A talented coach with extensive college and high school coaching experience, Richie Escalera joins the Cal State LA baseball coaching staff as an assistant coach.
Escalera comes to Cal State LA after spending one year as the head coach of Golden Valley High School in Santa Clarita.
Before that, Escalera was at Loyola Marymount as an assistant coach before COVID-19 shortened the 2020 season. He still had a big impact on the team and three players signed Major League Baseball contracts, including a pitcher selected in the fourth round of the draft.
Escalera was the recruiting coordinator at the University of Antelope Valley for four seasons before going to Loyola Marymount. He helped guide the team to its first-ever trip to the NAIA World Series in 2016, where they finished sixth out of 10 teams. The Pioneers captured the California Pacific Conference Championship all four years he was there and had an overall record of 156-65-1 (.705).
As one of Antelope Valley’s hitting instructors, he helped the Pioneers rank in the top-25 in multiple offensive categories during his tenure, including a No. 2 ranking in doubles per game and a No. 10 ranking in batting average in 2017, fourth in triples and 10th in doubles in 2017 and ranking in the top-10 in hits per game, doubles per game, triples, runs scored per game and runs batted in per game in 2018.
Under his direction, UAV starting catchers posted an average fielding percentage of .986 with one catcher earning a Cal Pac Gold Glove Award in 2017.
Escalera was also a volunteer coach for Division I Cal State Bakersfield. During his time with the Roadrunners, he worked with pitchers for two seasons and hitters and corner infielders for two seasons.
In 2015, he helped led the Roadrunners to the Western Athletic Conference tournament championship and the program’s first-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Roadrunners also picked up their first postseason victory with a 2-1 win over the University of Mississippi in the UCLA Regional.
While he was at Cal State Bakersfield, eight Roadrunners were drafted into Major League Baseball. He had the Western Athletic Conference’s Player of the Year in 2013 and the WAC Pitcher of the Year in 2015.
Escalera played for two seasons at Mt. San Antonio College and earned first-team All-Conference honors as a freshman and second-team honors as a sophomore. He earned a scholarship to Cal State Bakersfield, where he was on the first baseball team in school history. He started as designated hitter in Cal State Bakersfield’s first-ever game against St. Louis University.
While at Bakersfield, he was part of the only team in any NCAA Division I sport to beat the defending national champion, beating Fresno State, 4-3. He played from 2009-10 and holds the record for fielding percentage in a season (1.000).
Escalera resides in Chatsworth with his fiancé, Jessica, and two dogs. He enjoys cheering for the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Rams.
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