Long Beach State University Athletics
Dirtbags Hire Dan Ricabal as Pitching Coach
7/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Long Beach, Calif. - Dirtbags head coach Troy Buckley has announced the hiring of Dan Ricabal as the new pitching coach at Long Beach State. Ricabal comes to the Beach from Loyola Marymount University, where he has been the pitching coach for the last five seasons.
"We are excited to have Danny join our staff," said Buckley, who just completed his sixth season as Dirtbags head coach. "He has outstanding roots both in professional and collegiate baseball and has a great feel for what it takes to be successful on the West Coast. He will be a great additive and fit for our culture and will have an immediate impact on our pitching staff and program."
Ricabal brings coaching experience at multiple levels of baseball, having coached in the junior college ranks, at multiple Division I programs along the West Coast, and within the minor league system of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
"I am excited for the opportunity to join, and be part of, the Dirtbag family," said Ricabal. "I understand the level of tradition, and the height of the bar we must reach in Dirtbag Nation. I am grateful for the opportunity Coach Buckley has given me, and I am humbled to be designated the leader of the Dirtbags pitching staff."
As a player, Ricabal was an All-American pitcher both at nearby Cerritos College and at Cal State Fullerton. He was signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers in in 1994 and pitched a handful of seasons in the minor leagues. He then turned to coaching in 2000, serving as the pitching coach at College of the Canyons.
In 2001, Ricabal returned to Fullerton as an administrative assistant, then spent the next three seasons at UC Santa Barbara as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. From there, he moved to the Angels minor league system, where he would spend six years as a pitching coach at various levels of the organization. During his time with the Angles, Ricabal coached a number of future big leaguers like Garrett Richards, Jordan Walden, Tyler Chatwood, Sean O'Sullivan, Trevor Bell and others.
During his tenure at LMU, Ricabal's pitching staffs posted Top-10 LMU season ERAs in each of his five years. Ricabal is also responsible for developing four of LMU's Top-10 best individual season ERAs, including Sean Watkins' 1.89 in 2015 (third-best) and Colin Welmon's 2.30 ERA in 2013 (sixth-best). Prior to Watkins and Welmon, no Lion pitcher had turned in a sub-2.31 ERA in a season since 1971. Training under Ricabal throughout his four-year career, Welmon posted the third-best ERA in LMU history (2.82).
Ricabal is also the owner and director of Play Hard Baseball Club, which he founded in 2004. The club is located in Pasadena, and offers coaching and development in every aspect of the game to players age 9-18. Ricabal is a native of Rosemead, Calif., and a graduate of San Gabriel High School. He earned a Business Management degree in 2012 from the University of Phoenix.
