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NORTHRIDGE, Calif.—CSUN head baseball coach Eddie Cornejo has announced additions to his coaching staff for the 2024-25 year. Joining the Matadors this season will be Jon Strauss as pitching coach while Nate Esposito will serve as an assistant coach and Brendan Brooks takes over as director of player development.
“I’m really excited how our staff has turned out this summer,” said Cornejo. “We recruited experienced, caring and competitive coaches to help us continue to grow this program. The Valley attracts individuals that have something to prove, and our coaches exude that sentiment.”
Strauss brings to CSUN nearly 30 years of coaching experience. He completed a seven-year stint on the coaching staff at Baylor (2016-22), helping the Bears to three NCAA Regional appearances from 2017-19. In 2017, Strauss mentored a decorated pitching staff in All-American closer Troy Montemayor and Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Montana Parsons. Strauss coached five pitchers to All-Big 12 honors, three of which were drafted in Cody Bradford along with All-Americans Kyle Hill and Luke Boyd. In 2018, Strauss earned recognition as one of the top assistants by D1Baseball as his pitching staff boasted the lowest ERA in the Big 12 while Bradford became the first Big 12 Pitcher of the Year in program history.
Strauss spent six seasons at Pepperdine (2010-15) as the team’s pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, helping the Waves to a pair WCC regular season titles, two WCC Tournament titles, three NCAA Regional appearances and one Super Regional berth while he developed 12 pitchers that were selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft.
Prior to Pepperdine, Strauss completed three different stints at Long Beach State as an assistant coach from 1995-00, 2006 and 2008-09. He would help the Dirtbags to three Big West championships along with three NCAA Tournament appearances, highlighted by a third-place finish at the 1998 College World Series. In 2008, Strauss helped coached five pitchers that were selected in the first five rounds of the MLB Draft including Big West Pitcher of the Year Andrew Liebel while 65 total pitchers signed pro contracts. Strauss’ coaching career also includes stops at San José State and LMU, and a head coaching stint at Glendale Community College where he compiled a 66-25 overall record and two league titles while being named Western State Conference Coach of the Year.
As a player, Strauss spent two seasons at the College of the Canyons before playing at catcher at Long Beach State for College World Series runs in 1993 and 1994. After college, Strauss spent a year in the New York Yankees’ organization.
Esposito comes to Northridge after serving as an undergraduate assistant coach at Oregon State from 2023-24. During his time with the Beavers, he worked with the team’s catchers and served as first base coach. With Esposito on the bench, the Beavers posted a pair of 40-win seasons and NCAA Tournament berths each season, highlighted by a Super Regional appearance in 2024.
As a player, Esposito lettered and played at catcher with Oregon State from 2012-14, playing in 41 games before concluding his collegiate career at Concordia-Portland.
Esposito was selected in the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Kansas City Royals as he went on to complete six years in professional baseball. In the Royals’ organization, Esposito played in 228 total games and advanced to the Triple-A level where he amassed 145 hits, 27 doubles, four home runs and 56 RBI over his career. Esposito retired from professional baseball after 17 games with Triple-A Omaha in 2021.
Prior to college and pro ball, Esposito was a standout prep player at Granite Bay High School where he was an all-league and all-city selection while he played in the 2010 Area Code Games. He was also drafted out of high school by the Oakland Athletics in 2011.
Brooks joins CSUN after serving as an assistant coach at Riverside City College from 2023-24. He helped the Tigers post a 27-17 record this past season, advancing to the SoCal Super Regional round.
Brooks began his collegiate career at UC Irvine playing for head coach Mike Gillespie where he spent two seasons from 2018-19. He led UCI in batting as a freshman, earning All-Big West Honorable Mention accolades while he helped the Anteaters to consecutive 30-win seasons.
Brooks would finish his collegiate career at UNLV, playing his last two seasons with the Rebels. As a senior, he was awarded All-Mountain West First Team honors as a shortstop after batting .407 with five homers and 22 RBI. Brooks also led the Rebels in on-base percentage (.538) and walks in his final season.
A SoCal native, Brooks played prep baseball at Norco High School where he was a four-year all-league player at shortstop.
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Source link : https://gomatadors.com/news/2024/7/24/baseball-cornejo-announces-coaching-staff-additions-for-2025.aspx
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Publish date : 2024-07-25 07:54:19
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