Checketts named West Region Coach of the Year

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - UC Santa Barbara Baseball Head Coach Andrew Checketts has been named the best coach in the west by his peers; the American Baseball Coaches Association announced the Gauchos' skipper as the ABCA/ATEC West Region Coach of the Year on Tuesday. It is a first such honor for Checketts, who guided his Santa Barbara team through adversity on and off the field to host an NCAA Regional at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium for the first time, having won a third Big West Championship in five years while maintaining a perfect home record in the regular season.

Checketts and his staff had to run the entirety of fall and winter practices without a home diamond, then take their show on the road for the first 11 games of the season as field maintenance at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium was delayed multiple times. But when the field was finally ready, so were Checketts' Gauchos. Santa Barbara won all 25 of its regular-season contests, out-scoring their opponents 206-78 in those 25 wins.

The Gauchos' dominance at home was a key piece of their late-season run to the conference championship and postseason. After starting the year 5-4 in Big West play, Checketts' Gauchos won their final 21 conference games, seven consecutive series sweeps, to claim the Big West Championship. Including non-conference action, Santa Barbara finished the regular season on a 14-game winning streak, which they rode all the way to hosting an NCAA Regional at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium for the first time.

The Santa Barbara Regional was the culmination of a season dedicated to Checketts' father, Gordon, who passed away in early March. When Checketts stepped away from the team to deal with the loss, his assistants stepped up, leading the Gauchos to a sweep of Long Beach State. During that series, Associate Head Coach Matt Fonteno credited his boss for preparing both the players and staff.

"Andrew has done an unbelievable job preparing all of us, whether it be the coaching staff, the players, to perform at a very high level," Fonteno said at the time. "We've benefited from his mentorship and were able to show some good coaching, if you will, today."

This West Region Coach of the Year honor, like all ABCA awards, is voted on by Checketts' peers, Division I baseball coaches from across the country. Founded in 1945, the ABCA is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its over 15,000 members represent all 50 states and 41 countries. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, Association membership has broadened to include nine divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association Division, High School, Youth and Travel.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics)