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Steve Rousey
begins his fifth season as head coach of the Cal State
Northridge Matadors in 2007 after posting a 77-146 mark
over his first four seasons. The Matadors posted a 28-29
record in 2006, the best under Rousey's watch.
The 2006 season saw Northridge jump out to a 6-2 start
and complete sweeps of Nevada and Cal Poly, but a five
game losing streak to close out the season denied the
Matadors their first winning record since their Big
West championship in 2001. Following the season, Craig
Baker and Jimmy Brettl extended the list of pitchers
drafted under Rousey's tutelage.
The Matadors posted a record of 18-36-1 in 2006 but
started the year with a 12-11-1 mark through the first
two months of the campaign. However, Northridge struggled
over the final two months, going 6-25, which also included
a 2-19 mark during Big West play. It was not all bad
news for the Matadors last season though, who had Michael
Paulk and Alberto Quintana earn All-Big West honors.
Both Paulk and Quintana would become the second and
third players under Rousey to get selected in the June
Major League Baseball Draft.
The 2004 season had its share of big moments for Rousey
and the rest of the CSUN team, but the squad eventually
finished at 19-38. A three-game sweep at Pacific and
a series win over UC Irvine gave CSUN a 5-16 Big West
Conference finish.
In his first season as a Division I head coach, Rousey?s
squad finished with a 14-42 overall record. The Matadors
put together a league record of 8-13, including big
wins versus Big West powers Long Beach State, Cal State
Fullerton and UC Riverside.
The top assistant coach at Northridge for the 2001
and 2002 seasons, Rousey helped lead Northridge to a
two-year record of 75-39 and the Matadors claimed the
Big West title in 2002. Working primarily with the pitchers,
Rousey saw his staff finish the 2002 season with 41
wins, 13 saves and 478 strikeouts. Northridge pitchers
ended the year second in the Big West in strikeouts,
and third in earned runs allowed. The head coach saw
two pitchers earn all conference honors and one pitcher
(Bill Murphy) named to the All-West Region team. In
Rousey?s first season with the Matadors he guided the
pitching staff to a 4.60 earned run average and 459
strikeouts in 492.2 innings during the 2001 season.
The Matadors ranked second in the Big West Conference
in strikeouts, fourth in ERA and gave up the third-fewest
earned runs in the conference.
Before coaching at Cal State Northridge, Rousey's 12-year
coaching career included stints at Long Beach State
and Los Angeles City College.
As the head coach at Los Angeles City College (?95-?00),
Rousey compiled a 24-18 record in his first year after
taking over a team that had no players after being cut
and then reinstated. His teams compiled 50 wins over
his last two seasons while 56 of Rousey's players went
on to play at the university or professional level.
Before taking the helm of Los Angeles City College,
Rousey was the pitching coach at Long Beach State (?93-?95).
While with the 49ers, the team claimed two Big West
titles while making three regional appearances. His
staff helped Long Beach State make it to the College
World Series semifinals in 1993. During his stay, the
49ers had three pitchers earn All-American honors and
one named the National Pitcher of the Year (Daniel Choi,
'93). The 1994 staff posted a 3.47 earned run average,
which ranks third all-time on the Long Beach State Career
List, while the 1993 pitching staff finished with a
3.55 team earned run average, which ranks fourth all-time.
His 1993 pitching staff finished the season third all-time
in saves with 19, fifth in fewest runs per nine innings
with 4.6 and third in strikeouts with 495. His 1995
squad is first in saves with 21 and second in total
strikeouts with 528.
Rousey has also coached with several summer collegiate
teams, including as the pitching coach for the Alaska
Goldpanners (?98-?99) and as the head coach for the
Brewster Whitecaps of the prestigious Cape Cod League
(?95).
Before his career as a coach, Rousey was a top pitcher
at Cal State Fullerton. In three seasons with the Titans,
he compiled an impressive 15-5 record with 120 strikeouts.
Rousey played in the College World Series twice (?82
and ?84), helping the team to the national championship
in '84 while compiling an 8-3 record with a 3.47 earned
run average.
A fourth-round pick by the Seattle Mariners in 1984,
he spent five years playing professionally in the Mariners
and Montreal Expos organization.
Rousey earned his bachelor of arts in English from Cal
State Fullerton in 1988 and his master?s degree in physical
education from Azusa Pacific in 1992.
He is currently living in La Crescenta with his wife
Robin and their four children, P.J. (20), Gabbie (17),
Nate (12) and Faith (8).
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