We talked to coach Mike Weathers about this a few weeks back on Beach Sports Radio, and now it’s official.  Long Beach State has announced that pitching coach Troy Buckley has been named the team’s Associate Head Coach in addition to his current responsibilities. Buckley returned to the program in 2010 after two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“Troy’s professionalism and proficiency as a coach is a tremendous asset to our baseball program,” noted Long Beach State athletics director Vic Cegles. “His understanding of the tradition and culture of Dirtbag baseball ensures that the success of the program will continue to grow now and into the future.”

Buckley returned to LBSU after two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he was the Coordinator of Minor League Pitching, heading up the entire farm system for the Pirates, including working with each minor league ballclub and planning the progress through the system for every pitcher in the system.

That came on the heels of the tremendous job that Buckley did as the pitching coach for Long Beach State. During his tenure from 2002-07, Buckley coached four current major leaguers in Andrew Carpenter, Jason Vargas, Cesar Ramos and Jered Weaver. He also oversaw a staff that never finished lower than 16th nationally in team ERA and finished in the top five three times, including 2005 when the team’s 2.53 ERA was the nation’s best.

“Troy Buckley is simply one of the best young coaches in college baseball,” LBSU head coach Mike Weathers said. “He helped our pitching staff reach new heights during his previous time here and Long Beach State baseball will only benefit with him as our associate head coach.”

Prior to joining the Long Beach State staff in 2002, Buckley spent three years on the coaching staff for his alma mater, Santa Clara, working as the team’s hitting coach and recruiting coordinator. Buckley also spent two years as a coach in the Montreal Expos organization, working as the hitting and third base coach for AAA Ottawa as well as the pitching coach for the Expos’ rookie league team.

In his playing career, Buckley was named the 1988 West Coast Conference Player of the Year and a second-team All-American after hitting .442 with 82 RBI with Santa Clara, setting Bronco single-season records for both categories. Over his collegiate career, Buckley drove in 188 runs and finished with a .364 batting average, 234 hits, 47 doubles, 35 home runs and a .606 slugging percentage, establishing himself as one of the best to play at Santa Clara.

A ninth-round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins, Buckley spent five years in the minors, reaching AAA Portland in the Pacific Coast League before turning to coaching.

Reports From LBSU