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Rick Vanderhook enters his second season with the UCLA baseball program and his 25th season as an assistant coach. Vanderhook, who began coaching at UCLA in July 2008, serves as the Bruins' hitting and outfield coach.
In 2009, Vanderhook helped first baseman Cody Decker regain his power stroke, as he led the Pac-10 Conference with 21 home runs and finished third in slugging percentage (.683), fifth in runs scored (55) and sixth in runs batted in (53). Decker became the first UCLA player to lead the Pac-10 in home runs since 2000 and earned All-Pac-10 honors for the second season in his career.
Vanderhook arrived at UCLA after having spent 21 seasons as an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton and two seasons (1989-90) serving in the same capacity at Cal State Northridge, then an NCAA Division II program.
Vanderhook helped lead Cal State Fullerton to two national championships (1995, 2004) and 10 trips to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. Additionally, he helped guide Cal State Fullerton to six Super Regional triumphs, 16 Regional berths (13 since 1992) and 11 Big West Conference titles. As an assistant coach at Cal State Northridge, Vanderhook helped lead the Matadors to a 39-22 record and a NCAA Division II runner-up finish in 1990.
As a Division I assistant coach, Vanderhook has compiled a 913-399-2 (.696) record. Overall, he has registered a 982-440-2 (.690) mark and coached in five national championship games. While at Cal State Fullerton, Vanderhook helped the Titans' baseball program produce 125 major league draft picks, 52 All-America selections and 28 eventual major league players.
Vanderhook has coached nine first-round draft selections, five of which were offensive players. Likewise, he helped Cal State Fullerton produce six conference players of the year - Jeff Ferguson (1994), Mark Kotsay (1995, 1996), Spencer Oborn (1999), Shane Costa (2003) and Kurt Suzuki (2004). Additionally, Vanderhook has coached three National Player of the Year honorees - Phil Nevin (1992), Kotsay (1995) and Suzuki (2004).
Following his final season playing at Cal State Fullerton, Vanderhook began his Division I coaching career as an assistant in 1985 for head coach Augie Garrido. He served as the bullpen coach his first two seasons before stepping into the third-base coaching box and working with the hitters and defense in 1987.
As an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, Vanderhook was responsible for some of the most explosive offenses in the program's history. The 1999 Titans, who made the school's 10th College World Series appearance, set school records for single-season batting average (.338) and runs per game (9.2). Fullerton's 1998 squad set school records with 93 home runs, 28 triples and 167 doubles. Vanderhook also helped fine tune the 2003 squad, which ranked 10th in the nation in hitting (.329), 20th in scoring (7.9 runs per game) and among the top 30 in doubles and triples per game.
A product of the prominent Cerritos College program, where he played for head coach George Horton, Vanderhook originally came to Cal State Fullerton in 1983 and redshirted his first season. He was a member of the Titans' 1984 national championship team, earning his first of three Cal State Fullerton championship rings.
Vanderhook, 47, and his wife, April, reside in Yorba Linda, Calif., with their daughters, Noelle (12) and Autumn (10), and their son, R.J. (8).
