Monthly Archives: May 2013

CBU to offer aviation science degree

       California Baptist University plans to unveil a program in aviation science beginning the fall semester of 2013. The Bachelor of Science degree program will likely include professional pilot and aviation management majors. Read more…

       Welcome to the CBU Lancer Compliance Corner.  Here you will find pertinent and timely information to keep you informed of NCAA rules that pertain to you – the Lancer Booster.  At any time, you can follow the links below to find additional information on our Athletics website or the NCAA website. To speak with someone in the Compliance Office, email dsnell@calbaptist.edu or call 951-343-4839.  Thank you and GO LANCERS!

CBU Boosters              NCAA Boosters

FAQ:

What are examples of impermissible recruiting activities?

   As a booster, you may not:

• Contact a prospect in-person on-campus or off campus.

• Contact a prospect by telephone, email, Internet or letter.

• Provide gifts or free or reduced-cost services to a prospect or the prospect’s relatives or guardian.

• Employ relatives, guardians or friends of a prospect as an inducement for the prospect’s enrollment and athletics participation at a university.

• Become directly or indirectly involved in making arrangements for a prospect or the prospect’s relatives or guardian to receive money or financial aid of any kind.

• Provide transportation for a prospect or the prospect’s relatives or guardian.

• Provide free or reduced-cost tickets for a prospect or the prospect’s relatives or guardian to attend an athletic event.

• Provide any material benefit (e.g., meals, cash) to the coach of a prospect, including high school, two-year college, AAU and summer team coaches.

Softball: Alumni did not let the rainy Saturday dampen their spirits on January 26. The scheduled alumni game was cancelled, but they still had fun with a luncheon and social in the Van Dyne Gymnasium.

Baseball: Due to rain, the Baseball Alumni Day was rescheduled to April 6 as CBU hosted Azusa Pacific University in a double-header.  The Alumni joined in a pre-game lunch reception full of fun activities for their families. The alumni were honored on the field in between games as they cheered on the CBU Lancers. View photos…

Men’s Soccer: Alumni enjoyed an intense game with the current men’s soccer team on March 23. The game was followed by lunch in the Alumni Dining Commons where the current team members and alumni were able to connect.

Women’s Soccer: A great turn-out for the Women’s Soccer program as many alumni and current athletes faced off in a full length game on April 13. The field was flooded with alumni at the end of the game as they were determined to win. The alumni then joined a luncheon social held at the women’s soccer team room. View photos…

Baseball wins the PacWest Conference Title and NCCAA National Title

 The Lancers won the PacWest title in dramatic fashion with a pair of walk-off wins in a doubleheader sweep at home against Point Loma. Five days later, the Lancers came out of the losers’ bracket to beat Fresno Pacific University twice in one day to win the NCCAA West Region title.

Just seven days after, it all culminated in what has to be one of the most dominating NCCAA World Series runs ever as the Lancers put the final cap on a 6-0 tournament with a 7-0 win over Southeastern to win the 2013 NCCAA World Series, their second straight national championship. The Lancers become the first team to repeat since Dallas Baptist University in 2004. Read more….

  Men’s Volleyball Climb as High as #5 in the Nation

 With two wins over UCLA, two wins over Hawaii, a win over USC and a win over the defending and eventual national champ UC Irvine, the Lancers ranked amongst the top five teams in the nation for the first time in program history.

Capping an incredible entry into the MPSF and NCAA Division I-II play this season, Levi Cabral was named to the AVCA NCAA D I-II All-American first team. The honor puts Cabral in a class with the 10 best players in the country, as he becomes the first Lancer named to the team. Already having earned All-MPSF honors this season, Cabral was also a two-time NAIA All-American during his career. He is the first player ever to earn first team honors in both the NAIA and NCAA D I-II. Read more…

Women’s Basketball – Conference Champs!

       A season ago California Baptist University fell one game short of a conference title, losing on the last day of the regular season. With nine seniors and a plethora of PacWest experience there was no way the 2013 Lancers were going to let that happen again.
It is the third conference championship in program history and first since 1990 for the Lancers. The win also gave CBU an 11-game winning streak to close the regular season. Read more…

 CBU Names Croy as Head Men’s   Basketball Coach

 California Baptist University Director of Athletics Dr. Micah Parker has announced Rick Croy as the Lancers’ new men’s basketball head coach. Croy, who becomes the 12th coach in program history, spent the past three years as the lead assistant coach at NCAA Division I St. Mary’s. During his time working under Head Coach Randy Bennett, the Gaels went 80-22 overall, winning two regular-season West Coast Conference championships and making two NCAA Tournament appearances. Read more…

Best of the Best- Esquerra

Zach Esquerra’s dream season reached a new level Wednesday when the California Baptist University slugger was named the 2013 Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) NCAA Division II National Player of the Year. Read more…

Wrestling

 Zach Merrill became California Baptist University’s first ever placer at the Cliff Keen Invitational . The 2012 Cliff Keen Invitational was stacked with seven of the top-10 NCAA Division I teams in the country.  It was the toughest invite on the schedule for CBU. Read more…

CBU Joins Golden Coast Conference

California Baptist University will be one of seven universities from the state of California to form a new collegiate women’s water polo conference that will begin competition in the spring of 2014.

Q:  What role does academics play in your program?
A:   It is essential to the athlete’s future career.  Academics take priority over athletics.

Q:  As a coach, how do you help ensure your players are getting the most out of their experience as a student-athlete?  
A:   We constantly stress the importance of academics during practice and the time we have with our athletes. We have an academic standard, and when our student-athletes’ academic performance falls below that standard, we work with them to schedule study hall hours and counseling sessions from our academic advisors. 

Q:  Briefly describe your coaching experience and name two coaching highlights during your career.
A:   I began coaching at the University of Iowa where I was on staff with legendary coach Dan Gable for four years.  I was in the program for a total of 12 years, learning the Iowa system that has been so successful over the years. My wife and I then moved to Alaska, where I coached at the high school level for eight years.  I later accepted the assistant coaching job at Indiana University and spent two years coaching and acquiring my masters degree in Slavic languages.  I spent one year at Culver Military Prep in Indiana before being hired at UC, Davis.  I was the head coach at UC Davis, for 10 years before budget caused the program to be dropped. My road then led me to California Baptist University where I currently serve as the head wrestling coach.
      There are many moments in my career that made a huge impact on my coaching. In 2007, I coached a walk-on wrestler, Dereck Moore, who went on to win the NCAA Division I Title and was named Outstanding Wrestler of the Year. Another impactful moment was when 5,400 people attended UC Davis to watch our team wrestle against Iowa University. 

Q:  You have accomplished so much during your time at CBU, what do you look forward to the most in 2013? 
A:   Competing for the Division II Team Title and individual titles per weight class.

Q:  Who do you admire the most in life?
A:  Steve Barrett, who was an NCAA Champion at Oklahoma State and a great international wrestler.  He became a missionary and has spent 13 years in Russia heading the Samaritans Purse branch, as well as being a missionary to the huge wrestling community of Russia. He has had a tremendous impact throughout the country. It seems that club coaches across the world know and have tremendous respect for him.  He had spent the past four years in southern Russia, primarily in the Muslim areas, until he was kicked out of the country.  He now serves in Mongolia and has provided the opportunity for several of my wrestlers to serve alongside him last year in Moldova.

Mike Brady is the owner of Lucky Air, Inc. and is a true Lancer fan through-and-through.  Having graduated from Cal State, San Bernardino, Brady studied psychology but later changed his path to construction engineering as he was eager to become a working professional. Brady is now the owner of a leading local company, Lucky Air, Inc.  The company stays focused on local business and gives back to the community by participating in the Community Action Program, which provides low income families with the opportunity to make houses more energy efficient. 

  Brady and his wife, April, have been married for three years with two boys and one girl, all under the age of 12. California Baptist University came into the family’s life when they began attending Sandals Church, which held their services on CBU’s campus. The family’s love for sports connected them quickly to Lancer Athletics. With their kids playing soccer and Brady coaching an AYSO team, the family took interest in attending the women’s soccer games. The Brady family felt they should give back to the team that had brought them so much joy and excitement and became major supporters of CBU soccer.

“We are blessed to be able to give in addition to our tithes with a sense of pride and accomplishment to women’s soccer,” Brady said, “In return, we have had opportunities multiply as the program has not only changed our family’s perspective on giving, they have given us an open door to bring our youth soccer teams to the games and experience CBU. I have also been blessed with having the opportunity to learn from Head Coach St. Clair and gain better knowledge of the sport from a coach’s perspective.”

In addition to Brady’s passion of soccer, he enjoys giving to the CBU team because he wants, “To encourage their success.”
 
“I would encourage others to support CBU athletics for countless reasons,” Brady said. “The feeling of giving back to a great university that gives back to so many others and enriches youth’s lives is the most rewarding feeling.”

Senior and first base starter, Sloan McHann from Modesto, Calif., became a Lancer in 2010. As a four-year varsity softball player at Modesto Christian High School, McHann earned numerous accolades including All-State recognition as a junior and senior, three-time All-Trans Valley League selection and was named Most Valuable Player three years in a row. The level of performance and outstanding talent McHann showed during her high school career earned her notice and scholarship offers from Division I programs all across the nation. CBU had thrown their name in the hat and heavily pursued McHann with high hopes to have her compete as a Lancer. Though scheduled to play in a recruiting showcase in San Diego, plans changed when the exhibition was cancelled due to wildfires. This gave McHann the opportunity to visit the CBU campus and meet with the coaching staff. She said she had an instant feeling of being at home while on campus and admired the Christian values, coaching staff and the level of play in the softball program.

“My dad guided me to choose a Christian college and to look at the big picture and life after college.” said McHann.

Having completed her fourth year at CBU, McHann has no regret in her decision to compete as a Lancer. She has continuously been an impact player for the Lancers. During her sophomore year, she started 70 games, was named to the All-GSAC team and NAIA All-Tournament team and, in her junior year, she led the team with 183 at bats and named to the All-PacWest second team. McHann continued to work hard to improve her career records as a senior. McHann was a stalwart at first base for CBU all year, starting 47 of the Lancers’ 49 games. The senior was second on the team with a .373 batting average, driving in 32 runs and hitting eight homers. She also had a team high of three triples this season and her eight homers were second for CBU.

McHann said a big part of her success has come from her “genuine coaches.” Personally, McHann said she strives to “focus on short-term goals that will turn into long-term success.”  Throughout McHann’s softball career, she said she has valued the opportunity of being an example of Christ through competition. McHann said she feels it is crucial for freshmen athletes to earn respect from teammates and she believes “every upperclassman should mentor new athletes just as they have done for me.”

McHann said she appreciates and greatly respects all of the individuals who have supported CBU Athletics. “I have a great appreciation for the softball field lights and the nice equipment.” McHann said.  “These things make a huge difference and create an amazing atmosphere to compete in.”

 Showing great pride in being a part of the Lancer softball legacy, McHann said she vows to always be involved in helping the softball program at CBU continue to succeed. The athlete said she looks forward to providing moral support to incoming athletes.

McHann recently graduated with her bachelor’s degree in kinesiology. Her goal is to become a registered dietician and to complete a master’s program.

With plans to use her experience as a competitive athlete throughout her life, she stated, “I have a passion to show people the effect of eating healthy and exercising properly.” 

McHann said she hopes to work with collegiate athletes to teach them about nutrition and a healthy lifestyle. Once McHann has established her career, she said she has every intention of financially supporting the CBU Softball Program. McHann said she hopes to help pave the way for young athletes to have the amazing experience that she has been blessed with during her time at CBU.

 As the 2012-13 athletic season draws to a close, I could not be more impressed by our Lancers and their accomplishments. The Lancers earned four PacWest Championships and finished 2nd in the PacWest Commissioner’s Cup.  Our student-athletes fulfilled facets of the NCAA Division II philosophy by showing outstanding effort in all areas of learning, service, passion, sportsmanship, resourcefulness and balance. This year, all of the programs had a winning record and maintained above a 3.0 grade point average. Their efforts and talents have demonstrated our depth as an athletic program.

 The Lancer Athletics Association (LAA) hosted two impactful events to close out the 2012-13 season. The 3rd Annual Senior Student-Athlete Banquet was held on April 28. We honored 85 students who have completed their athletic eligibility as a Lancer. Haynes Building Service, LLC, was honored with the title of Corporate Sponsor of the Year, and Mr. and Mrs. Pimpanit were selected as Philanthropists of the Year. Our top athletes were also acknowledged, Ingrid Carmona, Women’s Volleyball, was named Outstanding Female Student-Athlete of the Year, and Matt Marnati, Baseball, was named Outstanding Male Student-Athlete of the Year. Former NBA All-Star and coach, Paul Westphal gave an inspiring message about how to judge excellence. On April 29, the LAA hosted the 23rd annual Bruce Hitchcock Lancer Golf Classic. The tournament was sold out with LAA supporters at the Victoria Club in Riverside. The event was a huge success generating record breaking revenue to support our athletics fund. 

 We are proud to say we have completed our three-year transition phase to the NCAA Division II and have submitted our final report to the NCAA . We hope to inform you of our official acceptance into the NCAA in mid-July. The athletics department, and campus in general, look forward to the continued growth of CBU athletics and the continuation of the Lancer legacy.

 As an athletic department, we strive to provide our student-athletes with the best experience in the classroom, on the fields and courts and in the community. We are able to do this in large part because of your generous donations to the Lancer Athletics Association. Your participation does impact the quality of the experience we can provide our student-athletes. You truly are the “Team Behind The Team!”