Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Complete Coaching Staff
9/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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Dirtbags Complete Coaching Staff for 2006 LONG BEACH, CA-- Long Beach State Baseball completed its coaching staff for the 2007 season with the hiring of Nick Walsh as the team's second assistant, the return of former Dirtbag TJ Bruce as the volunteer assistant and the creation of the a new position, Director of Baseball Operations, which was filled by Mike Callin. Walsh comes to The Beach after serving as an assistant at his alma mater, Del La Salle High in 2006. The Maxpreps.com No. 1-ranked team in the state won the Bay League last year behind a 21-6 mark. Walsh, a two-time honorable mention All-Pac-10 utility player for the Arizona State Sun Devils, played two seasons as a free agent signee in the New York Yankees organization before moving into coaching. The former freshman All-American batted .305 during his four-year career, batting .353 as a junior in 2003 and .329 as a senior in 2004. The Sun Devils reached four-straight regional appearances, each time getting eliminated by CS Fullerton. Bruce returns to the Dirtbag program after serving as an assistant coach at Cerritos Junior College last year. The Chargers produced their most wins since 1994, finishing the year in the state playoffs at 42-12. The Orange Empire Champions produced three JUCO All-Americans and another two all-state performers during the 2006 season. Bruce, who was the team's undergraduate assistant in 2005, played for LBSU in 2004. Bruce, who carried a career .300 average in college, was an area product who was named All-CIF as a senior at St. John Bosco High School. While at Texas Tech during his junior season, Bruce batted .321, after earning honorable mention all-league honors as both a freshman and a sophomore at Cerritos College. As a prep, Bruce was selected by Collegiate Baseball as one of the top prep shortstops in California, while the Press-Telegram named him to its Dream Team of top area players, twice. Callin will be responsible for day-to-day operations for the LBSU program, as well as preparing team and recruiting arrangements and assisting in the administration of hte Dirtbag camps. He will also be the liason for all visiting teams. Callin previously worked in the Ocean View School District and worked as a league coordinator for youth sports leagues in Orange County. Chris Haendel begins his second season at the program's administrative assistant. The senior psychology major played two years at Chabot College before transferring to LBSU. Troy Buckely continues to be the recruiting coordinator for sixth-year Head Coach Mike Weathers. |
