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Pasadena City College
Men's Baseball

Head Coach/Baseball Program History

Evan O'Meara (9th Season in 2013)

Office Phone: 626-585-7801

E-Mail: eromeara@pasadena.edu

Evan O'Meara will enter his ninth season in charge of the Pasadena City College baseball team in 2013.

In his most successful season at PCC of 2006, O'Meara coached four players that made the All-South Coast Conference Team, including shortstop-pitcher Raul Barron, now a member of the Toronto Blue Jays' organization. In '06, three PCC pitchers hurled an under 4.00 ERA in All-SCC selections Barron (3.66), Erik Lomeli (3.74), and Eric Anderson (3.99).

Last year, he helped the progress of All-SCC First Team infielder Matt Chavez, one of the state's top hitters and on-base performers. Chavez, now at New Mexico Highlands University, was honored with the division's President's Award for overall performance, academic achievement and sportsmanship. O'Meara also saw freshman first baseman David Halstead and sophomore top pitching ace Will Emerson receive All-SCC Second Team selections.

In 2007, O'Meara coached scholar-athlete and outfielder Sheehan Casey, who set the college's modern day stolen base record of 28 steals. Casey now works as counselor in the Stan Gray Academic Athletic Zone on campus.

In 2008, Lancers' righthander Michael Frisina set a modern day PCC record for lowest pitching ERA with a 2.90 mark. In 2009, PCC was led by All-South Coast Conference sophomore outfielder Roderick Martinez. Freshman catcher Brian Smith led the state in throwing out runners attempting to steal with 33. In 2011, All-SCC infielder Jose Serna was on the top 10 in conference batting all season and finished with a .368 mark.

O'Meara has moved 20 players to the 4-year university level. O'Meara '05-06 products Charles Brown, Silvester Hernandez and Rafael Chavez-Reyes all helped Bethany College (Kansas) to the '07 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference title and their hitting aided the Swedes to lead the entire NAIA in team batting average at .382. Bethany finished as the runner-up at the NAIA Region IV tournament.

Recently, O'Meara saw 2010 pitcher Cameron Copping signed to a minor league contract in the Seattle Mariners' organization and 2008 alumnus Kevin Dultz, now a catcher, sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks minor league system.

Once a player at baseball power University of Texas, O'Meara served as an assistant coach at Los Angeles Valley College from 2002-2004 before taking over the head coaching position at PCC in 2005.

PCC BASEBALL HISTORY

The Pasadena City College baseball team is part of the highly competitive South Coast Conference, participating against such colleges as Long Beach City, Cerritos, El Camino, Mt. San Antonio, Los Angeles Harbor, East Los Angeles, and El Camino-Compton Center.

The Lancers play their games off campus at its home diamond, Brookside Park's Jackie Robinson Memorial Field, located next to the Rose Bowl. The historic field was once the Spring Training home of both the Chicago White Sox (1933-42, 1946-50) and the Chicago Cubs (1917-1921).

The program has a vast history that includes a state championship in 1967 when PCC was led by former Major League Baseball great and PCC Sports Hall of Famer Darrell Evans. Evans is the only community college athlete to ever play on state championship teams for two different sports (baseball and basketball) in the same year. A former Atlanta Brave and Detroit Tiger, he is a member of pro baseball's 400-home run club and has a World Series ring from the 1984 Tigers.

PCC also won the state title in 1950 under legendary coach John Thurman. In that season, the then Bulldogs defeated Santa Rosa in the championship game, 3-2. A perennial participant in the National JCAA Regional Tournament, Pasadena won that national title in both 1949 and 1950. The '49 team was led by future Los Angeles Dodger Bob Lillis.

Many former Lancers have gone on to play professional baseball, but the most famous is Jackie Robinson, who was an All-Southern California infielder at Pasadena Junior College (1937-38) before going on to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947. After an illustrious career with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Robinson was later inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame as well as being honored by PCC with a bronze bust of his image located in the Dick Ratliff Court of Champions on campus. Robinson is the only player to have his No. 42 retired by all of MLB's teams. No player in any other professional sport has been so honored.

Robinson and Evans are both members of the California Community College CCCAA Sports Hall of Fame.

Other recognized pros from PCC over the years were outfielder Irv Noren (New York Yankees), pitcher Matt Young (Seattle Mariners, UCLA), and infielder Alan Wiggins (San Diego Padres, '84 World Series participant). Brandon Kintzler, an All-SCC First Team pitcher in 2003, was a relief pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2011.

Noren, Evans, and Coach Thurman all have their busts immortalized in the Court of Champions along with Robinson.

In 2005, Lee Walls, a pro player for several teams including the Pittsburgh Pirates and Los Angeles Dodgers, was inducted into the PCC Sports Hall of Fame. In 1951, he played for PCC's Western State Conference champion baseball team, a squad that finished runner-up at the NJCAA regional tournament. He then made the jump to MLB as a 19-year-old rookie on the 1952 Pittsburgh Pirates.

PCC has been strong at moving players on to the four-year university level. In 2004, pitcher-outfelder Zack Kalter transferred to USC and was a pre-season All-American selection. Kalter led PCC in several hitting categories and was the team's top pitching ace. In 2004, eleven members of the 2003 Lancers team moved on to universities with playing scholarships.

In 2005, PCC 2003-2004 infielder Joey Dyche set the single-season batting record for highest average (.500) at Lewis-Clark State College, Idaho. Converted to outfield, Dyche was a 7th round selection of the San Francisco Giants in the 2005 draft. He was selected NAIA All-American and hit for the cycle in a College World Series game.