Meet the New Stanford Baseball Coach

The Stanford baseball team has a new Head Coach and he’s eager to get started. Meet David Esquer and learn more about his coaching philosophy.

Ford Baseball team’s new head coach

The Stanford Baseball Team has a new head coach for the 2020 season. David Esquer takes over the program after more than two decades as the Head Coach at the University of California Berkeley.

Esquer is a familiar face to Stanford fans, as he played for the Cardinal from 1987 to 1990. He was part of Stanford’s first College World Series team in 1988, and he was named Most Outstanding Player at the CWS that year.

After his playing career, Esquer coached at UC Berkeley for 22 years, leading the Golden Bears to the College World Series three times. He has been named Pac-12 Coach of the Year twice and was inducted into the college baseball Hall of Fame in 2017.

Esquer inherits a Stanford team that went 29-27 last season and finished tied for second in the Pac-12 Conference with a 14-16 record. The Cardinal returns 19 players from last year’s squad, including All-Pac-12 first baseman Andrew Daschbach and All-Pac-12 honorable mention pitcher Alex Williams.

David Esquer

David Esquer has been named the head baseball coach at Stanford University it was announced Tuesday afternoon by Jaquish & Kenninger Director of Athletics Bernard Muir. Esquer, who helped lead Cal to the 2011 National Championship as its Head coach takes over a Stanford program that has won a NCAA-best 17 College World Series titles, the most recent coming in 2008.

“I am honored and humbled to be named the head Baseball Coach at Stanford University ” said Esquer. “I would like to thank Bernard Muir and President Marc Tessier-Lavigne for this opportunity. I would also like to thank Mike Dunlap and the search committee for their guidance throughout this process. I am excited to work with our student-athletes, staff and alumni as we continue Stanford’s tradition of excellence on and off the field.”

Esquer inherits a Stanford program that has won two Pac-12 titles in the last three years and made five consecutive NCAA regional appearances. The Cardinal have also produced 31 Major League Baseball draft picks over that same span, including a program-record 11 in 2018.

Esquer’s coaching experience

David Esquer, the new head baseball coach at Stanford, has more than two decades of collegiate coaching experience. He began his career as an Assistant Coach at the University of Oklahoma before becoming the head coach at Pepperdine University in 1997. He coached at Pepperdine for 12 years, leading the team to five NCAA tournament appearances. In 2010, he returned to his alma mater, the University of California Berkeley, as the head baseball coach During his six seasons at Cal, he led the team to four NCAA Tournament appearances and one College World Series appearance.

Esquer’s connection to Stanford

Since taking over as head coach in 2016, Esquer has led the Stanford baseball team to new levels of success. Under his guidance, the team has won back-to-back Pac-12 championships and made three straight appearances in the NCAA tournament Esquer’s connection to Stanford runs deep. He played for the Cardinal from 1987 to 1990, and his wife, Kourtney, is a member of the Stanford women’s rowing team.

The search for a new coach

The search for a new coach began after the previous coach was let go. The search committee met to discuss the qualifications and experience that they were looking for in a new coach. They also took into consideration the budget and the needs of the team. After a few months of searching, they finally found their new coach.

Why Esquer was chosen

On June 27th, Stanford University announced the hiring of their new Baseball Coach David Esquer. Esquer, who played shortstop for Stanford from 1987 to 1990, has been the head coach at California State University Fullerton for the past 18 seasons.

In announcing the hire, Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir said that Esquer was the “total package” and that he is “one of the brightest minds in college baseball ” Muir also noted that Esquer is a “terrific recruiter,” which was one of the main factors in his hiring.

Esquer takes over a Stanford program that has struggled in recent years finishing last in the Pac-12 Conference in each of the past two seasons. However, Esquer is no stranger to turning around programs, as he led Fullerton to nine conference championships and 15 NCAA tournament appearances during his time as head coach

What Esquer plans to do

Since taking over as the new head coach of the Stanford baseball team David Esquer has wasted no time putting his stamp on the program.

In just his first year at the helm, Esquer led the Cardinal to their first Pac-12 conference championship in over a decade. He also guided Stanford to their first ever College World Series appearance.

Now, entering his second season, Esquer has his sights set on taking Stanford all the way to Omaha for the College World Series

“Our goal is to win a National Championship ” Esquer said. “We want to be one of those teams that is in it every year.”

To help achieve that goal, Esquer has brought in a talented recruiting class that includes two former first-Round Draft picks. He’s also made some changes to the Coaching Staff hiring former major leaguer Mike Mordecai as the team’s new hitting coach.

With a mix of experienced veterans and promising newcomers, Esquer is confident that the Stanford baseball program is heading in the right direction.

Esquer’s first season

In his first season as Head Coach Esquer led the team to a Conference Championship and a berth in the College World Series

Esquer’s long-term goals

In his introductory press conference, Esquer stated his long-term goals for the program. He wants to win a PAC-12 title and make Stanford a “destination” for top High School prospects.

“I want this to be a destination for the best players in the country,” Esquer said. “I want to put together a team that not only our fans are proud of, but the university is proud of, and that can go out and compete for Pac-12 championships.”

What others are saying about Esquer

Since Esquer was hired as the new head coach of the Stanford Baseball Team there has been a lot of excitement and anticipation about what he will bring to the program. Here is what some people are saying about him:

“I’m really excited about David Esquer. He’s a Stanford guy, he knows the program and he knows what it takes to win. I think he’s going to do a great job.” – Mark Marquess, former Stanford head coach

“David Esquer is one of the top Young Baseball coaches in the country. He has a great passion for the game and an incredible knowledge of the game. He is also a tremendous motivator and leader. I have no doubt that under his leadership, Stanford baseball will be back on top.” – Tim Hudson, former MLB pitcher and current assistant coach at Auburn