A baseball coaching shakeup
Bradley Marcelino was one of three coaches who resigned after the 2018 season.
Thomas Christensen/The USD Vista
Three USD baseball assistant coaches resign, are replaced following disappointing 2018 season
On the heels of a 23-32 season for the Toreros, change is afoot at Fowler Park. Just months after the University of San Diego baseball team’s third consecutive season in which they failed to qualify for the West Coast Conference (WCC) postseason tournament, assistant coaches Nathan Choate, Brad Marcelino, and Michael Ramazzotti resigned from their positions. Choate, Marcelino, and Ramazzotti served as the team’s pitching, hitting, and volunteer assistant coach, respectively.
USD baseball head coach Rich Hill did not give any specific indication as to why the three coaches elected to leave the program.
“It was just time to move on,” Hill said. “Those guys were involved in a lot of success here during their tenure, but they just felt that it was time for them and their families to do something different, and kinda challenge themselves in other areas.”
However, Hill stated that the team’s performance last season may have had an impact on their decision.
“This is a performance-related industry, so performances will affect most of your decisions,” Hill said. “I think (their departure) was coming either way.”
Their positions, though, did not remain vacant for long. In early June, Hill introduced his new coaching staff, which consists of two individuals who are familiar with both the WCC and San Diego.
On the pitching side of the Toreros, Matthew Florer will take over for USD. Florer has previously played for and coached at Loyola Marymount University (LMU), doing the latter up until last season. In his five-year tenure at LMU, he helped oversee the team’s 2017 WCC Championship, a season in which his pitching staff’s ERA sunk to a 3.46 mark, good for the sixth-lowest in LMU history, and 18th in the nation that year.
Florer stated that he was drawn to USD by a desire to branch out and learn more coaching-wise, as well as a desire to join a program with a strong baseball tradition.
“For myself, as much as I loved LMU, I needed to find a home elsewhere, and continue to grow,” Florer said. “I was trying to find a place that holds tradition…I wanted to surround myself with a coaching staff, and a head coach specifically that I know I can grow a ton from. So knowing, and playing against Coach Hill for all nine years, and knowing what he’s done in terms of this program in terms of where it started and where it is today, there’s no better place to call a new home.”
He will take over a Torero pitching staff that is in need of a sense of direction. Last season, USD finished with a team ERA of nearly 6.00, worst in the WCC. Though several months remain until the Toreros begin their 2019 season, Florer hopes to turn things around for the Toreros by instilling a sense of mental toughness in them.
“I don’t know what was taking place (at USD last season), I’m sure there were lots of pros and there were some cons,” Florer said. “For me, we are going to find a way to be the toughest pitching staff. We might not be the most talented staff, I can’t promise you that, I can’t say that we’re gonna be the best pitching staff — because that’s just a word. But what I can promise you is we are gonna be the toughest pitching staff in our conference, and I say that because that’s a controllable. That’s something we can do and work towards. That’s the message that’s going to be sent from the get-go when this thing starts back up and school begins.”
From a hiring standpoint, Hill said that he had his eye on Florer for a couple of years.
“I interviewed (Florer) two years ago, and I thought that he was a rising star at that point,” Hill said. “He just hadn’t had any experience at the Division I level with his own coaching staff. He’s now had a couple of years under his belt at Loyola Marymount, where he’s developed a couple of really good pitching prospects. I was very impressed with the way their staff handled themselves, they really competed on the mound, and he called very good games similar to how I like a game to be called. He just doesn’t give in when calling pitches.”
Hill also mentioned that he liked the preparation and improvement over time that Florer’s pitchers demonstrated at LMU.
“His pitchers looked extremely prepared, and they were all improving,” Hill said. “ I just saw those LMU pitchers just improve drastically from year to year.”
Above all else, Hill stated that he valued Florer’s character, and commitment to his pitching staff when making his decision on his new pitching coach.
“The best thing about Matt Florer is his demeanor and his character. His number one priority is making his pitching staff—particularly his individuals—as good as they can be,” Hill said.
After his three assistant coaches resigned in May, USD baseball head coach Rich Hill hired Matthew Florer (left) and Brock Ungricht (right) as the Toreros’ new pitching and hitting coaches.
Photo courtesy of USD Athletics
As for the Torero offense, Hill settled on Brock Ungricht to take over as USD’s new hitting coach. Ungricht, who has roots in San Diego, will take over a facet of Torero baseball that was among the team’s strongest last season. In 2017, USD led the WCC in nearly every offensive category, ranking first in total hits, batting average, runs scored, and home runs, a stark contrast to the Toreros’ struggles on the mound. Hill spoke about why he elected to hire Ungricht.
“(My decision) was more about Brock Ungricht the person, the assistant coach, the fit to the University of San Diego, and mentoring, developing, inspiring, and encouraging young people,” Hill said. “In an organization, that’s what I try to do first — hire good people.”
Ungricht, who played both high school and college baseball in San Diego at nearby Kearny High School and San Diego State University, has a strong background in both professional and collegiate baseball. Prior to his hiring at USD he worked as a Southern California Area Scout for the Saint Louis Cardinals organization, as well as an assistant coach at Stanford University. Hill said that he also valued Ungricht’s diverse baseball background during the hiring process.
“You know, the success that he’s had with the offensive part of it, the recruiting part of it at Stanford really played a huge part in it,” Hill said. “Division I is kind of going that way, that hybrid assistant coach that has that great blend of recruiting and development, and he brings both of those things to the table. Being an area scout in San Diego, he’s connected everywhere. He’s got that recruiting DNA that runs through his veins.”
With a new set of assistant coaches, the Toreros will look to right the proverbial ship next season and get back to their winning ways. According to Hill, the upcoming offseason will be invaluable for his players and their development, adding that he expects his coaches to have an immediate positive impact on the team.
“All these current players and recruits have to do is spend time with each of these (assistant coaches) and they will be immediately drawn to them, and want to run through a wall for both of these guys,” Hill said.
Hill, Florer, Ungricht, and the rest of the Toreros will begin their 2019 season in February.