Baseball
Rolando Garza
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- Rolando.Garza@csulb.edu
Rolando Garza begins his first season as the pitching coach at Long Beach State in the Spring of 2025.
Garza joins the Dirtbags from the Fresno Grizzlies, where he served as the pitching coach during the 2024 season. He moved to Fresno from the Tampa Bay Rays system, where he was the pitching coordinator from 2020-23.
Long Beach State is a return to the collegiate level for Garza, as he was the pitching coach at Pepperdine from 2015-19. With the Waves, Garza coached an All-American (A.J. Puckett in 2016, who had a stretch of 57 1/3 innings without giving up an earned run and 45 2/3 innings without surrendering a run, the third-longest streak in NCAA history), a WCC Freshman of the Year (Cooper Chandler in 2018) and two WCC Pitchers of the Year (Puckett and Jonathan Pendergast in 2018). In 2016, the Waves led the WCC with a 3.57 earned-run average. Pepperdine won a WCC regular-season title in 2018.
Garza spent 2015 with the ACL Angels after coaching at Riverside City College from 2013-15. While at RCC, he collaborated with Korean strength coach/skill developer Youngjin Yoon on a holistic hybrid pitching philosophy that merges the American power pitching culture with Southeast Asian baseball developmental strategies.
Before starting at RCC, Garza had coaching stints with the Angels and Rays organizations. The Chicago White Sox drafted Garza in the ninth round of the 1997 MLB amateur draft from Coachella Valley High School. He played in the minor leagues from 1997 to 2004. In 2000, Garza transitioned from an infielder to a pitching role. After his playing career ended, Garza earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Cal State San Bernardino, graduating in 2010.
Garza joins the Dirtbags from the Fresno Grizzlies, where he served as the pitching coach during the 2024 season. He moved to Fresno from the Tampa Bay Rays system, where he was the pitching coordinator from 2020-23.
Long Beach State is a return to the collegiate level for Garza, as he was the pitching coach at Pepperdine from 2015-19. With the Waves, Garza coached an All-American (A.J. Puckett in 2016, who had a stretch of 57 1/3 innings without giving up an earned run and 45 2/3 innings without surrendering a run, the third-longest streak in NCAA history), a WCC Freshman of the Year (Cooper Chandler in 2018) and two WCC Pitchers of the Year (Puckett and Jonathan Pendergast in 2018). In 2016, the Waves led the WCC with a 3.57 earned-run average. Pepperdine won a WCC regular-season title in 2018.
Garza spent 2015 with the ACL Angels after coaching at Riverside City College from 2013-15. While at RCC, he collaborated with Korean strength coach/skill developer Youngjin Yoon on a holistic hybrid pitching philosophy that merges the American power pitching culture with Southeast Asian baseball developmental strategies.
Before starting at RCC, Garza had coaching stints with the Angels and Rays organizations. The Chicago White Sox drafted Garza in the ninth round of the 1997 MLB amateur draft from Coachella Valley High School. He played in the minor leagues from 1997 to 2004. In 2000, Garza transitioned from an infielder to a pitching role. After his playing career ended, Garza earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Cal State San Bernardino, graduating in 2010.
Friends Welcoming TJ Bruce to the Beach
Tuesday, July 02
Dirtbags Baseball Head coach TJ Bruce Welcome Celebration
Thursday, June 27
Dirtbags Baseball: Head coach TJ Bruce Welcome Celebration
Tuesday, June 25
Dirtbags Baseball Game Highlights vs UC Riverside 4/19/2024
Saturday, April 20
