UCI finds its coach in Fullerton
The Anteaters hire Titans baseball assistant coach Serrano, who helped lead CSF to a national title last month.
By CURTIS ZUPKE
The Orange County Register
Dave Serrano will be introduced today as baseball coach at UC Irvine, the school announced Sunday, which ends the weeklong search to replace John Savage.
A news conference is scheduled this afternoon at the Bren Center.
Serrano comes off a national championship at Cal State Fullerton, where he was an assistant for the past eight years under George Horton and helped the Titans reach the College World Series four times.
Serrano is in the same mold as Savage, who took his ability for developing college pitchers and recruiting skills to UCLA this month to coach the Bruins.
Twenty-four pitchers have been drafted under Serrano, including major-leaguers Kirk Saarloos and Chad Cordero as well as College World Series Most Outstanding Player Jason Windsor.
He was instrumental in guiding what had been a struggling CSF staff this year to one that allowed 2.53 runs a game, including four shutouts, in 13 postseason games.
Of the 23 CSF players to earn All-America honors since Serrano's arrival in 1997, 15 have been pitchers. Serrano's recruiting classes recently have ranked in the top two nationally, and he has been a multiple finalist for national assistant coach of the year.
"It's a great hire for UCI," Horton said. "He's one of the bright young coaches in the country. ... What I'm going to miss about Dave is our relationship. He was a great coach and a great person, and it's hard to replace people like that."
Serrano was previously an assistant at the University of Tennessee, where he helped the Volunteers reach the CWS in 1995, and Cerritos College.
It is not known if Irvine opened its search beyond Orange County. Athletic Director Bob Chichester declined to comment during the process.
Former UC Irvine assistant Jason Gill, who was recommended by Savage, reserved comment Sunday but said he interviewed late last week.
Area assistants Dave Lawn of USC, Vince Berlinghele of UCLA and Troy Buckley of Long Beach State applied but said they were not contacted by UCI.
"They obviously had a clear picture of who they wanted," Buckley said. "I'm happy for Dave."
Horton said CSF will begin its search to replace Serrano soon.
Original Post