Troy Buckley
Buckley in 1988
Current position
TitlePitching coach
TeamFresno State
ConferenceMountain West
Biographical details
Born (1968-03-03) March 3, 1968 (age 56)
Los Altos, California, U.S.
Playing career
1987–1989Santa Clara
Position(s)Catcher
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1998–2000Santa Clara (asst.)
2001–2007Long Beach State (asst.)
2010Long Beach State (asst.)
2011–2019Long Beach State
2020–2022Nevada (AHC/PC)
2023–presentFresno State (PC)
Head coaching record
Overall260–231–1
TournamentsNCAA: 9–7
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
  • Big West (2017)
Awards
  • Big West Coach of the Year (2017)

Troy William Buckley (born March 3, 1968) is an American college baseball coach and former catcher. He is the pitching coach for the Fresno State Bulldogs. He played college baseball at Santa Clara University from 1987 to 1989 for coach John Oldham. He served as the head coach at California State University, Long Beach from 2011 season until April 11, 2019.[1][2] He has also coached in the minor league systems of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Expos.

Playing career

Born in Los Altos, California, Buckley attended Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, California, earning all-conference honors from the San Jose Mercury News as a senior in 1986.[3][4] At Santa Clara University, Buckley played at catcher from 1987 to 1989 on the Santa Clara Broncos baseball team.[5] Buckley earned West Coast Conference Player of the Year and second-team All-American honors in 1988.[6] After the 1988 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[7] He was drafted in the ninth round of the 1989 Major League Baseball Draft by the Minnesota Twins. He played in the minor leagues from 1990 to 1995, rising as high as Class-AAA before turning to coaching.[1][8]

Coaching career

Buckley began coaching with the Montreal Expos Class AA affiliate as a hitting instructor and third base coach. After one season at Ottawa, he became a pitching coach for the GCL Expos. Santa Clara then hired him as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, a post in which he served for three seasons before moving to Long Beach State in the same capacity. With the 49ers, Buckley coached future All Star Jered Weaver, among many others. Weaver won the Dick Howser Trophy and Roger Clemens Award for National Player of the Year and pitcher of the year in college baseball. The 49ers (also known as the Dirtbags) were among the nation's best in team ERA, finishing in the top 5 nationally three times.[1][9]

In 2008, Buckley accepted the role of pitching coordinator for the Pittsburgh Pirates minor league system.[10] He served in that role for two seasons before returning to Long Beach State as associate head coach. Buckley served in that role for one year before taking the head coaching role in 2011. In his three years back with the 49ers, the team ERA has improved from 4.67 to a Big West Conference-best 3.08 and finished above .500 in both seasons with Buckley as head coach.[1][9]

On April 11, 2019, Long Beach State fired Buckley after the Dirtbags started the 2019 season 5–26, including 0–3 in conference games. Assistant coaches Greg Bergeron and Dan Ricabal became interim co-head coaches.[11]

On July 9, 2019, Buckley was named the associate head coach and pitching coach at the University of Nevada, Reno.[12]

On December 8, 2022, Buckley was named the pitching coach at Fresno State.[13]

Head coaching record

Below is a table of Buckley's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.[14][15]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Long Beach State Dirtbags (Big West Conference) (2011–2019)
2011 Long Beach State 29–27 12–12 4th
2012 Long Beach State 28–27 15–9 3rd
2013 Long Beach State 29–27 15–12 T–4th
2014 Long Beach State 34–26 17–7 2nd NCAA Regional
2015 Long Beach State 28–26 11–13 6th
2016 Long Beach State 38–22 15–9 3rd NCAA Regional
2017 Long Beach State 42–20–1 20–4 1st NCAA Super Regional
2018 Long Beach State 27–30 12–12 5th
2019 Long Beach State 5–26 [a] 0–3
Long Beach State: 260–231–1 117–81
Total: 260–231–1

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Notes

  1. ^ Buckley was dismissed from Long Beach State on April 11, 2019, three games into Big West play. The standings reflect the team's position at the time of Buckley's departure.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Troy Buckley profile". longbeachstate.com. Long Beach State. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  2. ^ Grosbard, Adam (April 11, 2019). "Long Beach State parts ways with baseball coach Troy Buckley". Long Beach Press-Telegram. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  3. ^ "All-Mercury News baseball teams from the 1980s". 7 May 2010.
  4. ^ "Troy Buckley Player Card - the Baseball Cube".
  5. ^ "Four Broncos Named To WCC's 40th Anniversary Team". Santa Clara University. January 3, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  6. ^ "Baseball Coaching Staff". santaclarabroncos.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2000. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  7. ^ "All-Time Cotuit Kettleers Alumni". kettleers.org. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  8. ^ "Troy Buckley Minor Leagues Statistics & History".
  9. ^ a b Kendall Rogers (August 25, 2009). "Buckley's return huge for Long Beach State". yahoo.com. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
  10. ^ Aaron Fitt (December 18, 2007). "LBSU's Buckley Returns To Pro Ball". Baseball America. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
  11. ^ "Long Beach State parts ways with baseball coach Troy Buckley". Long Beach Press-Telegram. April 11, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  12. ^ "Nevada baseball adds Troy Buckley to staff". www.kolotv.com. Gray Digital Media. July 9, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2019.
  13. ^ "Buckley added to Diamond 'Dog staff". www.gobulldogs.com. Fresno State Athletics. December 8, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  14. ^ "2012 Big West Conference Baseball Media Guide" (PDF). BigWest.org. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  15. ^ "2013 Big West Conference Baseball Standings". D1Baseball.com. Jeremy Mills. Archived from the original on May 15, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
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