphia Phillies (2008). He is fourth on the Brewe ...

(of) - BA & CB *1998 : Seth Etherton (p) - ABCA, BA, & CB :Jack Krawczyk (p) - ABCA & CB *1999 : Barry Zito (p) - ABCA, BA, & CB *2001 : Mark Prior (p) - ABCA, BA, & CB *2005 : Jeff Clement (c) - ABCA, BA, & CB :

Ian Kennedy Ian Patrick Kennedy (born December 19, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, ...

(p) - BA & CB Legend *ABCA = American Baseball Coaches Association *BA = Baseball America *CB = Collegiate Baseball

All-College World Series

*1958 :Mike Castanon (2b) :Fred Scott (ss) : Ron Fairly (of) : Bill Thom^ (p) *1960 :William Ryan (1b) :Bob Levingston (of) :Mickey McNamee (of) :Art Ersepke (of) :Bill Heath (c) :Bruce Gardner (p) *1961 :William Ryan (1b) :Art Ersepke (of) : Larry Himes (c) :Jim Withers (p) :Larry Hankammer (p) *1963 : Gary Holman (1b) : Kenny Washington (of) :

Buddy Hollowell Buddy Ryan "Bud" Hollowell (January 1, 1943 – May 16, 2014) was an American professional baseball player and minor league manager. After his athletic career, he became an educator and author. Athletic career Hollowell was born and raised in ...

^ (c) :Walt Peterson (p) *1964 : Gary Sutherland (ss) : Willy Brown (of) *1966 :John Stewart (p) *1968 :

Bill Seinsoth William R. Seinsoth (April 4, 1947 – September 7, 1969) was an American first baseman who is most notable for winning the 1968 College World Series Most Outstanding Player award while a junior at University of Southern California. He is on ...

^* (1b) : Bill Lee (p) *1970 :Frank Alfano (2b) :Dan Stoligrosz (3b) : Jim Barr (p) *1971 :Frank Alfano (2b) : Fred Lynn* (of) :Mark Sogge (p) *1972 :Daryl Arenstein (1b) : Tim Steele (of) :Sam Ceci (c) :

Russ McQueen Russell Leroy McQueen (born January 9, 1953) is an American baseball pitcher who is most notable for winning the 1972 College World Series Most Outstanding Player award while a sophomore at University of Southern California. He is one of seven p ...

^* (p) *1973 :Rod Smalley* (ss) :Ken Huizenga (of) :Randy Scarbery (c) *1974 :Rob Adolph (2b) : Rich Dauer (3b) : Marvin Cobb (ss) :Bob Mitchell (of) :

George Milke George E. Milke (born 1954) is a former baseball pitcher. He won the 1974 College World Series Most Outstanding Player award while a sophomore at University of Southern California. He is one of seven players from USC to win that award. The other ...

^ (p) : Mark Barr (p) *1978 : Dave Hostetler (1b) :Doug Stokke (ss) :

Tim Tolman Timothy Lee Tolman (April 20, 1956 – June 3, 2021) was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. Baseball career Tolman played his college baseball at the University of Southern California and was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 12th ...

(if) : John Wells (cf) :

Rod Boxberger Rodney Warren Boxberger (born August 22, 1957 in Santa Ana, California) is a former baseball pitcher. He won the 1978 College World Series Most Outstanding Player award while a junior at the University of Southern California (USC). Professional ...

^ (p) *1995 :

* (of) : Randy Flores (p) : Wes Rachels (if) *1995 : Rod Dedeaux~ Head Coach *1998 :Robb Gorr (1b) :Jack Krawczyk (p) : Jason Lane (dh) :

Eric Munson Eric Walter Munson (born October 3, 1977) is a former Major League Baseball catcher and current minor-league baseball coach. He was the third overall pick in the 1999 Major League Baseball draft by the Detroit Tigers, behind Josh Hamilton and Jos ...

(c) :Wes Rachels^ (2b) :Brad Ticehurst (of) Legend *^ denotes player was named MOP of the College World Series ** denotes selection to College World Series All-Decade team *~ denotes selection to All-Time College World Series team

Johnny Bench Award

*2005: Jeff Clement *2015: Garrett Stubbs

Notable players

* Brian Bannister * Aaron Boone * Bret Boone * Don Buford * Jeff Cirillo * Ron Fairly * Kent Hadley *

* Randy Johnson *

Jacque Jones Jacque Dewayne Jones (born April 25, 1975) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers and Florida Marlins. He also coached for the Washington Nationals. Early life He graduated from San Die ...

* Steve Kemp * Dave Kingman * Barry Latman * Fred Lynn * Mark McGwire * Mark Prior * Tom Seaver * Al Silvera * Roy Smalley * Barry Zito

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:USC Trojans Baseball