Gillespie Has to Learn New Rule Book to Put USC Team on the Field

Mike Gillespie coached baseball for 16 years at College of the Canyons, so it would seem he has little left to discover about the game.

But in his first season at USC, Gillespie says he is “still learning the ropes.”

“But this is a great situation, really,” said Gillespie, who won 11 conference titles and three state championships at Canyons. “It continues to be a great opportunity.”

Gillespie, who replaced Rod Dedeaux, is learning how to deal with the NCAA and its scholarship limits. “There are a whole bunch of rules to learn,” he said.

NCAA rules limit schools to 13 baseball scholarships. Most schools, including USC, give some players a half of a scholarship, some a third of a scholarship. Few get a full one.

“We need more players than there are scholarships,” Gillespie said. Especially now. USC, which dominated college baseball in the 70s, has since hit hard times.

Things won’t get any easier for USC this season in the Pacific 10. The Trojans are in the same division as UCLA and Stanford. UCLA is the defending Southern Division champion. Stanford, which has some of the best pitchers in college baseball, is expected to be UCLA’s principal competition.

“Everybody seems to think those are the two schools to beat,” Gillespie said. “Not having been through that part of the job, it’s hard for me to measure. Our expectations should be to battle for a spot somewhere in the middle.

“It’s still the winter, and we have to keep things in perspective. But we have reason to believe that we’ll be in every game and do pretty well.”

For Gillespie, who compiled a 418-165 record at Canyons, that isn’t misplaced optimism. But for now, USC will continue to work with what it gets.

“If there is a guy out there who qualifies for financial aid, or a national merit scholarship, and he can also play baseball, we have to find him,” Gillespie said. “Or, say, there’s a kid out there who can play, and he has $16,000 of his own, then we definitely have to find him.”