Guerrero Makes New List After Lopez Says No to UCI

The search for a baseball coach at UC Irvine continues after Andy Lopez, coach at Florida, turned down the job.

Irvine is reviving baseball in 2002 after a 10-year hiatus and Athletic Director Dan Guerrero says he intends to “continue screening candidates” with several of the more than 80 reported applicants expected to visit with him in the next few weeks.

“I still hope to have a coach in place by Aug. 1,” Guerrero said.

Lopez, a close friend of Guerrero’s, was widely considered to be the front-runner for the job. But last week, he withdrew from consideration.

Among the candidates whose names keep popping up:

* Lindsey Meggs, 39, Cal State Chico. The former Long Beach College coach has led Chico to two NCAA Division II titles since arriving in 1996 and has a career record of 282-126-2. He is a 1985 graduate of UCLA, Guerrero’s alma mater, and, like Guerrero, was an infielder for the Bruins. Guerrero has hired several current Irvine coaches from the Division II ranks.

* Rex Peters, 35, Chapman coach. He guided the Panthers to a third-place NCAA Division III championships. “I think they would want someone who understands how important education is,” said Peters, who stresses fundamental baseball.

* Scott Pickler, 49, Cypress College coach. Guerrero interviewed Pickler before he interviewed Lopez. Pickler, who has a record of 515-241 at Loara High and Cypress, is a keen recruiter who could attract top local players.

* John Savage, 34, assistant at USC. He is regarded as one of the top pitching coaches in the nation and will be an assistant on the U.S. Olympic team. He’s also a great recruiter, helping USC’s 2000 recruiting class to be named the best in the nation by Baseball America.

* John Verhoeven, 47, Biola coach. He reportedly comes highly recommended by Lopez, after spending time as the pitching coach on Lopez’s staffs at Pepperdine and Dominguez Hills. He just completed his third season as coach at Biola and has led the Eagles to three consecutive Golden State Athletic Conference titles. He has been named conference coach of the year three years in a row.

* Mike Weathers, 51, associate head coach at Long Beach State. Weathers, who just finished his eighth season at Long Beach, is a 1971 graduate of Chapman. He coached for his alma mater against Dominguez Hills in the mid-1980s, when Guerrero was Dominguez Hills’ athletic director. A resident of Irvine, Weathers was 239-241 in nine years at Chapman.

TIDBITS

Irvine assistant swimming coach Lucy Johnson will be an assistant coach for the U.S. team at the FINA Masters World Championships in Munich, Germany, July 27-Aug. 9. The team will be headed by Michael Collins, who coaches the UCLA Bruin Masters.

Irvine’s men’s basketball team intends to play five games during a visit to British Columbia from Aug. 23-Sept. 1. The Anteaters will play two exhibition game at Simon Fraser and three more against Canadian club teams.

Santa Ana College infielder/pitcher Erica Hammontree has signed to play softball at Northwest Missouri State. Hammontree batted .315 with 22 runs batted in and had a 4-1 record and a 1.68 earned-run average last season.

Stephanie Patten and Atari Parker, teammates on the Santa Ana College women’s basketball team that finished 30-4, have committed to four-year colleges for the fall, a school official announced.

Patten, an All-Orange Empire Conference selection who averaged 19 points and 12.5 rebounds last season, will attend Azusa Pacific.

Parker, the conference’s MVP who averaged 28 points and led the state in free-throw percentage (80%) and steals per game (six), will play at San Jose State.

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