UC Riverside

The Highlanders have two Division II National Championships (1977, 1982) and one Big West Conference Championship (2007) which are recognized with their inclusion on the Wall of Honor located in right-center field at The Plex. Six jersey numbers (Jack Carroll's #1, Jack Smitheran's #2, Doug Smith's #12, Eric Show's #19, Don Edwards' #30, and Troy Percival's #40) also adorn the Wall of Honor. The Wall also celebrates the life of Paul Bargas, a three-year member of the Highlanders, who passed away at the age of 23 from brain cancer.

1977 National Champions
In head coach Jack Smitheran's fifth season at UC Riverside, the Highlanders claimed the program's first national title while setting a new single season record for victories with a 43-19 mark. The Highlanders were led by Division II's top two hurlers, as Dale Reis went 16-1 and Steve Glaum was 13-4. UCR's staff also featured future Major Leaguer Eric Show. At the plate, Jeff Carsley led the nation with 102 hits en route to a .416 batting average. Another future big leaguer, Steve Lubratich, stepped up with a .344 average. UCR opened the season in non-descript fashion, going 6-4 over its first 10 games. The Highlanders seemed to catch fire in March, rattling off eight straight victories. After two losses, UCR again posted an eight-game winning streak to improve to 22-6. UCR rolled through the California Collegiate Athletic Association schedule with a 15-9 record to earn the program's second trip to the West Regional in three seasons. The double-elimination regional, held at Riverside, saw UCR open with victories over Cal State Hayward and Cal State Northridge. In the championship, Hayward bounced back for a 7-3 win to set up a winner-takes-all rubber match. Up stepped Show, who tossed a

three-hitter to send the Highlanders to their first College World Series appearance. Traveling to Springfield, Illinois, for the World Series, UCR pounded its first two opponents, beating Delta State 8-2 and blanking Missouri-St. Louis 12-0. The Highlanders stumbled against Eckerd College 8-2, but recovered to squeeze out an 8-7 win over Valdosta State. UCR then downed Delta 5-3 to set up a rematch against Eckerd. The championship game was a classic and featured a gritty outing from Glaum. Pitching for the third time in five days, Glaum threw a complete-game six-hitter with seven strikeouts as the Highlanders claimed the championship in just one hour, 55 minutes. Smitheran was named the Division II Coach of the Year.

1982 National Champions
While the 1977 championship team started strongly, the 1982 squad didn't figure it out until a little later in the year. After their second College World Series appearance had ended after two games the year before, UCR got off to a rocky start in 1982, losing six of its first eight games and didn't post a winning record

until the 39th game. Still, it's not how you start, it's how you finish, and boy did the Highlanders finish. UCR won 19 of its last 23 games, including dropping just one of its final 12 to roll through the postseason and finish at 36-23. UCR went 19-10 during CCAA play, completing the schedule with four straight victories to claim the league title. Hosting the NCAA West Regionals, UCR beat San Francisco State and Cal State Northridge but the Matadors returned the favor in the third game. Facing off in another one-game series, UCR emerged victorious over CSUN with a 7-4 win. UCR would stay at home again for the College World Series, opening up with a 6-1 win over Longwood. Back-to-back one-run victories over New Haven and Florida Southern set up the championship game rematch against Florida Southern. The Highlanders made it no contest, routing the Moccasins 10-1 for their second national title. In doing so, UCR became the sixth team to go undefeated through CWS play. UCR was led by All Americans Curtis Smith and Matt Held, who hit .378 and .341, respectively. On the mound, Scott Wanzer went 13-6 with 17 complete games while Bill Mierzwik had a 10-5 mark. For the second time in his career, Smitheran was named the Division II Coach of the Year.

2007 Big West Conference Champions

On the strength of veteran pitching and timely hitting, the Highlanders went 38-21 on the season and 16-5 in the Big West, winning their first  conference title at the Division I level. Junior righthander James Simmons was dominant as the Highlanders' Friday starter, posting an 11-3 record with a 2.40 ERA in 123.2 innings. Senior southpaw Marc Rzepcynski was 6-2 with a 2.72 ERA, giving UCR a solid one-two punch at the top of the rotation. On the back end, freshman closer Joe Kelly, a converted outfielder, had a dominant campaign with a 3-1 record, 6 saves and a 1.32 ERA. As a team, UCR posted a 3.68 ERA. At the plate, freshman right fielder Joey Gonzales paced the team with a .356 batting average. Senior shortstop Jaime Pedroza had a torrid season, hitting .325 with team highs of 13 homers and 55 RBI and junior left fielder Aaron Wible was right behind with a .313 average, 10 homers and 51 RBI. To win the conference title, the Highlanders needed to win just one game over No. 10 ranked UC Irvine. That win came on Saturday, May 26 behind an outstanding pitching performance by Matt Montgomery, who had moved into the rotation following an injury to Rzepcynski. Montgomery, who went 5-0 in the regular season, dominated the Anteaters, throwing 8.1 innings of seven-hit work to help the Highlanders to a 4-2 win and the Big West title. The Highlanders made their second trip to the postseason, being sent to the Arizona State Regional as the No. 2 seed. UCR opened the tournament with a 10-5 win over No. 3 seeded Nebraska, but lost to top-seeded and No. 6 ranked Arizona State and then fell to Nebraska to be eliminated from the tournament. Following the season, eight Highlanders earned All-Conference honors, led by first team selections Pedroza, Simmons and Kelly. Simmons was named Big West Pitcher of the Year, Gonzales Big West Freshman of the Year, Kelly Big West Freshman Pitcher of the Year, and Head Coach Doug Smith Big West Coach of the Year. Kelly and Gonzales each earned Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American and Ping! Baseball Freshman Second Team honors. Pedroza and Simmons became the first Highlander teammates at the Division I level to earn Baseball America All-America honors, each being named to the second team. Simmons also earned Collegiate Baseball Third Team All-American honors and Rivals.com First Team All-American. A few days later, he was selected 26th overall by the Oakland Athletics in the Major League Baseball Draft. A total of 10 Highlanders were selected in the draft. Freshman Joe Kelly was named to the USA Baseball National Team.

#1 Jack Carroll
Jack Carroll never played a game for the Highlanders, but he was honored posthumously in 1998 as UCR's No. 1 fan. A long time booster, Carroll was involved in all levels of baseball in the Riverside community. Said Highlanders head coach Doug Smith, "if you grew up in Riverside and you played baseball, there's a good chance that at one time Jack Carroll gave you a glove or a pair of cleats or helped you out in some way or another. He was just a great believer in the long-term   benefits of children participating in sports, particularly baseball, and he gave a good part of his life to helping others using youth baseball as his medium. "His presence in the community is sorely missed, but hopefully by keeping his memory alive on our Wall of Honor new generations of Riverside baseball players will learn about Jack's good works and be challenged to emulate him and give back to the community as he did." The Highlanders still use the number 1, but Jack Carroll will always be known as the team's number 1 fan.

#2 Jack Smitheran
On January 28, 2006, former UCR head coach Jack Smitheran added to his list of numerous honors by having his #2 jersey retired in a ceremony during the Alumni Game at the Riverside Baseball Complex. It was the latest in a long list of accolades for the Hall of Fame Head Coach, who led the Highlanders for 31 seasons. In a collegiate coaching career spanning 35 years, Smitheran posted a record of 1,097-770-3, including a 974-709-3 mark in 31 years at UC Riverside and a 104-69 record in three years at the Division I level. In his tenure, he guided the evolution of the Highlander program from an unknown Division II school into a Division II NCAA champion and eventually into a Division I postseason qualifier. Among his coaching successes are the Highlanders' 2003 appearance at the NCAA Division I West Regional, eight California Collegiate Athletics Association titles, 10 NCAA Division II West Regional appearances, trips to five Division II College World Series and two NCAA Division II National Championships. He was also named CCAA Coach of the Year eight times in his career, and had nine of his former players reach the big leagues, including current Highlanders' Head Coach Troy Percival.

Smitheran's career coaching highlights:

• 1970 - Named Head Baseball Coach at Emporia State University (KS). Leads school to NAIA World Series in first season.
• 1971 - Named District X Coach of the Year.
• 1972 - Won second consecutive District X Coach of the Year award.
• 1974 - Named Head Baseball Coach at UC Riverside.
• 1975 - Led UCR to NCAA regionals in his second season.
• 1977 - Guided the Highlanders to a 43-19 record and the program's first Division II National Championship. Named NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year.
• 1981 - UCR wins West Regional and advances to College World Series.
• 1982 - UCR wins 19 of its last 23 games, capturing the school's second Division II National Championship. Named CCAA Coach of the Year, District Coach of the Year, and Division II National Coach of the Year for the second time.
• 1984 - Earned Coach of the Year award at Liberal, KS, in a semi-pro league.
• 1998 - Became just the fifth NCAA Division II coach to achieve 900 career victories.
• May 2004 - Inducted into the Riverside Sport Hall of Fame.
• April 2004 - Named one of three assistant coaches for the 2004 USA Baseball National Team that won the Gold Medal at the FISU World University Championships.
• 2003 - Led UCR to 41-17 record and first Division I Regional appearance in the program's third season at the Division I level.
• January 2002 - Inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
• February 17, 2002 - Won his 1,000th career game.
• October 2002 - Given the "Spirit of the Dove Award" by ARC of Riverside in recognition of his work with the youth of Riverside.
• 2011 - Enshrined into the UC Riverside Athletics Hall of Fame

#12 Doug Smith
Smith graduated from UC Riverside in 1975 with bachelor's degrees in sociology and political science. An outstanding catcher, his senior year was highlighted by his performance in the Riverside Baseball Invitational Tournament, where he helped lead the Highlanders to their first-ever title, and was the leading hitter at .471. Following the season he was named All-CCAA First Team. Smith served as a part-time assistant coach from 1976 through 1980 while he pursued a master's degree in physical education from Cal Poly Pomona. The 1977 squad won the Highlanders first of two NCAA Division II National Championships. After taking three years off to venture into private business, Smith returned to the Highlanders in 1983 and remained a fixture in the UC Riverside dugout for the next 31 years. He was appointed as the fourth head baseball coach in UC Riverside history in September 2004, and after 10 seasons at the helm of the Highlanders, Smith retired on June 3, 2014 with an overall record of 272-264 including a 117-117 mark in Big West competition. That includes UC Riverside's first Big West Conference Baseball Championship in 2007 and a trip to the NCAA Regionals that same year. After the season, with a program-best conference record of 16-5 in tow, Smith was named Big West Coach of the Year. In a collegiate career spanning nearly 2,000 games, Smith has helped the Highlanders to 10 postseason appearances, including one Division II National Championship, one Big West Conference Title, and two NCAA Division I West Regional appearances. In his career, Smith has coached over 200 all-conference selections and 34 All-America selections. During that time, nearly 150 of his players have been signed to professional contracts, and 15 made it to the big league,s including current UC Riverside Head Coach, and Los Angeles Angels World Series closer, Troy Percival.

#19 Eric Show
A native of Riverside, Eric Show was a four-year starter for the Highlanders from 1975-78 and a key member of the rotation during UCR's first national championship seasion of 1977. In the double-elemination regional that season, Show pitched a three-hit, 6-0 shutout over Cal State Hayward to send the Highlanders to their first College World Series appearance. "Baseball's only right-handed flake," as he once described himself to the Press Enterprise, led UCR in wins as a freshman and a senior and his 14 compelte games still rank 6th on the Highlanders career charts. Upon graduation, Show's 279 innings pitched were the tops in the history of the program as were his 187 strikeouts. In June of 1978, the San Diego Padres selected him in the 18th round of the draft. Three years later, he made his major league debut, and in 1983, Show moved into the Padres starting rotation. He won 15 games that year for San Diego and was the team's ace again the following season when the Padres made their first-ever World Series appearance. The Highlanders retied Show's No. 19 in 1985, and inducted him into the UC Riverside Athletics Hall of Fame on June 12, 1986. Baseball infamy came calling for Show on September 11, 1985 when he gave up a single to Pete Rose, allowing Rose to pass Ty Cobb as Major League Baseball's all-time hit king. In 1989, Show and his wife, Cara Mia, provided the funds to endow a baseball scholarship at UC Riverside which continues to provide Highlanders student-athletes with the opportunity to excel in the classroom and on the diamond. Show would go on to win 101 games in his big-league career including 100 for the Padres - a franchise record which still stands to this day. The Padres released Show following the 1990 season, and he signed with the Oakland Athletics for the 1991 campaign. He appeared in five games the A's that season, making his final major league appearance on September 30, 1991 against the Kansas City Royals. An accomplished musician, especially on the guitar, Show recorded two albums - "America . . . 4/4 to Go" and a 1989 Christmas album entitled "Oh Holy Night." Sadly, on March 16, 1994, Eric Vaughn Show passed away at the age of 37.

#20 Paul Bargas
Bargas joined the Highlanders prior to his sophomore year in 2008 and pitched two seasons wearing the UC Riverside blue and gold. The Colorado Rockies drafted him in the 13th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, and he played for two years in the Rockies farm system before a trade sent him to the Minnesota Twins following the 2010 campaign. In early 2011, the Riverside, California native was diagnosed with brain cancer. Bargas battled the disease for a year and a half, but on June 26, 2012, he passed away at the age of 23.

#30 Don Edwards
Former Head Coach Don Edwards was instrumental in deveolping the first Highlanders baseball teams back in the mid 1950s, and became the team's head coach prior to the 1960 season. The 1966 season was a pivotal one for the Highlanders for two reasons: John Lowenstein, who would go on to a 15-year major league career with the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and Baltimore Orioles, became UC Riverside's first scholarship player that season; and Edwards and Assistant Coach Gary Adams came up with the idea to host an annual tournament featuring major Division I-caliber teams. Originally called the Riverside National Intercollegiate Baseball Tournament, Ohio State, UCLA, BYU, Mississippi State, Yale, Wyoming and Washington all traveled to Division II UC Riverside in the spring of 1967 to play in the week-long event that would eventually become known as the Riverside Baseball Invitational Tournament (RBI). Future big-leaguers such as Barry Bonds, Craig Biggio, Fred Lynn, Dave Kingman and Jack Morris all participated in the tournament during their collegiate careers, as the Highlanders attracted the cream of the baseball crop to the Inland Empire. In 1976 Edwards coached the US National Team in the Pan American Games and in 1994 he was elected to the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame. Edwards name and number were added to the UCR Baseball Wall of Honor on April 3, 2010, and he was inducted into the Riverside Sport Hall of Fame on May 10 of that same year.

#40 Troy Percival
Fontana native Troy Percival spent three seasons at UC Riverside wearing the number 26 underneath the "tools of ignorance" associated with the catching trade. So naturally, when honoring the 13-year major league veteran on January 25, 2003, the Highlanders retired the number 40 associated with a pitcher who recorded 352 major league saves (eighth at the time on the career list). Always known for his cannon arm, Percival was a defensive-minded catcher with the Highlanders. In his final season at UCR, Percival recorded the best fielding percentage by a catcher in school history, with a .993 fielding percentage, recording 240 putouts and 49 assists. His superb defense and strong arm perked the then California Angels' interest, and they drafted him in the sixth round of the 1990 draft eventually converting him to a pitcher. Playing for the Angels for his first 10 seasons in the bug leagues, Percival emerged as one of the best relievers in the game. A four-time all-star, Percival is the Angels' all-time leader in saves, including a career-high 42 in 1998. In the 2002 postseason for the Angeles, Percival recorded seven saves and picked up the final out of the World Series, to clinch the first World Series Championship in franchise history - a thrilling four games to three win over the San Francisco Giants. After stops in Detroit, St. Louis and Tampa Bay, Percival now has 352 career saves to his credit along with a career earned run average of 3.12 As an alumnus, Percival continues to make many contributions to the Athletics Department at UCR including in 2007 when he built the baseball team's current state-of-the-art locker room facilities with his own two hands.