August 31, 2007

Ducks land baseball coach
Posted by John Hunt

The Oregon Ducks' fledgling baseball program wanted a big name as coach, and it got one of the biggest:

George Horton, who guided Cal State Fullerton to a national title in 2004, will take over the Ducks' baseball program, recently reinstated after a 26-year hiatus.

An announcement is expected today, before the Ducks' football season opener against the University of Houston. It will end a nearly two-month-long coaching search that began when Oregon brought baseball back, dropping the wrestling program and adding competitive cheer.

Horton, 53, had a record of 452-187-1 (.707) in 11 seasons with the Titans (plus five as an assistant coach), making six trips to the College World Series and filling major league rosters with names such as Mark Kotsay, Aaron Rowand, Phil Nevin and Chad Cordero.

He is a two-time national coach of the year. In 2006, the Titans posted a team ERA of 2.76, best in the nation. His recruiting ties are strong in Southern California, as the Ducks seek to compete against Oregon State coach Pat Casey and his stranglehold on the in-state baseball talent.

His hire will give Oregon instant credibility to compete in the Pacific-10 Conference (the Ducks had been the only school in the conference without a baseball program), and it will give Horton the rare opportunity to build a program from scratch.

Horton recently emerged as the Ducks' leading candidate after a handful of coaching hopefuls didn't work out.

Dave Brundage, a former Oregon State player and manager in the Seattle Mariners system currently in the Atlanta organization, took himself out of consideration last month, as did Vanderbilt's Tim Corbin and UC Irvine's Dave Serrano.

After Oregon officials vehemently denied a report that Casey had been offered the job, Serrano removed himself from consideration amid concern about his degree from Trinity College in Malaga, Spain.

According to Cal State Fullerton, Horton earned a master's degree from Cal Lutheran in 1980.

The Ducks will begin play, with limited scholarships, in the 2009 season. They will most likely use Civic Stadium, home of the Class A Eugene Emeralds, until another facility is built.

Last month, Nike co-founder Phil Knight gave the school $100 million in an "Oregon Athletics Legacy Fund,'' but construction costs for a baseball stadium are expected to be covered by other donations.

Titans associate head coach Rick Vanderhook is expected to take over for Horton.