July 13, 2010

MT. PLESANT, Mich. - UCLA head baseball coach John Savage has earned 2010 NCAA Division I Western Regional Coach of the Year honors, as announced by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA). Savage guided UCLA to a 51-17 record and their first-ever appearance in the finals of the College World Series.

Savage, who was named the 2010 National Coach of the Year by CollegeBaseballInsider.com in June, coached the Bruins to their third-ever appearance in the College World Series this season, UCLA's first trip to Omaha since 1997. The Bruins set a new school record for single-season wins (51) and most regular season victories (43).

After leading UCLA to a program-record 22-0 start in early April, Savage helped the Bruins engineer an exciting postseason run, highlighted by an NCAA Super Regional series victory over Cal State Fullerton followed by a berth in the best-of-three finals at the College World Series against South Carolina.

UCLA finished the season 34 games above the .500 plateau for the first time in school history. The Bruins finished second in the Pac-10 Conference, a league that sent eight of its 10 teams to the postseason. UCLA hosted an NCAA Regional for the first time since 1986, defeating Kent State, defending national champion LSU and UC Irvine to advance to their second NCAA Super Regional in the last four seasons.

Under Savage's guidance, the Bruins finished the season ranked No. 2 in every national poll, marking UCLA's highest ranking at the conclusion of a season in program history.