| ||||||||||||
Phone: 805.893.2021
E-mail: Thomas.Myers@athletics.ucsb.edu
Tom Myers returns for his eighth season as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at UCSB after spending four seasons with the Gaucho coaching staff from 1998-2001. His other duties include academic affairs, fundraising and Gaucho Baseball Camp development. Prior to returning to UCSB, Myers spent three seasons in the West Coast Conference as pitching coach at Santa Clara University.
2007 marked another outstanding year for Myers's pitching staff with 3 Gaucho pitchers receiving MLB contract offers. (Brian Tracy-Pittsburgh Pirates, Justin Segal-New York Yankees and Chuck Huggins-Arizona Diamondbacks). In addition, freshman hurler Mike Ford earned Freshman All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball and Louisville Slugger. Ford led all freshman Big West pitchers in strikeouts and is the last freshman since Barry Zito to lead the Gaucho pitching staff in strikeouts as well.
In Myers return as recruiting coordinator for the Gauchos, the 2007 recruiting class received national recognition by Collegiate Baseball ranking the stellar class 43rd in the country. In 2005, Studentsports.com tabbed the Gaucho recruiting class 25th in the country.
As pitching coach for the Santa Clara Broncos from 2002-2004, Myers was instrumental in shaping two recruiting classes that ranked in the top 15 in the country according to Baseball America. The 2003 Bronco pitching staff finished second in the WCC in several pitching categories. During his time at Santa Clara, Myers had the privilege to coach three All-American pitchers, and eight Bronco hurlers signed professional contracts.
The 2001 UCSB pitching staff assembled by Myers is considered one of the best in the program's history. The staff maintained a 3.96 team ERA during the regular season en route to an NCAA Regional appearance and a 40-17 overall record. For the first time in UCSB history, the pitching staff had produced two 10-game winners in Rylie Ogle and James Garcia. From the 2001 pitching staff, Rylie Ogle and James Garcia received All-Big West Honors and Garcia and Matt Vasquez received All-American honors. The staff had three pitchers selected in the MLB first year amateur draft, Jim Bullard (Seventh round, Chicago White Sox), Jamie Gonzalez (18th round, Detroit Tigers) and Rylie Ogle (32nd round, New York Mets).
From 1998-2007, Myers has overseen 26 pitchers that have signed professional contracts. 21 had never been drafted prior to their tenure with Coach Myers. Eight pitchers have garnered All-Conference honors in the Big West and West Coast Conference and six have been named All-American. Myers has worked with a total of 43 players that have been drafted or have signed a professional contract.
As part of the 1991 UCSB baseball team, Myers was an All-Big West selection in his only season as a Gaucho, winning ten games and saving three in 24 appearances. Myers joined UC Santa Barbara for his senior season after two years playing for Barry Woodhead at San Jose City College and one year playing for Jerry Kindall at the University of Arizona. Following his senior year at UCSB, Myers was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 1991 first year amateur draft. Myers spent 5.5 seasons playing professional baseball for the Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and St. Louis Cardinals.
In 1997, Myers began his coaching career at Porterville Junior College. In the summer of 1998, Myers served as player-coach in the Dutch Professional League in Haarlem, Holland, and in 1999 was an envoy coach for Major League Baseball International in Wavre, Belgium.
A graduate of Archbishop Mitty School in San Jose, Calif., Myers earned his BA in history from UCSB and his MA in physical education from Azusa Pacific. Myers resides in Santa Barbara with his four-year-old daughter, Lauren.
