SAN DIEGO – Pitching Coach Sam Peraza has been promoted to Associate Head Coach, San Diego State baseball head coach Mark Martinez announced on Friday.
"I am very thankful for my promotion and happy to be a part of a program that has enjoyed great success and tradition," stated Peraza. "I would like to thank Coach Martinez and John David Wicker for making this possible. My family loves being a part of the San Diego community and I am excited to keep doing everything I can to continue our momentum, help our guys achieve their goals on and off the field and get to Omaha."
Since Peraza's arrival before the 2016 season, the Aztecs have steadily featured one of the best pitching staffs in the Mountain West. Over the last three years, the Aztecs own a 4.14 earned run average to lead the conference.
"I would like to thank Sam and his family for committing to the mission of our San Diego State baseball family," said Martinez. "Prior to San Diego State and since his arrival on the Mesa, Sam has established himself as one of the top pitching coaches in the country. His wealth of experience at all collegiate levels has provided us with extensive knowledge in all aspects of championship programming."
"Sam has earned this opportunity through his diligence, hard work, and infusing himself into the day-to-day operation of our program."
In 2019, Peraza directed SDSU to a second-place finish in the conference in ERA despite losing all three opening weekend starters due to injury as the Aztecs were the only team in the nation in 2019 to lose all three of their weekend starters for more than half of the season. Two of SDSU's top three leaders in innings pitched earned All-Mountain West honors in 2019, including second-team honoree Justin Goossen-Brown and first-team selection Adrian Mardueno, who's 2019 season featured a Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week award on April 8 while he currently stands 15th in the nation with a 1.93 ERA.
The Aztecs had a record-setting year in terms of strikeouts in 2019, logging a Mountain West era record 26 games with 10 or more strikeouts and besting the previous mark of 24 set in 2009.
The Aztecs won their fifth Mountain West Championship in the previous six years in 2018, becoming the only team in the nation with five conference tournament championships over that six-year span. The Aztecs had a trio of pitchers earn all-Mountain West honors, including 2018 Mountain West Co-Pitcher of the Year Garrett Hill. Hill's award gave the Aztecs their second consecutive Pitcher of the Year after Brett Seeburger won the honor in 2017.
Casey Schmitt, SDSU's freshman closer during the 2018 campaign, became the Aztecs' first Baseball American First-Team Freshman All-American since Stephen Strasburg in 2007. Schmitt set SDSU's single-season ERA record (minimum 30 IP) with a 0.28 mark and carried over a 25.2 consecutive scoreless innings streak heading into the 2019 season.
The Aztec bullpen has been a staple of the program over the last four years under Peraza's watch. The Aztecs owned an 86-game winning streak when leading after eight innings until early in the 2019 season. At the time the streak ended, it stood as one of the top five longest active streaks in the nation.
Six Aztec pitchers over the last three seasons have been drafted in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft including 11th round selection Logan Boyer and 20th round draftee Adrian Mardueno earlier this month.
The Aztecs will enter the 2020 season with a Mountain West-high six 30+ win seasons in the last seven years. Nine pitchers and seven position player starters are expected to return to campus in the fall.