By Bill Sheehan

Cal State Fullerton baseball has a reputation as a pitching and defensive-oriented program. With his remake of the Titan coaching staff, baseball head man Rick Vanderhook is hoping to maintain the team's traditional strengths while ramping up offensive production.

Sergio Brown and Dan Ricabal, who both played at Fullerton and previously served on the Titan coaching staff, have returned to the fold. Brown, who was an assistant coach at the University of Arizona the past four years, was named Fullerton's associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. He also will be the team's hitting coach. Ricabal will serve as the Titan pitching coach. He had the same job for the last three years at Long Beach State.

Andy Jenkins will be a volunteer assistant coach. Jenkins, who played at Oregon State, coached at his alma mater the past seven years. He will coach third base and work with catchers and first basemen. Jenkins will be paid through his work with the Titan Camp Foundation.

Former Titan pitcher Tyler Pill, who just wrapped up a nine-year professional career, will serve in a student assistant role.

"We took our coaches search one step at a time. That's why it took a while," said Vanderhook, who is 294-176 in eight seasons as the Titan head coach. "But things have worked out pretty well."

The Titans reached the College World Series two of the last four years but struggled to end up above .500 last season, finishing with a 27-26 record.

"Sergio, working along with Andy, will help give us a new identity offensively," said Vanderhook. Brown concurs, saying, "This has been a pitching- and defense-oriented program, but there is no reason we can't emphasize offense more."

Brown, who was raised in South El Monte, won a national championship as a player with the Titans in 1995. He returns for his third stint as a coach after serving on the staff in 2001-2003 and 2007-2010. In his time as a Fullerton coach, the Titans won three Big West championships and finished seventh at the 2009 College World Series.

At Arizona, Brown's 2016 and 2018 recruiting classes were rated No. 4 and No. 3 in the nation respectively by Collegiate Baseball. His work with Arizona's hitters helped the Wildcats average 9.8 runs per game in 2019, the second-best mark in the nation.

"Sergio is one of the top recruiters in the country. He has a good network of people he works with. He's extremely organized and is a step ahead of the game in recruiting," said Vanderhook.

Brown already connecting with hitters

"I'm really excited to get back to this special program," Brown said. "It's a phenomenally special place with a record of excellence.

"Coming off a year where they didn't have the success that was expected, there are expectations for me to get them back on track as quickly as possible," said Brown. "I'm trying to get to know these players fast – it's almost like speed dating. I need to know what they need from me, and they need to know what I need from them."

Fullerton has several holes to fill from departing players, including catcher Daniel Cope, second baseman Hank LoForte, shortstop Sahid Valenzuela and center fielder Mitchell Berryhill. "To be successful, you have to be good up the middle," Brown said.

"We have to get them ready to perform. I'm excited, there is a lot of talent here," said Brown, who has been reviewing video of the hitters' swings. "It's a matter of finding what each kid brings to the table and enhancing them with a variety of drills as well as teaching them how to understand the strike zone. We want them to take a good disciplined at-bat and make sure they are swinging at a pitch they can really drive.

"I don't expect every guy to hit a certain way. I want to teach singles hitters to hit more doubles. Guys who can hit a few doubles, I want to teach them to hit a few more home runs. For guys that hit home runs, maybe we need to teach them to be better hitters and bring those averages up."

Brown met his wife, Olivia, while they were both attending Cal Poly Pomona before he transferred to Fullerton. She worked as an assistant principal in Arizona. They live in Whittier and have two sons: Vincent, 18, who is a freshman at Emerson College in Boston, and Cruz, 11, who will serve as a Titan batboy. Brown enjoys spending time with his family and hiking outdoors.

At Fullerton, Brown graduated with an English degree. He owns and operates The Crew Event Services, which plans and organizes conferences and conventions for major companies. He took a sabbatical from baseball in 2014 and 2015 to work on his business and coach his son's Little League team.

We need to meet high expectations, Ricabal says

"I'm very excited to come back to Fullerton," said Dan Ricabal, a Rosemead native. "This is where I grew up in this game. To be back here and be the leader of our pitching staff, it's quite an honor. It comes with a lot of responsibility and high expectations. We need to be able to meet those expectations."

"Getting to know the guys, getting to know what their personalities are like and what makes them click, is priority number one. And it's important to build a foundation of trust with each and every guy," said Ricabal.

The right-handed pitcher began his collegiate career at Cerritos College before transferring to Fullerton, where he played in 1993 and 1994. He led the teams in wins (11) and strikeouts (106) in his junior year. As a senior, Ricabal helped propel the Titans to the College World Series and finished the season with a 12-1 record.

He was signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1994 and pitched a handful of seasons in the minor leagues. Primarily used as a relief pitcher, Ricabal recorded 83 saves in 205 games. He began his coaching career in 2000, guiding the pitching staff at College of the Canyons.

Ricabal then made stops at Fullerton as an administrative assistant, UC Santa Barbara as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, the California Angels as a pitching coach at various minor league levels, and finally at UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State as their teams' pitching coach. He spent three years at Long Beach, where he oversaw a record-setting season by Dirtbags pitchers in 2018. Long Beach players earned eight of the 15 Big West Pitcher of the Week awards that season.

"Dan has an extensive background in college and professional baseball. He has a good feel for sabermetrics and analytics. He's a good coach and a good teacher," said Vanderhook

Ricabal said his philosophy on pitching isn't all that different from what the players have experienced so far at Fullerton. "Titan pitching is Titan pitcher – it's about throwing strikes and pounding the strike zone, commanding your off-speed pitches and staying ahead of the count," he said. "Nowadays, with the emphasis on velocity and power, the art of pitching is beginning to diminish a little. Our guys have to have a true understanding how to pitch. That's our job – to get our guys ready to compete."

So far, Ricabal has just watched video of the Titan pitchers. But he already envisions junior right-hander Tanner Bibee from Mission Viejo becoming the anchor of the pitching corps. "Tanner is a kid who was the Friday night starter last year," said Ricabal. "He's done it on the big stage and has had success.

"Tanner brings us the leadership and experience that we need," said Ricabal of Bibee, who started 15 games last year and compiled a 5-7 record with a 4.33 ERA. "This summer, Tanner competed against the top tier talent in the nation at the Cape Cod summer league."

Newcomers will bolster the staff, he said. "We have a very talented group of freshmen pitchers coming in. They are big, strong and have good arms. Now we just need to hone their talent and teach them to become better pitchers," Ricabal said.

He listed several attributes he looks for in a closer. "Having a command of the strike zone is essential. We want someone who is athletic and can field his position and hold runners. And he's got to have a real 'out' pitch," said Ricabal, who wouldn't rule out having two closers.

Ricabal stressed the importance of the mental side of pitching. "Guy can have perfect deliveries, but if they don't have the confidence, conviction and intent because of fear or other mental blocks, that's going to get in the way," said Ricabal, who plans to have the staff work with Matt Kane, a performance coach and sports psychologist.

Ricabal and his wife, Brianna, who is a Cal State Fullerton graduate, live in Long Beach. Brianna works for Innocean USA, an advertising and marketing agency in Huntington Beach, and loves going to ball games. Ricabal, who received a business administration degree from the University of Phoenix, enjoys playing golf.

Jenkins eager to work with Titan staff

"I'm excited to get to work for one of the premier programs historically in the nation and one of the dominant programs on the West Coast," said Andy Jenkins, who will report for duty later this month. "Rick reached out to me about this opportunity. I spent a couple days with him. I know Sergio from the recruiting trail. We've had some conference calls, and I'm looking forward to getting to work with these guys."

Vanderhook became familiar with Jenkins after Fullerton faced Oregon State in the College World Series in 2017 and played the Beavers in a weekend series in 2018. "Andy is a lucky get for us. He has been successful, and he has a lot of experience in the Northwest," said Vanderhook.

A native of Salem, Oregon, Jenkins attended Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon before transferring to Oregon State. He played catcher and first base for the Beavers in 2004 and 2005, helping the team reach its first visit to the College World Series in more than 50 years in 2004. He ended his two-year Oregon State career having played in 98 games, batting .343 with 12 home runs, 15 doubles and 86 RBI while striking out just 44 times in more than 340 at-bats. 

He was selected in the 11th round of the 2005 MLB draft by the Florida Marlins. He played six seasons in the minor leagues with the Marlins and the Texas Rangers, reaching the Triple-A level in 2009 and 2010. In his minor-league career, he batted .268 with 32 home runs, 116 doubles and 277 RBI.

He returned to Oregon State in 2012 as a member of head coach Pat Casey's staff. He coached third base the last five years and helped guide the 2018 team to the school's third national championship. He also completed his degree in psychology after arriving back in Corvallis.

Jenkins treasures his time playing and coaching for Casey, who retired after last season. "He taught me a lot about being a competitor and a leader. I will take a little bit of his leadership wherever I go.