Former Crescenta Valley High baseball standout Surrey learns ropes as director of operations at CSUN
Elliot Surrey learned plenty about baseball on the field during a distinguished playing career at Crescenta Valley High before moving on to compete at UC Irvine.
Surrey was bestowed with plenty of postseason recognition while a member of the Falcons. The pitcher/first baseman was a three-time All-CIF selection and an All-Area Baseball Player of the Year. That was followed with a respectable four-year career at Irvine before being selected by the Seattle Mariners in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
Now, Surrey is looking to establish himself off the field as the director of operations for the Cal State Northridge baseball team.
Surrey, a left-hander who went 19-17 with a 3.31 earned-run average and 239 strikeouts in 60 appearances at UC Irvine, has held the position since last summer.
Surrey’s first season with the Matadors proved to be an abbreviated and memorable one after the campaign was suspended and ultimately canceled in March because of the novel coronavirus.
CSUN was 10-5 before the season was stopped after the NCAA chose to cancel all spring sports because of the global pandemic. The Matadors, who compete in the Big West Conference, began the season with seven victories in a row under first-year coach Dave Serrano.
“We were off to a very good start and the players and coaches were excited feeding off each other and getting some wins,” said Surrey, who graduated from Crescenta Valley in 2012 and played at Irvine from 2013-16. “We have a new [coaching] staff and everybody was really excited about where the program was heading.
“Unfortunately, the coronavirus came and the remainder of the season had to be canceled. It was tough for the whole team. It will make our team hungry for next season.”
The NCAA has granted an extra year of eligibility to players who were seniors this season.
Surrey reeled in numerous responsibilities off the field and proved to be a boon for the Matadors.
Surrey, who was drafted by Seattle in the 26th round (777th overall) in 2016, handles a variety of roles that range from hotel and travel accommodations to equipment organization.
Prior to his new position with CSUN, Surrey, who earned a degree in film and media studies from UC Irvine in 2018, served as a freelance video producer for the Matadors. Surrey recorded video for all 17 sports program at CSUN during the 2018-19 academic year.
Last summer, Surrey was in the university’s athletic office, set to turn in some video footage, when the unexpected occurred.
While waiting to bring the video to a member of the sports information department, Surrey was seated near the baseball office when he met Serrano and several assistants. Tei Vanderford, a volunteer assistant who was a standout pitcher at St. Francis High, introduced Surrey to Serrano.
The group began to discuss baseball and Surrey’s video work before Serrano hatched the idea of Surrey possibly serving as the program’s director of operations.
“Coach Serrano had the idea and presented it to me and I told him I just wanted to give it a little thought,” said Surrey, who was an undergraduate assistant at Irvine in 2018 and served as Crescenta Valley’s freshman coach in 2019. “A little bit later, I told him lets get started.
“The baseball gods were on my side and I could focus on the sport I loved playing and watching. I’ve been handling a lot of areas like traveling and equipment. Handling the game jerseys, shoes and baseball glove orders. It can be stressful at times, but I certainly love it. I just need to be on top of things and organized. I need to make sure everything flows smoothly.”
Serrano, who has also coached at UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton and Tennessee, said Surrey’s work ethic has served the program well.
“Elliot is as good as I’ve expected,” said Serrano, who is 456-307-1 all-time and is CSUN’s 10th coach in program history. “There’s a lot of detail into what he does for our team and he’s very much like my right-hand man.
“It’s his attention to detail that makes him stand out. When I took the job as coach, one of my first goals was to put a lot of qualified baseball people around the team. It’s been a wonderful experience for me having him aboard.”
Crescenta Valley baseball coach Phil Torres said Surrey’s contributions will aid CSUN.
“Elliot is doing a great thing for CSUN,” Torres said. “I’m glad he’s landed on his feet and he’s doing something he loves.
“He did a great job as a player for us and he was real good with the players on the freshman team last year. He watches everything and soaks things up. I’m sure he’ll continue to do that with his new job, too.”
