MALIBU—Pepperdine University announced Rick Hiretensteiner, as the 17th head baseball coach for the Waves.
Hirtensteiner is a Pepperdine alumni who graduated in 1989. During his college years he was an All-American and was WCC Player of the Year in 1989. He was the first athlete at Pepperdine to achieve the Academic All-American first team award.
The baseball team also won four WCC titles and advanced to the NCAA tournament each year, landing Pepperdine baseball on the national Top 20 rankings each year Hirtensteiner attended.
After graduating, Hirtensteiner moved on to play professional baseball for seven seasons with teams that included the California Angels, Florida Marlins, and Montreal Expos. In 1989, he was the 10th round draft pick for the Los Angeles Angels. He also played in Australia and Mexico before returning to Pepperdine’s baseball field as a coach.
The 2015-2016 year will be Hirtensteiner’s 18th season with the Waves coaching staff. During the previous 17 seasons, he was the team’s assistant coach, helping bring them to victory multiple years including an overall win record of 578-423.
As assistant he took on many different roles including hitting instructor, coaching third base, and coaching the outfield. With Hirtensteiner part of the team, the Waves advanced to post-season 10 times, and won six regular-season WCC crowns.
Hirtensteiner is the fourth alumni head coach to take over the baseball team at the university. He is set to be inducted to the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame in October.
