California Golden Bears baseball

The California Golden Bears baseball team represents the University of California, Berkeley in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other California athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Bears play their home games at Evans Diamond.

California Golden Bears baseball
2025 California Golden Bears baseball team
Founded	1892; 133 years ago (1892)
University	University of California, Berkeley
Head coach	Mike Neu (8th season)
Conference	ACC
Location	Berkeley, CA
Home stadium	Evans Diamond (Capacity: 2,500)
Nickname	Golden Bears
Colors	Blue and gold[1]
College World Series champions
1947, 1957
College World Series appearances
1947, 1957, 1980, 1988, 1992, 2011
NCAA regional champions
1980, 1988, 1992, 2011
NCAA tournament appearances
1947, 1957, 1980, 1985, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1995, 2001, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2015, 2019
Conference regular season champions
1929, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1938, 1941, 1945, 1947, 1957, 1960, 1965, 1980

History

The Bears have appeared in the NCAA Division I baseball tournament 13 times, and in the College World Series 6 times. They have won two National Championships: at the first College World Series in 1947 and again in 1957. In 1964, future major leaguer Mike Epstein batted .384 for the team and was named an All-American.

In 2010, the university announced that baseball would be one of five sports cut as a cost-cutting measure.^[2] However, in April 2011, after receiving more than $9 million in pledges from supporters of the program, the program was reinstated.^[3] Even donors from Stanford University, California's biggest rival, pitched in to help save the Golden Bears baseball team.^[4] The Bears would then make the NCAA tournament as a 3-seed and go on a Cinderella run to the College World Series before falling to #1 overall seed Virginia to finish the season ranked 8th in the nation.^[5]

California in the NCAA Tournament

Year	Record	Pct	Notes
1947	4-0	1.000	College World Series Champion, Western Playoff
1957	7-1	.875	College World Series Champion, District 8
1980	8-3	.727	College World Series 3rd Place, Midwest Regional
1985	0-2	.000	West II Regional
1988	4-2	.667	College World Series 7th Place, Central Regional
1991	3-2	.600	Midwest Regional
1992	4-3	.571	College World Series 7th Place, East Regional
1995	1-2	.333	Mideast Regional
2001	1-2	.333	Baton Rouge Regional
2008	0-2	.000	Long Beach Regional
2010	0-2	.000	Norman Regional
2011	7-3	.700	College World Series 5th Place, hosted Santa Clara Super Regional
2015	2-2	.500	College Station Regional
2019	0-2	.000	Fayetteville Regional
TOTALS	41–28	.594

Coaches

Head coach	Years	Win–loss	Pct.
No Coach	1882–1886, 1901–1906	11–14	.440
Cohen	1887	2–1	.667
Cochran, Smith	1898	1–2	.333
Joseph Corbett	1899	2–0	1.000
George Van Haltern	1900	2–1	.667
Bob McCarthey	1907–1908	10–11	.476
W. Z. Zeb Smith	1909–1910	3–3	.500
Jimmie Schaeffer	1911–1915	39–21–2	.645
Carl Zamloch	1916–1917, 1919–1929	146–93–7	.608
Clair Goodwin	1918	4–1	.800
Clint Evans	1930–1954	547–256	.681
George Wolfman	1955–1973	484–335	.591
Jackie Jensen	1974–1977	109–95	.534
Bob Milano	1978–1999	688–644–4	.516
David Esquer	2000–2017	525–467–2	.529
Mike Neu	2018–present	185–152	.549

Source:^[6]

Year-by-year results

National Champions

College World Series berth

NCAA Tournament berth

Conference Tournament Champions

Conference/Division Regular Season Champions

Season	Head coach	Conference	Season results									Tournament results		Final poll[a]
			Overall				Conference					Conference	Postseason	BA	CB	Coaches
			Wins	Losses	Ties	%	Wins	Losses	Ties	%	Finish
California Golden Bears
1892	No coach	Independent	0	2	0	.000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1893			0	3	0	.000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1894			0	2	0	.000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1895			0	2	0	.000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1896			0	2	0	.000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1897	Cohen		2	1	0	.667	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1898	Cochran, Smith		1	2	0	.333	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1899	Joseph Corbett		2	0	0	1.000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1900	George Van Haltren		2	1	0	.667	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1901	No coach		2	1	0	.667	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1902			2	0	0	1.000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1903			2	0	0	1.000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1904			2	1	0	.667	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1905			2	0	0	1.000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1906			1	1	0	.500	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1907	Bob McCarthey		1	2	0	.333	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1908			9	9	0	.500	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1909	W. Z. Zeb Smith		2	1	0	.667	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1910			1	2	0	.333	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1911	Jimmie Schaeffer		7	3	1	.682	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1912			16	10	0	.615	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1913			0	2	0	.000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1914			4	2	1	.643	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1915			12	4	0	.750	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1916	Carl Zamloch	Pacific Coast Conference	11	11	2	.500	3	0	0	1.000	1st	—	—	—	—	—
1917			12	8	1	.595	3	0	0	1.000	1st	—	—	—	—	—
1918	Clair Goodwin		4	1	0	.800	2	1	0	.667	2nd	—	—	—	—	—
1919	Carl Zamloch		7	5	0	.583	0	2	0	.000	6th	—	—	—	—	—
1920			22	10	1	.682	5	1	0	.833	1st	—	—	—	—	—
1921			10	8	1	.553	3	0	0	1.000	1st	—	—	—	—	—
1922			12	6	1	.658	2	1	0	.667	2nd	—	—	—	—	—
1923			12	7	1	.625	3	0	0	1.000	1st	—	—	—	—	—
1924			13	11	0	.542	3	3	0	.500	T–1st	—	—	—	—	—
1925			11	2	0	.846	1	2	0	.333	2nd	—	—	—	—	—
1926			8	6	0	.571	4	2	0	.667	1st	—	—	—	—	—
1927		CIBA	4	9	0	.308	4	8	0	.333	5th	—	—	—	—	—
1928			8	4	0	.667	8	4	0	.667	2nd	—	—	—	—	—
1929			16	7	0	.696	11	3	0	.786	1st	—	—	—	—	—
1930	Clint Evans		12	3	0	.800	12	3	0	.800	2nd	—	—	—	—	—
1931			15	7	0	.682	13	5	0	.722	3rd	—	—	—	—	—
1932			16	6	0	.727	12	6	0	.667	2nd	—	—	—	—	—
1933			19	9	0	.679	9	2	0	.818	1st	—	—	—	—	—
1934			25	6	0	.806	14	1	0	.933	1st	—	—	—	—	—
1935			20	9	0	.690	10	5	0	.667	T–1st	—	—	—	—	—
1936			18	13	0	.581	6	9	0	.400	4th	—	—	—	—	—
1937			20	7	0	.741	11	4	0	.733	1st	—	—	—	—	—
1938			39	8	0	.830	12	3	0	.800	1st	—	—	—	—	—
1939			24	9	0	.727	9	6	0	.600	3rd	—	—	—	—	—
1940			22	10	0	.688	9	6	0	.600	3rd	—	—	—	—	—
1941			37	11	0	.771	11	4	0	.733	T–1st	—	—	—	—	—
1942			22	5	0	.815	11	4	0	.733	2nd	—	—	—	—	—
1943			23	9	0	.719	14	1	0	.933	1st	—	—	—	—	—
1944			9	14	0	.391	3	5	0	.375	3rd	—	—	—	—	—
1945			12	9	0	.571	7	1	0	.875	T–1st	—	—	—	—	—
1946			24	9	0	.727	8	4	0	.667	2nd	—	—	—	—	—
1947			31	10	0	.756	11	4	0	.733	T–1st	—	NCAA Tournament champions	—	—	—
1948			20	14	0	.588	8	3	0	.727	3rd	—	—	—	—	—
1949			31	17	0	.646	5	10	0	.333	5th	—	—	—	—	—
1950			24	13	0	.649	8	6	0	.571	2nd	—	—	—	—	—
1951			22	16	0	.579	6	10	0	.375	4th	—	—	—	—	—
1952			21	16	0	.568	5	11	0	.313	5th	—	—	—	—	—
1953			22	15	0	.595	8	8	0	.500	3rd	—	—	—	—	—
1954			19	11	0	.633	7	9	0	.438	T–3rd	—	—	—	—	—
1955	George Wolfman		17	16	0	.515	7	9	0	.438	4th	—	—	—	—	—
1956			25	9	0	.735	9	7	0	.563	2nd	—	—	—	—	—
1957			35	10	0	.778	12	4	0	.750	1st	—	NCAA Tournament champions	—	—	—
1958			19	12	0	.613	9	7	0	.563	2nd	—	—	—	—	—
1959			22	13	0	.629	9	7	0	.563	T–2nd	—	—	—	—	—
1960			30	14	0	.682	12	4	0	.750	T–1st	—	—	—	16	—
1961			29	10	0	.744	11	5	0	.688	2nd	—	–	—	14	—
1962			24	20	0	.545	7	9	0	.438	3rd	—	—	—	—	—
1963			19	21	0	.475	4	12	0	.250	5th	—	—	—	—	—
1964			25	17	0	.595	5	15	0	.250	5th	—	—	—	—	—
1965			29	14	0	.674	12	8	0	.600	T–1st	—	—	—	14	—
1966			32	14	0	.696	11	9	0	.550	T–2nd	—	—	—	—	—
1967		AAWU	17	27	0	.386	3	13	0	.188	7th	—	—	—	—	—
1968		Pac-8	24	24	0	.500	7	12	0	.368	6th	—	—	—	—	—
1969			31	19	0	.620	12	9	0	.571	4th	—	—	—	29	—
1970			28	19	0	.596	9	8	0	.684	4th	—	—	—	—	—
1971			24	24	0	.500	5	12	0	.294	7th	—	—	—	—	—
1972			33	21	0	.611	9	9	0	.500	T–2nd	—	—	—	—	—
1973			21	31	0	.404	6	12	0	.333	4th	—	—	—	—	—
1974	Jackie Jensen		25	24	0	.510	8	10	0	.444	3rd	—	—	—	—	—
1975			22	24	0	.478	7	9	0	.438	4th	—	—	—	—	—
1976			33	20	0	.623	9	14	0	.391	4th	—	—	—	—	—
1977			29	27	0	.518	5	13	0	.278	T–3rd	—	—	—	—	—
1978	Bob Milano		35	27	0	.565	6	12	0	.333	T–3rd	—	—	—	—	—
1979		Pac-10	31	25	1	.553	16	14	0	.533	3rd	—	—	—	—	—
1980			44	23	1	.654	17	13	0	.567	T–1st	—	3rd	—	3	—
1981			31	31	1	.500	12	18	0	.400	5th	—	—	—	—	—
1982			29	32	0	.475	9	17	0	.346	5th	—	—	—	—	—
1983			23	37	0	.383	9	20	0	.310	6th	—	—	—	—	—
1984			39	28	1	.581	12	18	0	.400	4th	—	—	—	—	—
1985			42	24	0	.636	17	13	0	.567	T–2nd	—	West II Regional	18	28	—
1986			32	25	0	.561	10	20	0	.333	6th	—	—	—	—	—
1987			36	25	0	.590	12	18	0	.400	T–5th	—	—	—	—	—
1988			40	25	0	.615	16	14	0	.533	T–3rd	—	T–7th	9	8	—
1989			35	24	0	.593	10	20	0	.333	T–5th	—	—	—	—	—
1990			18	43	0	.295	3	27	0	.100	6th	—	—	—	—	—
1991			37	27	0	.578	14	16	0	.467	3rd	—	Midwest Regional	23	20	—
1992			35	28	0	.556	14	16	0	.467	T–3rd	—	T–7th	14	8	—
1993			27	30	0	.474	13	17	0	.433	5th	—	—	—	—	—
1994			25	35	0	.417	12	18	0	.400	4th	—	—	—	—	—
1995			32	25	0	.561	18	12	0	.600	3rd	—	Mideast Regional	—	29	—
1996			27	29	0	.482	10	20	0	.333	5th	—	—	—	—	—
1997			21	38	0	.356	4	26	0	.133	6th	—	—	—	—	—
1998			22	32	0	.407	5	24	0	.172	6th	—	—	—	—	—
1999			27	31	0	.466	11	13	0	.458	7th	—	—	—	—	—
2000	David Esquer		25	28	0	.472	11	13	0	.458	5th	—	—	—	—	—
2001			34	25	0	.576	14	10	0	.583	T–3rd	—	Baton Rouge Regional	—	—	—
2002			29	27	0	.518	11	13	0	.458	5th	—	—	—	—	—
2003			28	27	0	.509	10	14	0	.417	7th	—	—	—	—	—
2004			25	31	0	.446	9	15	0	.375	T–8th	—	—	—	—	—
2005			34	23	0	.596	13	11	0	.542	5th	—	—	—	—	—
2006			26	28	0	.481	9	15	0	.375	9th	—	—	—	—	—
2007			29	26	0	.527	12	12	0	.500	4th	—	—	—	—	—
2008			33	21	2	.607	12	12	0	.500	T–4th	—	Long Beach Regional	—	23	—
2009			24	29	0	.453	9	18	0	.333	9th	—	—	—	—	—
2010			29	25	0	.537	13	14	0	.481	T–5th	—	Norman Regional	—	—	—
2011			38	23	0	.623	13	13	0	.500	6th	—	T–5th	11	6	8
2012		Pac-12	29	25	0	.537	12	18	0	.400	T–8th	—	—	—	—	—
2013			23	31	0	.426	10	20	0	.333	T–8th	—	—	—	—	—
2014			26	27	0	.491	13	17	0	.433	8th	—	—	—	—	—
2015			36	21	0	.632	18	12	0	.600	T–3rd	—	College Station Regional	—	23	—
2016			32	21	0	.604	14	16	0	.467	T–8th	—	—	—	—	—
2017			25	29	0	.463	15	15	0	.500	T–5th	—	—	—	—	—
2018	Mike Neu		32	22	0	.593	16	14	0	.533	5th	—	—	—	—	—
2019			32	20	0	.615	17	11	0	.607	4th	—	Fayetteville Regional	—	—	—
2020			5	11	0	.313	0	0	0	–	Cancelled	—	Cancelled	—	—	—
2021			29	26	0	.527	15	15	0	.500	7th	—	—	—	—	—
2022			29	27	0	.518	14	16	0	.467	7th	T–5th	—	—	—	—
2023			24	28	0	.462	12	18	0	.400	T–8th	9th	—	—	—	—
2024			36	19	0	.655	17	13	0	.567	6th	3rd	—	—	—	—
2025		ACC	24	31	0	.436	9	21	0	.300	16th	Quarterfinals	—	—	—	—
Total			2,784	2,128	15	.567

Notes

1. Collegiate Baseball began team rankings in 1959. Baseball America began during the 1981 season.

Source:^[6]

Former Bears in Major League Baseball

Some notable Bears who have played in the Major Leagues include:

Marcus Semien

• John Baker, catcher
• Brennan Boesch, outfielder
• Lance Blankenship, former Oakland A’s utility player
• Geoff Blum, infielder
• Rod Booker, utility player
• Mark Canha, outfielder, Milwaukee Brewers
• Chuck Cary, pitcher
• Sam Chapman, center fielder
• Allen Craig, former first baseman, St. Louis Cardinals
• Taylor Douthit
• Mike Epstein (Super Jew)
• Jerry Goff, father of ex-Cal bear and current Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff
• Brett Jackson, center fielder
• Conor Jackson, former outfielder
• Jackie Jensen, right fielder
• Andrew Knapp, catcher, San Francisco Giants
• Jeff Kent, former San Francisco Giants second baseman
• Darren Lewis, center fielder
• Kevin Maas
• Bob Melvin, catcher and current manager of the San Francisco Giants
• Andy Messersmith
• Brandon Morrow, pitcher
• Xavier Nady
• Orval Overall
• Earl Robinson
• Tyson Ross, former starting pitcher
• Josh Satin, corner infielder
• Marcus Semien- infielder, Texas Rangers
• Andrew Vaughn, first baseman and outfielder, Chicago White Sox
• Tyler Walker, pitcher

See also

• List of NCAA Division I baseball programs