Holland Seeking a Few Good Men Who Are Competitive

Ask Cal State Fullerton basketball Coach Brad Holland what he’s looking for in this year’s recruiting class and he doesn’t hesitate.

“Competitiveness,” he said, the word popping out as though a balloon had just burst. “We’ll have a focus on that more than before. We want guys who really want to compete hard. You can watch kids play and tell how competitive they really are and we’ve been watching for that quality.”

This is an important recruiting season for Holland and his assistants. Every recruiting period is important, of course, but it is magnified when a team is coming off an 8-19 season. It was the Titans’ worst since going 4-23 in 1981.

“The good news, though, is the team played hard and got better as it went along,” Holland said. “Our players can take that experience and use it to get better next season.”

Call it the second-season jinx, which sometimes happens to coaches struggling to put a program on solid ground. The Titans were a surprise in Holland’s first year. Picked to finish ninth in the Big West, they wound up tied for fifth with a 10-8 conference record. The overall record of 15-12 was Fullerton’s first winning season since 1989.

Six of the team’s top seven scorers will be back, with senior Greg Vernon the sole player departing from that group. The Titans also will have Chris Dade and DeVaughn Wright, who sat out as medical redshirts. But Holland still will be in a position to offer talented recruits an opportunity to play immediately.

Holland has four scholarships available and he expects to fill them all in the signing period that runs from April 13-May 15.

Specific needs? “We’re looking for a couple of perimeter players who are athletic and can shoot,” Holland said.

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The athletic budgeting process is under way at Fullerton, but things will be a little different this spring.

A student government committee will be part of the process for the first time after a student vote last spring endowed the athletic program with $14 per student per semester.

It couldn’t come at a better time, as far as Athletic Director Bill Shumard is concerned.

The student funds are expected to produce an additional $500,000.

Shumard says state money steadily has dwindled from the $2.5 million the school received for athletics the year he became athletic director in 1991. He expects state funds this year to be about $1.75 million, down from the $1.8 million in the last budget.

“The student committee will make its recommendations to me as part of the regular budgeting process,” Shumard said.

Five athletes will be members of the 11-member student advisory board. That group includes Tony Fetchel, baseball; Tom Casto, cross-country and track; Heidi Robertson, volleyball and softball; Kara Kolb, tennis, and Karena Mills, gymnastics.

Shumard’s final budget proposal will require approval by the school’s athletic council and the president’s office. He plans to have it ready to present on July 1.

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The Titans are back in the No. 1 spot in both college baseball rankings after two victories over Wichita State last week and a three-game sweep of San Jose State to open Big West play during the weekend.

In the Collegiate Baseball rankings, Georgia Tech is second and Florida State is third. Baseball America has Florida State second and USC third.

Fullerton’s 24-5 record is the best in the Big West. Pacific had a three-game sweep of Nevada Las Vegas during the weekend and is 24-6. Pacific has won 18 consecutive games.

Matt Wagner, with a 6-0 record and 1.08 earned-run average, continues to pace the Fullerton pitching staff. Mike Parisi has a 6-1 record and 1.66 ERA. The staff ERA is 2.62.

Jason Gill leads the team in hitting with a .387 average. Jeff Ferguson is the leader among Titan players with more than 70 at-bats with a .367 average.

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Titan gymnastics Coach Lynn Rogers was pleased with his team’s performance in winning the Big West title Sunday in San Jose.

“I was really proud of our kids, and they had gotten to the point where they were going to be pleased with their performance whether we finished first or second,” Rogers said.

Rogers thought Celeste Delia, who won the all-around title, had her best performance of the season. She was second on vault, tied for second on the uneven bars, fourth in floor exercise and sixth on balance beam.

“Both Cristi Clifford and Karena Mills deserve a great deal of credit, too,” Rogers said. “Clifford finished really strong in the second half of the season and Mills competed with a knee that is still bothering her after an injury three weeks ago. She was limping to the finish line, but I was really pleased with the way she competed.”

Clifford was third in the all-around. Mills’ highest finish was second on the balance beam.

Fullerton will be seeded third in the NCAA West Regional, highest since the Titans were also seeded third in 1990.

Titan Notes

Monica Bagalayos leads the Titan softball team in hitting with a .323 average. Melissa Hadfield has a team-leading 22 runs batted in. Jennifer Mortensen has the team’s best pitching record at 8-9. . . . A men’s team from Fullerton is scheduled to compete in the Intercollegiate Bowling Championships at Carson City, Nev., April 13-17. Team members are Dwight Tincher, Brad Petzel, Brent Breidinger, Jamie Spencer, David Walters and Jason Sjobom. Scott Poddig is the coach.