UC Riverside welcomed Troy Percival '91 back to the Highlanders family as its new head baseball coach on July 29, 2014.
During his three years to date at UC Riverside, Percival has coached nine all-Big West performers, and had seven players selected in Major League Baseball's First Year Player Draft.
The Highlanders boasted one of the largest win increases in the nation in 2016, improving by 11 victories. That season, UC Riverside tied for fourth place in the Big West Conference standings, which is the programs highest finish since 2010.
Percival was a catcher during his three years with the Highlanders, and was drafted after his junior year by the California Angels in the sixth round of the 1990 Amateur Draft.
Following a year as a catcher in the minors, Percival was converted to a relief pitcher, and during his rookie season of 1995, he finished fourth in American League Rookie of the Year balloting, going 3-2 with three saves and a 1.95 ERA, striking out 94 batters in 74.0 innings. The Angels made him their full-time closer in 1996, and he rewarded them by recording 36 saves and striking out 100 batters in 74.0 innings. Percival earned his first of four All-Star nods that season as he finished fourth in the league in saves.
Two years later he would notch 42 saves, the second most in Angels history at the time, en route to his second All-Star selection. Percival recorded 30 or more saves in each of the next six seasons, including the 2002 campaign where he went 4-1 with a 1.92 ERA and 40 saves. He also was credited with seven saves during the Angels 2002 postseason run, including Game 7 of the Halos' World Series victory over the San Francisco Giants.
By the time his professional career ended in 2009, Percival had 358 saves on his big-league résumé, which is still ninth on Major League Baseball's all-time career list.
After his retirement from major league baseball, Percival worked as a volunteer pitching coach for Riverside Poly High School in Riverside (2010-12), and for the past two seasons has been the head coach at his high school alma mater, Moreno Valley High School. He also spent a year working in the Angels organization as a roving pitching instructor.
Percival has remained active with the Highlanders since being drafted by the Angels, working out with the team in preparation for spring training, and attending alumni games and golf fundraisers for the program. He also famously paid for and built the Highlanders' locker rooms at the Riverside Sports Complex prior to the 2007 season (
read the LA Times story).
