Fresno State baseball coach Mike Batesole abruptly retires. Who will coach Bulldogs in 2023?

Fresno State baseball coach Mike Batesole, who led the Bulldogs to a College World Series championship and helped churn out a long list of pros that includes New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, announced Friday that he is retiring effective immediately.

The move has been in the works for months and is not related to any health issue, according to an athletics department source.

But it does come at an awkward time for the program with the 2023 season starting in less than two months — Opening day in NCAA Division I is Feb. 17.

In addition, Batesole had signed in December 2021 a four-year contract extension through 2026.

“After 30 years of service in the California State System. Mission Accomplished,” Batesole said in a message on the Fresno State athletics website. “The leadership of our program remains rock solid. President (Saul) Jimenez-Sandoval gets it. Terry Tumey is the best AD west of Texas. I am so proud to have worked under two men who are super smart and care so much about their people.

“The backbone of our program — the support from our Administration, Alumni, local community, and our Dugout Club is passionate about Bulldog Baseball,” Batesole further said. “Our players are the best in the Mountain West — best pitching, best up the middle and best new-comers.

“Along with our signed recruits, we are primed to win the next three Championships. Gonna miss the clubhouse. The timing is right. Great leadership, great support, great players, and smart timing. We are poised for success. Thank You, Red Wave! Go ’Dogs!”

Who will succeed Batesole?

Ryan Overland, who was a catcher on the Bulldogs’ 2008 College World Series national championship team and an assistant to Batesole the past 10 seasons, will serve as head coach on an interim basis.

The Bulldogs will conduct a national search for a replacement, and the challenge will be great to find someone who can impact the program as much as Batesole had.

Batesole went 639-501-1 overall in 20 seasons at the university and helped develop several top college players, including a few who enjoyed success in the Majors such as Yankees All-Star Judge.

Nonetheless, Batesole could be sometimes difficult to work with. He once was described by a former athletics department official as the most polarizing coach in the department.

But Fresno State definitely was successful during the coach’s tenure.

“Bates,” as he was often called by those closest to him, led the Bulldogs to seven conference championships and seven conference tournament titles.

He was the national coach of the year in 2008 when leading the Bulldogs to the first NCAA championship in a men’s team sport in school history, and four times was honored as a conference coach of the year.

The Bulldogs’ most recent title came in 2019 when winning the Mountain West Conference regular-season and tournament championships before losing in the NCAA Tournament Stanford Regional.

Fresno State was 9-7 in 2020 when its season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then the Bulldogs went 20-25 overall and 16-18 in the Mountain West for fifth in the conference. Last season, Fresno State finished 27-28 overall and 15-15 in the conference to finish tied for fourth in the Mountain West.

Batesole’s winning percentage at Fresno State is third among the Big Three with Bob Bennett and Pete Beiden, who won 1,302 and 601 games.

For his career, Batesole is 895-659-2 overall, which includes nine seasons at Cal State Northridge (he has the highest winning percentage and second-most wins in its history) before replacing Bennett in 2003.

“This isn’t 600 wins for me, this is 600 more wins for Fresno State baseball,” Batesole said, after recording win No. 600 at the university with an April 10, 2021 victory over Air Force. “That’s the good news. We’ve always talked about how it takes everybody – our administration, not just now but going back to Scott Johnson and Dr. (John) Welty and the ones that hired us here. We’ve done our best to keep it going. Our local community, you just have to listen to the radio and you hear all the commercials and all the people who are supporting us and allowing us to do what we do.

“Our alumni are just off the charts, especially the guys from the ’80s that are my age. Those are my friends, not just alumni. The Dugout Club has just always been awesome. Our coaches, (Ryan Overland) has been with me for more than a decade and coach (Pat) Waer has been with me for over a decade – Coach Waer has been here for more than half of those (wins).

“And, the thing nobody ever talks about, how about the players? You have to have some pretty dang good players to get that many wins, all three of us coaches.”

Success in the Majors

That list of players is headlined by Judge, one of five Bulldogs first-round draft picks in the past 20 years.

Judge, who recently signed a nine-year contract extension worth a reported $360 million, hit an American League record 62 home runs last season and was voted the AL most valuable player. He also led the majors in on-base percentage, slugging percentage, runs scored and total bases.

Former Bulldogs Jimmy Lambert, Dylan Lee, Jordan Luplow, Taylor Ward, Justin Wilson and Austin Wynns also were in the majors last season.

“We cannot thank Mike Batesole enough for his 20 years of service to Fresno State and Bulldog Baseball,” Tumey said in a statement. “His accomplishments on the diamond, including over 600 wins and a national championship here at Fresno State, are only surpassed by the tremendous impact he made on hundreds of student-athletes throughout his career.

“There is no doubt that Mike Batesole joins Pete Beiden and Bob Bennett as legendary Diamond ’Dogs and one of the best coaches in Fresno State history.”

MIKE BATESOLE’S MILESTONE WINS AT FRESNO STATE

600: vs. Air Force, April 19, 2021

500: vs. San Jose State, April 30, 2017

400: vs. UNLV, April 5, 2014

300: at Nebraska, March 12, 2011

200: vs. New Mexico State, May 4, 2008

100: vs. Portland, March 5, 2006