Steve Rodriguez
7
Steve Rodriguez

Hometown:
Las Vegas, Nev.
High School:
Valley (Nev.) HS ('88)
Position:
Head Coach
Experience:
9th year
Alma Mater:
Pepperdine ('01, '03)

05/23/2012

Waves Baseball to Host San Diego with the WCC Title on the Line

All military members and their families will get in free on Sunday with a military ID.

05/17/2012

Waves Travel to Crosstown Rival Loyola Marymount for Key WCC Series

Game one is set for Friday at 3 p.m., game two Saturday at 2 p.m. and game three Sunday at 1 p.m.

05/09/2012

Waves Stay in Malibu to Host BYU

As part of the WCC initiative Pitch in For Baseball, fans that bring in gently used baseball equipment get in free during the series.

05/03/2012

Pepperdine Returns to Eddy D. Field Stadium to Host San Francisco

Waves and Dons will square off in three-game WCC series starting Friday.

05/02/2012

Pepperdine Baseball Takes Part in NephCure Amazing Race

The team joined families, friends, patients and community members for this event in Ventura County.

Steve Rodriguez Career Coaching Record Get Acrobat Reader

Steve Rodriguez, a member of Pepperdine's 1992 national championship team, recently completed his eighth season as the Waves' head baseball coach in 2011.

Hired as the University's 16th head coach on June 18, 2003, Rodriguez has brought a positive, never-say-die attitude to the program that prevailed during his rookie campaign of 2004 and has continued through his first eight years in the position.

Since taking over the reins, Rodriguez has compiled a 263-206 (.561) record, including an 114-71 (.616) mark in West Coast Conference play. He led the Waves to three consecutive WCC titles (2004-06) and his teams have made NCAA Championships appearances in five of the past eight years (2004-08).

Only Dave Gorrie (611) and John Scolinos (482) have managed more games than Rodriguez (469) while wearing the Pepperdine uniform. Rodriguez enters 2012 tied with Scolinos (263) on the program's all-time wins list after passing Frank Sanchez (257) for third place following a 2-1 win vs. Loyola Marymount on April 23.

In addition to carrying on the program's winning tradition, Rodriguez and his staff of assistants Rick Hirtensteiner and Jon Strauss have worked tirelessly in the area of fundraising. Those efforts have paid off with the installation of new stadium seats prior to the 2004 season, a new, state-of-the-art scoreboard that debuted in 2007 and a new padded outfield wall that was installed in the autumn of 2009.

Pepperdine experienced another challenging season on the green diamond in 2011 but extended its consecutive season home winning streak to a 38th consecutive year and placed five Waves on an All-WCC team. Brian Humphries, Aaron Gates and Joe Sever were named All-WCC, while Scott Frazier and Corey Miller were tabbed to the WCC's All-Freshman team. Harrison Kain also flourished defensively and finished among the national leaders with 14 outfield assists.

Humphries went on to be selected in the 14th round of the June MLB First-Year Player's Draft, joining 18 other former Waves currently employed in the professional ranks. Over the past two summers, Rodriguez has beamed with pride as four of his most decorated recruits (Chase d'Arnaud, Barry Enright, Eric Thames and Danny Worth) have enjoyed promotions to the big leagues. Enright and Worth were called up to the Diamondbacks and Tigers, respectively, in 2010, while 2011 has marked the debut seasons for d'Arnaud (Pirates) and Thames (Blue Jays).

Prior to being named head coach, Rodriguez served as a Waves' assistant coach for four seasons, during which Pepperdine compiled an overall record of 145-98 (.597), including an 88-32 (.733) mark in West Coast Conference (WCC) play. The Waves captured the WCC title in 2001 and made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2001 and 2003.

Rodriguez became only the third former Pepperdine player to assume the head coaching duties for the Waves in the program's history. Gary Marks earned the distinction of being the first former Pepperdine player to pilot the program when he skippered the Waves from 1963-67. Gail Hopkins, who played at Pepperdine from 1962-64, coached Pepperdine during the 1968 season.

Rodriguez, a fifth-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 1992, played professionally for seven seasons with the Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers and Montreal Expos organizations. Rodriguez reached the majors with both Boston and Detroit in 1995.

A two-time All-American, he was named WCC Player of the Year in 1992 as the Waves posted a 48-11 mark and captured the College World Series title. Rodriguez was named to the All-CWS team and was part of two memorable plays in Omaha: a grand slam that helped defeat Texas in the semifinal round and a late-inning defensive gem in the Waves' 3-2 win over Cal State Fullerton in the championship game.

A product of Valley High School in Las Vegas, Nev., Rodriguez helped Pepperdine post a three-year record of 126-51-5 (.706) from 1990-92, including a 72-26 (.735) mark in league play. The Waves won the league title and advanced to the NCAA Championships in both 1991 and 1992.

A first-team All-WCC selection in 1991 and 1992, Rodriguez made a big splash as a sophomore in 1991 when he batted .419, the third-highest single-season average in school history. His 104 base hits that season set a Pepperdine single-season record. He still ranks in the top 10 in five different single-season categories.

Rodriguez' career batting average of .367 ranks second on the Waves' all-time list. Despite playing just three seasons of collegiate baseball, Rodriguez is tied for third on the school's all-time career runs scored chart (187) and is fourth in hits (271). He also ranks in the top 10 in three other career categories.

Rodriguez was a member of the Team USA in both 1991 and 1992. He played in the Pan American Games in 1991 and earned "Player of the Series" honors against Mexico and Cuba. He was also named "Player of the Series" against Korea while a member of Team USA in 1992.

In 2001, Rodriguez was named one of the WCC's Top 50 athletes of all time, and was selected to the conference's 40th Anniversary baseball team in 2007.

Following his professional playing career, Rodriguez enrolled in classes at Riverside Community College and Chapman University before returning to Pepperdine, where he received a bachelor's degree in public relations in December of 2001. He earned a master's degree in educational technology from Pepperdine in 2003.

In October 2007, he was honored by the City of Malibu with the Jake Kuredjian Award for his service to the community.

In January 2010, Rodriguez won the Top Chef Award at the Baseball Coaches Cooking Challenge hosted by the ESPN Zone in Anaheim. He successfully defended his title this past winter.

Rodriguez and his wife, Kimberlee, have a daughter, Julia, and a son, Nolan, and live in Agoura Hills.

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Head Coach Steve Rodriguez

2012 Season

2011 Season

Pepperdine Points

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