Baseball
Valenzuela, Eric
Eric Valenzuela
- Title:
- Head Baseball Coach
- Phone:
- 985-8215
Eric Valenzuela was named the eighth head coach of the Long Beach State baseball program in June of 2019. After two successful seasons leading the Dirtbags, he signed a contract extension in July of 2021 keeping him at the helm through the 2026 season.
The 2022 season was full of ups and downs, ultimately ending with a 29-27 overall record and finishing fourth place in the Big West at 17-13 in league play. The bright spot of the season was Valenzuela’s pitching staff improving on their 2021 NCAA statistical rankings by ranking fifth in in WHIP, sixth in shutouts, seventh in ERA, 13th in hits per nine, 18th in strikeouts per nine, and 22nd in walks per nine.
After a season of “what could have been” in 2020 due to the premature ending, Valenzuela’s Dirtbags came back and put together a dominant 2021 season. Despite not having a fall season of workouts and not being allowed to practice as a team until February, Long Beach State went 28-15 overall, finishing third in the Big West going 26-14 in conference play.
After dropping the first series of the season, they did not lose a single one after including four-straight series wins to end the 2021 campaign. The Dirtbags ended the season as one of the hottest teams in the country winning 15 of their final 17 games outscoring opponents 119-42, but unfortunately were not granted an at-large bid for the NCAA postseason.
Under Valenzuela’s leadership, the Dirtbag pitching staff ranked 15th in shutouts (6), 20th in hits allowed per nine (7.76), 21st in ERA (3.75), 27th in WHIP (1.27), and 50th in K/9 (9.5) in the nation. The Friday night ace, Johnathan Lavallee, was named Big West Co-Pitcher of the Year and earned All-America honors while closing pitcher Devereaux Harrison was named Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year also earning All-America honors.
His first year at the helm ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but despite the shortened season, the Dirtbags had a very successful 2020. Long Beach State quickly became one of the best stories in all of college baseball winning all four of their weekend series.
In his 15 games leading Long Beach State, he led the program to a 10-5 record and finished the shortened season as high as No. 12 in the rankings. Among the series wins that Valenzuela's Dirtbags picked up was a pair of top 25 teams in then No. 6 Mississippi State and a sweep of No. 17 Wake Forest.
A well-regarded pitching coach recruiter, Valenzuela's pitching staff was dominant in 2020. Under his mentorship, the Dirtbags finished 4th in the nation in WHIP at 0.99 and 12th in the nation with a 2.38 ERA.
Valenzuela joined Long Beach State after six successful seasons at St. Mary’s, bringing unprecedented success to the Gaels program with a 180-156 record from 2014-19.
Under Valenzuela’s leadership, St. Mary’s recorded four consecutive 30-win seasons after recording just three seasons at .500 or better in the 22 years proceeding his arrival. In three seasons, Valenzuela led St. Mary’s to their first ever West Coast Conference title and the program’s first NCAA Regional appearance in 2016 and has gone on to record 136 wins over the last four seasons.
In 2019, the Gaels came up just one game short, falling in the WCC Tournament championship game and finishing just outside of at-large consideration. It was the fourth straight 30-win season for the program, however, capping a run of success that saw not only saw the team perform well but had four players selected in the Top 5 rounds of the MLB draft, including Corbin Burnes who made his debut with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018.
Valenzuela was tabbed for the top job with the Gaels after serving for four seasons as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for Tony Gywnn at San Diego State. While with the Aztecs, Valenzuela was responsible for bringing in a pair of recruiting classes ranked in the Top 25 by Baseball America, classes that would help San Diego State go on to win the 2013 Mountain West Championship and advance to the NCAA Regionals.
Prior to working at San Diego State, Valenzuela spent six seasons across town at San Diego, helping the Toreros reach the NCAA postseason on three occasions, lastly in 2008 when San Diego visited the Long Beach Regional after winning a program-high 44 games. Valenzuela also led the recruiting efforts to secure the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation as ranked by Baseball America in 2007.
Being hired at St. Mary’s brought Valenzuela full circle, as he made his collegiate coaching start with the Gaels, serving as the recruiting coordinator for the Gaels starting in 2001. As a player, Valenzuela was a High School All-American at Bishop Amat HS before reaching the College World Series with Arizona State in 1998. He would go on to transfer to Pepperdine, where he was the captain on the 2001 team that went 42-18 and won the WCC title before graduating from Pepperdine and turning to coaching.
Valenzuela comes from an athletic family, as his father, Victor, was an assistant boxing coach for the United States in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He continues to train boxers at the Duarte Boxing Club in Duarte, Calif. Valenzuela’s sister, Nichole, was also an accomplished softball player at San Diego from 2005-08. Valenzuela and his wife Betty have three children, daughter Catalina Esmie and twin sons Benjamin Evan and Noah Matthew.
The Valenzuela File (at LBSU)
- 9 MLB Draft Picks
- 6 All-Americans
- 1 Big West Pitcher of the Year
- 1 Big West Defensive Player of the Year
- 1 Big West Freshman of the Year
- 12 All-Conference selections
The 2022 season was full of ups and downs, ultimately ending with a 29-27 overall record and finishing fourth place in the Big West at 17-13 in league play. The bright spot of the season was Valenzuela’s pitching staff improving on their 2021 NCAA statistical rankings by ranking fifth in in WHIP, sixth in shutouts, seventh in ERA, 13th in hits per nine, 18th in strikeouts per nine, and 22nd in walks per nine.
After a season of “what could have been” in 2020 due to the premature ending, Valenzuela’s Dirtbags came back and put together a dominant 2021 season. Despite not having a fall season of workouts and not being allowed to practice as a team until February, Long Beach State went 28-15 overall, finishing third in the Big West going 26-14 in conference play.
After dropping the first series of the season, they did not lose a single one after including four-straight series wins to end the 2021 campaign. The Dirtbags ended the season as one of the hottest teams in the country winning 15 of their final 17 games outscoring opponents 119-42, but unfortunately were not granted an at-large bid for the NCAA postseason.
Under Valenzuela’s leadership, the Dirtbag pitching staff ranked 15th in shutouts (6), 20th in hits allowed per nine (7.76), 21st in ERA (3.75), 27th in WHIP (1.27), and 50th in K/9 (9.5) in the nation. The Friday night ace, Johnathan Lavallee, was named Big West Co-Pitcher of the Year and earned All-America honors while closing pitcher Devereaux Harrison was named Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year also earning All-America honors.
His first year at the helm ended prematurely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but despite the shortened season, the Dirtbags had a very successful 2020. Long Beach State quickly became one of the best stories in all of college baseball winning all four of their weekend series.
In his 15 games leading Long Beach State, he led the program to a 10-5 record and finished the shortened season as high as No. 12 in the rankings. Among the series wins that Valenzuela's Dirtbags picked up was a pair of top 25 teams in then No. 6 Mississippi State and a sweep of No. 17 Wake Forest.
A well-regarded pitching coach recruiter, Valenzuela's pitching staff was dominant in 2020. Under his mentorship, the Dirtbags finished 4th in the nation in WHIP at 0.99 and 12th in the nation with a 2.38 ERA.
Valenzuela joined Long Beach State after six successful seasons at St. Mary’s, bringing unprecedented success to the Gaels program with a 180-156 record from 2014-19.
Under Valenzuela’s leadership, St. Mary’s recorded four consecutive 30-win seasons after recording just three seasons at .500 or better in the 22 years proceeding his arrival. In three seasons, Valenzuela led St. Mary’s to their first ever West Coast Conference title and the program’s first NCAA Regional appearance in 2016 and has gone on to record 136 wins over the last four seasons.
In 2019, the Gaels came up just one game short, falling in the WCC Tournament championship game and finishing just outside of at-large consideration. It was the fourth straight 30-win season for the program, however, capping a run of success that saw not only saw the team perform well but had four players selected in the Top 5 rounds of the MLB draft, including Corbin Burnes who made his debut with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018.
Valenzuela was tabbed for the top job with the Gaels after serving for four seasons as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for Tony Gywnn at San Diego State. While with the Aztecs, Valenzuela was responsible for bringing in a pair of recruiting classes ranked in the Top 25 by Baseball America, classes that would help San Diego State go on to win the 2013 Mountain West Championship and advance to the NCAA Regionals.
Prior to working at San Diego State, Valenzuela spent six seasons across town at San Diego, helping the Toreros reach the NCAA postseason on three occasions, lastly in 2008 when San Diego visited the Long Beach Regional after winning a program-high 44 games. Valenzuela also led the recruiting efforts to secure the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation as ranked by Baseball America in 2007.
Being hired at St. Mary’s brought Valenzuela full circle, as he made his collegiate coaching start with the Gaels, serving as the recruiting coordinator for the Gaels starting in 2001. As a player, Valenzuela was a High School All-American at Bishop Amat HS before reaching the College World Series with Arizona State in 1998. He would go on to transfer to Pepperdine, where he was the captain on the 2001 team that went 42-18 and won the WCC title before graduating from Pepperdine and turning to coaching.
Valenzuela comes from an athletic family, as his father, Victor, was an assistant boxing coach for the United States in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. He continues to train boxers at the Duarte Boxing Club in Duarte, Calif. Valenzuela’s sister, Nichole, was also an accomplished softball player at San Diego from 2005-08. Valenzuela and his wife Betty have three children, daughter Catalina Esmie and twin sons Benjamin Evan and Noah Matthew.
The Valenzuela File (at LBSU)
- 9 MLB Draft Picks
- 6 All-Americans
- 1 Big West Pitcher of the Year
- 1 Big West Defensive Player of the Year
- 1 Big West Freshman of the Year
- 12 All-Conference selections
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