Reed Peters can’t help but stay in the comforts of the 209.
The 17-year San Joaquin Delta College baseball head coach is taking his talents to Stockton’s other local college as he will be the new head coach for the University of the Pacific baseball.
“Stockton is where I want to be,” Peters said in a press release. “I live in a great neighborhood, I raised my kids here, the weather is great, the community is awesome, and my family has made a lot of close friends here.”
Peters takes over a Tiger program that finished with an 11-44 overall record and only won five West Coast Conference games last season. The challenge of turning around a program is no tall task for Peters who spent over a decade doing the same for Delta College.
When he took over the Mustangs program, they had an 8-36 overall record. Peters and his staff were determined to make this a winning team that could compete in the postseason and the key was the team’s culture.
“The biggest thing Pacific baseball needs right now is a change in culture,” Peters said. “Players don’t always start out great; we have to develop them, and that’s what we did at Delta. Once we can establish the right work ethic, we’ll be able to change the entire mindset of the program, and that’s where it all starts.”
With a culture shift and a stellar work ethic, Peters led the Mustangs to two California Community College Athletic Association state championships in 2011 and 2018. They were runner-ups for the state title four times with Peters at the helm including this past season where they finished with a 36-15 overall record.
Some of Peters’ other accolades are being a four-time Big 8 Conference Coach of the Year, two-time Northern California Coach of the Year, and the 2018 American Baseball Coaches Association National Coach of the Year in 2018.
He also has a proven record of getting guys to the MLB with 31 players under his wing who went on to play professionally. Three former players of Peters who are currently playing in the majors are Nick Avila with the San Francisco Giants, Robert Gasser with the Milwaukee Brewers and Dean Kremer with the Baltimore Orioles.
"The Pacific Tigers baseball program has a tried-and-true winner in Reed Peters,” said Adam Tschuor, Pacific’s Athletic Director in a press release. “I am even more excited to have someone who is undeniably beloved in the Stockton community. That, along with the success he'll lead our Tigers to on the field, will galvanize this program into a West Coast Conference Champion and beyond."
Peters marks the second new head coach hired during the off-season for Pacific after it hired Dave Smart as its new men’s basketball head coach back in March. He will look to be a part of revamping a core part of the Tigers athletics as the second major sport on campus.
“I'd like to thank President Christopher Callahan and Director of Athletics Adam Tschuor for the opportunity to be a part of the baseball program at the University of the Pacific,” Peters said. “While every journey presents challenges, my staff and I will work tirelessly to develop well-rounded players and build a winning culture at Pacific.”
Record reporter Shannon Belt covers sports. She can be reached at sbelt@recordnet.com or on Twitter @ShannonBelt3. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow.
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