![]() Orloff (right) batting for the Tri-City ValleyCats in 2010 | |
Current position | |
---|---|
Title | Head coach |
Team | UC Irvine |
Conference | Big West |
Record | 203–97 (.677) |
Biographical details | |
Born | Simi Valley, California, U.S. | April 26, 1987
Playing career | |
2006–2009 | UC Irvine |
2009 | Greeneville Astros |
2009–2010 | Tri-City ValleyCats |
2011 | Lexington Legends |
2012 | Lancaster JetHawks |
2012–2013 | Corpus Christi Hooks |
Position(s) | Shortstop |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
2016–2018 | UC Irvine (asst) |
2019–present | UC Irvine |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 203–97 (.677) |
Tournaments | NCAA: 5–4 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
| |
Awards | |
| |
Ben Orloff (born April 26, 1987) is an American baseball coach and former shortstop, who is the current head baseball coach of the UC Irvine Anteaters. He played college baseball at UC Irivine for head coach Mike Gillespie, where he won the Brooks Wallace Award, as the nation's best college shortstop. He has also played in the World Baseball Classic, for the Israeli national baseball team, before pursuing a professional baseball career for the Houston Astros organization from 2009 to 2013. He retired on June 12, 2013, and became an assistant coach for the UC Irvine. [1] [2]
Orloff attended Simi Valley High School in Simi Valley, California, where he played for the school's baseball team as a shortstop, winning the California Interscholastic Federation championship in his junior year. [3] He then enrolled at the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine), where he played college baseball for the UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team in the Big West Conference (BWC). He began his freshman season as a second baseman, but became the team's starting shortstop later in the year. He led the nation in sacrifice hits as a freshman, but struggled with a .217 batting average. He improved his hitting in his sophomore season, [4] as he finished the year with a .324 average. [5]
After his junior year, in which Orloff had a .344 batting average, the Colorado Rockies drafted Orloff in the 19th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft, but he chose to return to college for his senior year. [5] In the 2009 season, Orloff had a .358 batting average and was named the BWC player of the year as the Anteaters won their first BWC championship in school history. Orloff received further recognition, as he won the Brooks Wallace Award as the nation's top collegiate shortstop, and received first-team All-America honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and third-team All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball . Orloff also set school records for career hits (280), runs scored (178), and games played (241). [6]
The Houston Astros drafted Orloff in the ninth round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft, and he signed. He suffered from elbow tendinitis in 2009, while playing for the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League (NYP). [7] Returning to Tri-City in 2010, Orloff led the team with a .307 batting average and 52 runs scored. He was named to the team's most valuable player and was recognized as a member of the NYP's all-star team. [8] He played for the Lexington Legends of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2011, [9] and the Lancaster JetHawks of the Class A-Advanced California League [10] and Corpus Christi Hooks of the Class AA Texas League in 2012. He returned to Corpus Christi in 2013, and retired 41 games into the season. [11]
Orloff, who is Jewish, played on the Israeli national baseball team during the qualifying round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic. [12] Orloff did not play in the opening game of the qualifier, [13] or in the final game. [14] Orloff's only appearance was as the starting second baseman in the second game, batting ninth, and going 0 for 3 and leaving 3 men on base. [15]
In 2013, Orloff rejoined UC Irvine's baseball team as an assistant coach. [11] Head coach Mike Gillespie retired after the 2018 season, and Orloff succeeded him as head coach. [16] In his third season with the Anteaters, Orloff lead the team to the Big West Conference championship, winning Coach of the Year in the conference. [17]
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UC Irvine Anteaters (Big West Conference)(2019–present) | |||||||||
2019 | UC Irvine | 37–17 | 17–7 | T-2nd | |||||
2020 | UC Irvine | 8–7 | 0–0 | Season canceled due to COVID-19 | |||||
2021 | UC Irvine | 43–18 | 32–8 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
2022 | UC Irvine | 32–24 | 16–14 | 6th | |||||
2023 | UC Irvine | 38–17 | 19–11 | 4th | |||||
2024 | UC Irvine | 45–14 | 22–8 | 2nd | NCAA Regional | ||||
UC Irvine: | 203–97 (.677) | 106–48 (.688) | |||||||
Total: | 203–97 (.677) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion |
The UC Irvine Anteaters are the athletic teams fielded by the University of California, Irvine. Its athletics programs participate in the NCAA's Division I, as members of the Big West Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. For earlier years of the school's existence, the teams participated at the Division II level with great success as explained below.
Michael James Gillespie was an American college baseball coach. He served as the head coach at UC Irvine and head coach at USC from 1987 to 2006. He led USC to the 1998 College World Series championship, having previously won it as a player in 1961.
Simi Valley High School (SVHS) is a public high school in Simi Valley, California. The school is part of the Simi Valley Unified School District and is located on the east side of the city.
Kevin Dornell Magee, was an American basketball player who played most of his professional career for Maccabi Tel Aviv. He played at the power forward and center positions. Magee played college basketball for the UCI Irvine Anteaters, earning All-American honors in both seasons. In 1993–94, he led the Israel Basketball Premier League in rebounds.
The UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of the University of California, Irvine. The team's home venue is Cicerone Field at Anteater Ballpark located on campus in Irvine, California. UC Irvine baseball has been a member of the NCAA Division I Big West Conference since the start of the 2002 season which was the Anteaters' first season of play following the university's decision to revive its baseball program after the sport had been dropped following the 1992 season.
The 2009 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team represented the University of California, Irvine in the NCAA Division I baseball season of 2009. The team played their home games at Anteater Ballpark in Irvine, California. The team was coached by Mike Gillespie in his second season at Irvine.
John Joseph Savage is an American baseball coach and former pitcher, who currently serves as the head baseball coach for the UCLA Bruins. He played college baseball at Santa Clara for coaches Jerry McClain and John Oldham from 1984 to 1986 before playing in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) for three seasons (1986-1988). After serving as an assistant coach with Nevada and USC in the 1990s, he became the head coach for the UC Irvine Anteaters (2002–04). Savage became UCLA's head baseball coach in July 2004 and has guided the Bruins in that role for the past 18 seasons.
Dylan Davis Haines Axelrod is an American pitching performance and integration coordinator for the Detroit Tigers. He is also a former professional baseball pitcher, as well as a former pitcher for Team Israel. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox and the Cincinnati Reds.
Jerry L. Green is an American former basketball player. He is a 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), 190-lb point guard. In 2006–07 Green was named the most valuable player (MVP) of Basketball Bundesliga, the top-tier men's professional basketball league in Germany, while playing for EnBW Ludwigsburg.
Gary Adams is an American former college baseball coach, the head baseball coach of the UCLA Bruins from 1975–2004. Adams also served as the first head coach at UC Irvine from 1970–1974, winning two Division II national championships there.
The 2014 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team represents the University of California, Irvine in the 2014 NCAA Division I baseball season. The team plays home games at Cicerone Field in Irvine, California. The team is coached by Mike Gillespie in his seventh season at Irvine.
Mamadou N'Diaye is a Senegalese professional basketball player who last played for Correcaminos UAT Victoria of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). He played college basketball for UC Irvine, where he was the tallest basketball player at the NCAA Division I level, standing at 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m).
Pat Shine is an American minor league baseball manager and former Major League coach. In 2017, he managed the Clinton LumberKings, Class A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners until June 2017. He is a former member of the coaching staff of MLB's Miami Marlins, and pitched to Giancarlo Stanton in the 2016 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, which Stanton won.
Alon Leichman is an Israeli assistant pitching coach of the Cincinnati Reds in Major League Baseball. He also pitches and coaches for Team Israel.
Scott Hunter Burcham is an American-Israeli professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He also plays for Team Israel.
Keston Wee Hing Natsuo Hiura is an American professional baseball first baseman and second baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers.
The 1981–82 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 1981–82 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by second year head coach Bill Mulligan and played their home games at the Crawford Hall. They were members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association. They finished the season 23–7 and 10–4 in PCAA play.
Jason Gill is an American baseball coach and former shortstop and third baseman. He played college baseball for Cuesta College, Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State Fullerton from 1991 to 1994. He then served as the head coach of the Loyola Marymount Lions (2009–2019) the USC Trojans (2019–2022).
The 2021 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Anteaters played their home games at Anteater Ballpark as a member of the Big West Conference. They were led by third-year head coach Ben Orloff.
The 2024 UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team represents the University of California, Irvine during the 2024 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Anteaters play their home games at Cicerone Field as a member of the Big West Conference. They are led by head coach Ben Orloff, in his sixth season as manager.