The 2016 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos baseball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara in the 2016 NCAA Division I baseball season, the team competed in the Big West Conference and was led by head coach Andrew Checketts, who was in his fifth season with the program. The game was their home games at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium. Here is an overview:
| 2016 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos baseball | |
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| Conference | Big West Conference |
| Record | 38–18–1 (13–11 Big West) |
| Head coach |
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| Assistant coaches |
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| Home stadium | Caesar Uyesaka Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | PCT | W | L | T | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #28 Cal State Fullerton †y | 17 | – | 7 | – | 0 | .708 | 36 | – | 22 | – | 0 | .621 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Long Beach State y | 15 | – | 9 | – | 0 | .625 | 37 | – | 21 | – | 0 | .638 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 UC Santa Barbara y | 13 | – | 11 | – | 0 | .542 | 38 | – | 18 | – | 1 | .675 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal Poly | 12 | – | 12 | – | 0 | .500 | 32 | – | 25 | – | 0 | .561 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hawaii | 12 | – | 12 | – | 0 | .500 | 23 | – | 30 | – | 0 | .434 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Riverside | 12 | – | 12 | – | 0 | .500 | 26 | – | 29 | – | 0 | .473 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Irvine | 11 | – | 13 | – | 0 | .458 | 31 | – | 25 | – | 0 | .554 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal State Northridge | 11 | – | 13 | – | 0 | .458 | 33 | – | 22 | – | 0 | .600 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UC Davis | 5 | – | 19 | – | 0 | .208 | 17 | – | 36 | – | 0 | .321 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 5, 2016[1] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Season Highlights
- Overall Record: The Gauchos finished the season with an impressive 43-20-1 overall record.
- Conference Record: In the Big West Conference, they had a record of 13-11, finishing third in the standings.
- NCAA Tournament: The team earned an at-large bid to the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
- They began their postseason journey in the Nashville Regional, hosted by Vanderbilt, and advanced by defeating some tough opponents.
- They went on to win the Louisville Super Regional, stunning the heavily favored Louisville Cardinals in a thrilling series. 4. College World Series(CWS): For the first time in program history, UC Santa Barbara reached the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
- They had a notable upset victory against Miami in the CWS opener.
- Their season ended with losses to eventual champion Coastal Carolina and Arizona.
Notable Players
The 2016 team featured several standout players who played key roles in their success:
- Shana Bieber: A standout pitcher who later went on to become a star in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Cleveland Guardians.
- Austin Bush: Known for his power hitting and key contributions throughout the season.
- Clay Fisher: A reliable shortstop and leader on the field.
Legacy
The 2016 Gauchos are remembered for their remarkable postseason run and for putting UC Santa Barbara baseball on the national map. Their performance in the College World Series was a defining moment for the program and showcased their resilience and talent against some of the nations best teams.
Rankings
edit| Week | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Final |
| Coaches'[2] | — | —* | —* | — | — | 22 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 14 | 19 | 14 | 18 | — | 21 | 23 | 23* | 23* | 7 |
| Baseball America[3] | — | — | — | — | — | 24 | 18 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 17 | 15 | 24 | — | — | — | —* | —* | 9 |
| Collegiate Baseball^[4] | — | — | 19 | 22 | 21 | 17 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 21 | 13 | 26 | — | — | — | 14 | 8 | 6 |
| NCBWA†[5] | — | — | — | — | 30 | 26 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 14 | 16 | 13 | 16 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 13 | 13* | 7 |
^ Collegiate Baseball ranked 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranked 30 teams weekly during the season.
† NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* A new poll was not released for this week, so for comparison purposes, the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.
References
edit- ^ "Big West Conference - 2016 Standings". d1Baseball.com. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
- ^ Baseball Coaches Poll
- ^ Baseball America College: Top 25
- ^ NCAA DIV I Baseball Polls-Collegiate Baseball Newspaper
- ^ NCBWA Division I poll