Lopez Leaving Pepperdine for Florida : College baseball: Former UCLA player coached Waves to national title in 1992.

Andy Lopez, who coached Pepperdine’s baseball team to the 1992 national championship and three other NCAA playoff appearances in six seasons, resigned Monday to coach at Florida.

Lopez, 40, succeeds Joe Arnold, who retired June 1 after 11 seasons with the Gators.

“I’m indebted to Pepperdine for the opportunity the university gave me, and I’m looking forward to a new challenge,” said Lopez, whose Pepperdine teams were 241-107. “This isn’t just a move to improve professionally. I think I’m going into a situation that is going to be good for my family.”

Lopez, who played at San Pedro High and UCLA and coached six seasons at Cal State Dominguez Hills before moving to Pepperdine, has been perhaps the hottest commodity in college coaching since Pepperdine won its national title two years ago.

He recently turned down an offer to succeed the retired Bobo Brayton at Washington State, and was also considered a leading candidate for the opening at Arizona State, where longtime coach Jim Brock died June 12 of cancer.

Jeremy Foley, Florida’s athletic director, reportedly phoned Lopez and inquired about his interest in the Gator job an hour after Arnold resigned. Lopez met with Foley and other Florida officials in Gainesville last week and was offered a package that apparently was too lucrative to decline.

“All I can say is, it was mind-boggling,” Lopez said.

Sources told The Times that Lopez will receive a five-year contract with a base salary of about $140,000 a year. He will receive additional money from contracts for radio and television shows.

Lopez inherits a team that finished 40-23 last season.

Florida, which competes in the Southeastern Conference, has a full complement of 11.7 baseball scholarships and is building a new clubhouse at one of college baseball’s finest facilities.

“There’s a chance to do some things at Florida every year that would be impossible or take years to achieve at other schools,” Lopez said. “The state of Florida has some great players, but I’ll still have a presence on the West Coast. I’ll be recruiting here, and hopefully we can bring some schools from Southern California to Gainesville (for games).”

Wayne Wright, Pepperdine’s athletic director, said a search for Lopez’s replacement will begin immediately.

Rob Picciolo, a former Pepperdine standout and major league player, is considered a candidate. So are Oklahoma assistant Pat Harrison and former Wave coach Dave Gorrie.

Lopez’s departure is probably the first of several moves expected to affect the Southland coaching community. Dave Snow of Long Beach State is considered a top candidate for the Arizona State job, and George Horton, associate coach at Cal State Fullerton, has reportedly been offered the job at Washington State.