In a time of change, the Moore League seems to have lost another longtime prep coach to constricting budget cuts. Lakewood baseball assistant Matt Nuez will leave his 13-year job to become the head coach at Los Alamitos, first reported by GazettesSports.com yesterday.

Nuez played for the Lancers and head coach Spud O’Neil, winning a CIF title in 1987. In 2011, he was part of the group that guided Lakewood to a 29-5-1 overall record and a CIF semifinal appearance behind CIF All-First team selections Nick Torres and Shane Watson. With Watson returning for his senior season next year, Lakewood is projected as one of the top teams in the region, if not the state.

Nuez told the Press-Telegram:

“With the unfortunate circumstances the district is in, I had to do what was best for my family,” he said.

Due to the debacle that is the annual California state budget and its rapidly declining public school funding, the Long Beach Unified School District cut $60 million from its 2011-12 budget and has cut more than $200 million since 2008. The financial difficulty has put an immense strain on Long Beach classrooms, and hasn’t spared athletic fields. Lakewood also lost their head football coach, Thadd MacNeal, who left for another job after the 2010 season in part due to budget uncertainty.

Los Alamitos was 12-14-1 last season and made an appearance in the CIF playoffs. The job will be Nuez’s first as a head coach.