They were hoping Mark Massari, UCSB’s director of athletics, would interview him for the job.

“We’ve been dreaming about this,” Checketts said of himself and his wife, Michelle, who’s expecting their second child.

It is one of the nation’s strongest baseball conferences, led by four-time NCAA champion Cal State Fullerton. To contend for the championship of the Big West is a serious endeavor. UCSB does not have the resources of Oregon, endowed by Nike’s Phil Knight with first-rate athletic facilities, but Checketts believes that by displaying UCSB’s “culture of excellence” on the baseball diamond, community support will follow. He previously worked in winning programs-UC Riverside (the Big West champion in 2007) and Oregon, where he spent three years as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator. Andrew Checketts Paul WellmanĬhecketts, 35, was a commanding presence on the mound during his own college career (an 11-1 record as an All-American pitcher at Oregon State), and he exuded confidence that he can succeed in his first head-coaching job. “I’m much more comfortable with the hat on doing this,” he said, flashing a few signs (Bunt? Steal?) during a press conference last week. UCSB hired its first new head baseball coach in 19 years, and Santa Barbara City College is getting a new director of athletics.Īndrew Checketts, the rookie Gaucho baseball boss, cannot wait to get out on the field. Two significant events in the college sports community have taken place off the playing field.

Diablo valley college fireworks