Pac-12 baseball: Three-time national champion Oregon State coach Pat Casey announces retirement

Oregon State baseball coach Pat Casey, who led the Beavers to three national championships, has announced his retirement after 24 seasons with the team.

Casey’s most recent College World Series title came this summer, following back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007. Since 2005, the Beavers have made the NCAA tournament field 12 times and they’ve advanced to Omaha six times. The team also won five conference championships under Casey.

“I have always expected that I be at the same level at which we ask our players day in and day out, and right now, I’m not sure I can’t do that, but I’m also not certain I can,” Casey said in a statement released by the university. “Therefore, I believe it is the right time to step down as head coach of the Oregon State baseball program.”

Casey, 59, was hired by the Beavers in 1995 after a stint at Division III George Fox. He compiled a 900-458-6 (.662) record at Oregon State.

The Beavers went 55-12-1 this season. The team swept through the regional and super regional rounds before losing their CWS opener. They won four straight elimination games to reach a best-of-three finals against Arkansas.

Rumors had swirled this summer after the championship run that the 59-year-old native of Oregon might retire.

Casey will remain at Oregon State as a senior associate athletic director and special assistant to athletic director Scott Barnes.

Oregon State associate head coach Pat Bailey will serve as interim coach of the Beavers. The team will conduct a national search for a replacement following the next season.

“It’s very difficult to put into words what Coach Casey has done for Oregon State University, the state of Oregon, college baseball overall and the tremendous impact he has made on the lives of so many young people during his coaching career,” Barnes said. “While I’m saddened to lose Coach Casey in the dugout, I’m thrilled to have Coach Casey remain on staff to serve as an ambassador for our department, be a mentor for other coaches, and play a role in fundraising.”

The winningest coach in Oregon State history, Casey won league coach of the year five times, and was Baseball America’s national Coach of the Year in 2006.

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