Baseball - Our Coaches
Head Coach - Rob Willson
The 2012 season will be Rob Willson’s 10th season as head coach at Sierra College and 20th overall as a California Community College head baseball coach. He feels extremely fortunate to have what he considers the best job in the country. He credits the faculty, support staff, administration, location and his assistant coaches for making this such a great job.
The 2011 baseball season at Sierra College was another success story. Sierra Finished 3rd in the Big 8 Conference one game behind eventual State Champion Delta College. The #12 seeded Wolverines traveled to Hayward to take on the #5 seeded Chabot Gladiators in a best of 3 series. Chabot finished their conference schedule with a 22-3 record.
Sierra won the first game by the score of 11-6 behind outstanding pitching from freshman Josh Eagle and very timely hitting. In game 2 of the series another freshman Ryan Millison (signed National Letter of Intent with Long Beach State in fall 2011) dominated the Gladiators and propelled Sierra to a 6-2 victory. Catcher Jon Nutter hit 2 homeruns in the series and did an outstanding job of handling the pitchers. Sierra captured their 6th Regional Championship in the past 8 seasons with the sweep of Chabot. They would take on #6 seeded Merced College with high profile pitcher Jake Sisco who entered the game with an 11-0 record and was later drafted in the 3rd round of the MLB June draft. It was a close, intense game with Sierra coming out on the winning end by the score of 4-1. Once again, Josh Eagle outpitched Sisco and earned the win for Sierra. A bad day followed as Sierra was swept by conference foes Delta in the winner’s bracket and by Cosumnes River in an elimination game to end their season. The high number of transfer’s highlighted a great season as two of their sophomores signed national Letters of Intent. Eric Nedeljkovic signed and it now attending the University of Miami. Jeff Stephens is signed and is now playing at UC Irvine.
2010 was an overachieving season as Sierra advanced to the 16-team State Baseball Playoffs for the 7th straight season. The very young team stayed near the middle of the Big 8 Conference standing all season and qualified for the playoffs in their last game of the season versus Delta College with a dramatic “walk-off” homerun by shortstop Zach Babitt. Sierra would travel to College of San Mateo and play the #1 seeded Bulldogs. Sierra beat CSM Friday 10-6 and lost in a thrilling 14 inning game Saturday by the score of 16-14. Sunday the Bulldogs advanced to the Super Regional by defeating Sierra 13-6. San Mateo went on to play for a state championship and lost in the state finals to Ohlone College. The success on the field was matched by their many transfers to 4-year universities. Catcher Michael Quesada signed a professional baseball contract with the Minnesota Twins. Starting pitcher Michael Garber signed a national Letter of Intent with the University of Washington of the Pac-10 Conference. Outfielder Sam Montgomery will attend Oregon State University, also of the Pac-10 Conference. Pitcher Justin Haley was also drafted by the Cleveland Indians and signed a National Letter of Intent with Fresno State University. Sierra finished the season with a very respectable 21-18 record.
2009 was also successful on and off the field for Sierra College baseball as they were the only team in California to appear in 4 straight Elite 8 games. Sierra topped the 30 win mark for the fourth straight season. The Wolverines lost 27 players from their 2009 roster which will make the 2010 roster extremely inexperienced. Coach Willson is very proud of where all the players transferred including his starting infield. 3B Joe Bonfe signed a letter of intent with Pepperdine University but elected to skip school and sign a professional baseball contract with the New York Mets. SS Keith Jennette is playing at Oregon State. 2B Matt Foat is batting clean up for USC as a sophomore. 1B Chris Cottingham is at the University of Nevada and Pitching ace Jeremy Cole is also at the University of Nevada.
The 2008 season was a magical season for Willson and his Wolverines. Sierra College captured its first ever State Championship in baseball and set a school record with 39 wins. Many consider California Community College baseball to be the most competitive and difficult sport in which to capture a state title. Strong pitching, outstanding defense and timely hitting propelled the Wolverines to this championship. They defeated 4-time state champion Riverside Community College and Southwestern College of Chula Vista twice - including the winner take all state final game by the score of 6-2. Even more gratifying for Coach Willson is that the 2008 team continued the 5-year streak of graduating 100% of their sophomores to 4-year universities.
In 2007, Sierra reached the Elite 8 in California despite being a very young and inexperienced squad. The Wolverines finished 2nd in the highly competitive Big 7 Conference. Of the seven teams in the conference, five made the state playoffs and all five advanced to the Nor-Cal Super Regional. The ’07 Wolverines tied a school record for wins in a season with 35, which was set by the 2006 team. Highlights from ’07 include three players signing National Letters of Intent with College World Series teams. Also, for the fourth straight season, ALL sophomores on the 2007 roster transferred to 4-year universities, with many of them receiving scholarships.
In 2006, the Wolverine baseball team reached new heights with wins and earned a trip to the state Final Four. The previous school record of 27 wins was shattered as this group totaled 35 victories and advanced farther than any previous Sierra College team by reaching California’s State Championships. Graduating from this team was sophomore centerfielder Chris Hopkins who went on to Oregon State in 2007. OSU captured the College World Series Title with Chris as their starting centerfielder and leadoff hitter.
Coach Willson came to Sierra College from Diablo Valley College, where he served as the Associate Head Coach for the 2001 and 2002 seasons. Prior to arriving at DVC, Coach Willson led his alma mater, Laney College of Oakland, to a Bay Valley Conference Championship in 1997, his first season at Laney, after they finished in last place the previous year. He also guided the Eagles to back-to-back 31 win seasons in 1999 and 2000. Laney made the 16 team state playoff field in three of the four years he was there.
The five years prior to coaching at Laney College, he was the head coach at City College of San Francisco. After 29 straight seasons with a winning percentage well under .500, the CCSF program enjoyed a championship season in 1995. The 1995 team was a very special team in winning 35 games, losing 9, and finishing 6th in the state of California. This accomplishment was even more impressive considering that CCSF does not have its own field. They play at Balboa Park in San Francisco, which does not have dugouts, bullpens, batting cages, outfield fences or a scoreboard. Even more impressive was the fact that all the sophomores transferred to a four-year university and five players from that ’95 team were selected in the Major League Baseball amateur draft. Coach Willson continues to commend the players who attended CCSF in spite of the bleak facilities and horrible baseball weather. He would also like to recognize his first assistant coach at CCSF, Steve Wood. Steve and Rob met in 1991 and became very close and remain great friends today. Coach Wood and Coach Willson made a promise to the CCSF administration that they would put a winning team on the field and they did with Woods’ pitching expertise.
Coach Willson was voted the 1995 California Community College Coach of the Year by Cal-Hi Sports Magazine. The 1996 season at CCSF was also a winning season. The Rams finished second in the tough Coast Conference and were a feisty opponent for the #1 seed College of the Sequoias in the state playoffs. In 1996, the California Coaches Association again honored Coach Willson as the California Community College State Coach of the Year.
The 1996 team also produced a Major League pitcher in Doug Davis. Davis was drafted in the 10th round out of CCSF and signed a contract with the Texas Rangers. Davis made his major league debut in 1998. In 2004, ’05, ’06 and ‘07 Doug Davis won 12 games or more for the Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks and was ranked in the top 15 in the major leagues in ERA and strikeouts. In December 2006, he signed a three-year $22 million contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Coach Willson credits his one year he spent at Loyola Marymount University as an assistant coach in 1991 as his most valuable learning year in baseball. The Lions were ranked as high as #10 in the country at the Division I level and possessed 6 players who would eventually make a major league roster. Chris Smith was the 31 year-old head coach at Loyola and Coach Willson says he was one of the best coaches in Division I baseball, and a major influence in his coaching career. Smith is now a professional baseball scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
As a player, Coach Willson played firstbase, outfield and pitched at Albany High School and firstbase at Laney College in Oakland. He feels his experience at Laney College and his Head Coach Tom Pearse changed his baseball career. He still stays in touch with many of his teammates and Coach Pearse. That was a very close team with people from all different backgrounds and they came together like a solid family. In both years Rob played at Laney, they were fortunate enough to win the Golden Gate Conference Championship and participate in the state Final Four, finishing third in California both years.
After Laney, Rob transferred to Sonoma State University. Rob cherished both years there and helped turn a program around that had a 7-42 record the year before his arrival into a 30 game winner in his second year. He loved playing for head coach John Goelz and is still a very close friend of Coach Goelz. In 2004, Rob was selected as a member of the Sonoma State University Athletic Department Hall of Fame. After two years at Sonoma State, Rob was drafted by the San Francisco Giants and played one season in their minor league system in Everett Washington where the Giants won the Northwest League Division Championship.
Coach Willson has been very fortunate to have had many outstanding assistant coaches who have played a major role in his success as a head coach and appreciates all of their very hard work. He also credits his parents Bob and Frances Willson for raising him and allowing him to be involved in baseball his entire life. The Willson family vacations always took place well after baseball season ended to ensure Rob and his brother would not miss a game. His dad would throw batting practice to him and his friends on a daily basis after a long day at work. He will never forget those days at Memorial park.
Two other major influences growing up were John Whitman, longtime Head Baseball Coach at Antioch High School and Jeff O’Donnell, Rob’s 15 year old coach who guided the Albany Mets to the TOC Championship. Rob’s brother Cary is a physical education teacher and Head Basketball Coach at California High School in San Ramon. 
Rob and his wife Christina live in Rocklin with their three children, Marisa 15, Briana 13 and Anthony (TJ) 9.
(916) 660-8117. Email: rwillson@sierracollege.edu
Associate Head Coach - Ryan Evangelho
The 2012 season will be Ryan Evangelho’s tenth season as an Assistant Baseball Coach and second year as the Associate Head Coach for Sierra College. He spends his mornings and afternoons teaching classes at Sierra College. When Ryan is not working with hitters or outfielders he is running our offense. He takes pride in having the top offensive program in the Big 8 Conference year in and year out.
In 2012 Ryan will prepare to make a very raw and young offensive group into one that will produce like past wolverine teams. Sierra College has finished in the top 25 or higher in California for team batting average eight out of the nine years Ryan has been here. The unselfish ability of the Wolverine hitters has led to the consistency of Sierra's potent offense. His outstanding knowledge and coaching ability helped led the 2008 Sierra College State championship offense to a #1 ranking among Big 8 conference foes with a team batting average of .338 which was 34 pts higher than the team that came in second. Coach Evangelho’s baserunning savvy, led the wolverines to be in the top 3 in stolen bases for the past 3 years.
Ryan played baseball at Aragon High School in San Mateo where he was a key part of three consecutive baseball league championships. He also played two years of varsity football and in his senior year, the Dons compiled a record of 13-0 and were California State Champions. Ryan was voted All-league as an offensive tackle. From there Ryan Began his college Baseball career at College of San Mateo. After earning his AA degree at CSM, Ryan continued his college baseball career by receiving a scholarship to play baseball at the Division I level for the University of San Francisco. While playing baseball at USF, he earned a BA degree in Communications.
Ryan’s first coaching stint was with Belmont Joe DiMaggio. He coached with long time DiMaggio coach Ken Ray for 2 years. He then accepted his first head coaching job at his alma mater, Aragon High School. Ryan led the JV team to a 2nd place finish. That summer Ryan coached a 16-year-old AAU team that traveled to play in the World Championships in Arizona. He then moved to Sacramento to coach varsity baseball at River City High School, where in his two years there, River City won a league championship and had a section runner up finish.
In the summer of 2001 he took a coaching job with the Danville Dan’s summer wood bat collegiate league in Illinois where his team won a league championship with a strong mix of players from Division I schools such as LSU, Florida State, Mississippi State and Long Beach State. The Dan’s coaching staff was also selected to coach the All-Star game. Ryan will also head into his 5th season as an associate scout with the Atlanta Braves.
During the summer Ryan is hard at work recruiting the best high school baseball players in our local area. He is also the director of the Sierra College Baseball Camps.
Ryan and his wife Jaclyn and 5 year old daughter Marren, and 3 year old son Trevor reside in Roseville.
(916) 660-8136. E-mail: revangelho@sierracollege.edu
Assistant Coach Ian Cook
Assistant Coach Alex Creel
Coach Alex Creel's passion and dedication to baseball is evident in the 20+ years he has spent studying, playing, and now teaching the game to others. His experience on the field, innovative instruction, and commitment to his student's development as well as continuous research and self-improvements has led many to success.
Coach Alex Creel was raised in Roseville, CA and has been a part of the baseball community in the greater Sacramento area for several years. He attended Jesuit and Oakmont High Schools and was ranked the 49th best high school prospect in the nation by Baseball America in 1999. The following year his pitching helped to earn the Oakmont Vikings a Section Championship. He was selected to the Sacramento Bee's All Metro Team both years.
Upon invitation, Coach Alex Creel played in the Area Code games, and he participated in the Team USA showcase 18U trials as a pitcher. He received two athletic scholarships, from Arizona State University and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo respectively, and earned All-League Honorable Mention for his pitching performances in 2002 playing for the Sac City Panthers. Injuries prevented Coach Alex from pursuing his career as a player.
Alex's coaching career began in 2006 as JV head coach for El Camino High School. He joined Hard 90 Baseball Academy as a Pitching Instructor one year later, where he worked with Coach Mikela Olsen and Coach Bret Hemphill. The three coaches shared a similar vision for athletic development of baseball players and later formed Golden Spikes Baseball where Alex heads the pitching program.
Alex has spent 3000+ hours of instruction helping kids of all ages improve velocity, location, and, most importantly, arm health. His exclusive pitching program helped 5 pitchers break the 90 MPH barrier, and 4 of them were drafted in the 2010 Baseball Draft.
Assistant Coach - Bret Hemphill
The 2012 season will be Bret Hemphill’s fourth year as an assistant coach with the Sierra College Baseball Team. Bret’s responsibilities will be to work with the talented group of pitchers this year. Bret graduated from Cal State Fullerton, with a Bachelor Degree in Kinesiology.
Bret is a former Major League switch-hitting catcher with the Anaheim Angels. He played 7½ years of professional baseball in the Angels’ organization as a catcher, and was on the big league roster for three years. He made his major league debut on June 28, 1999. He became the first rookie to collect his first two major league hits from both sides of the plate in his first two major league at-bats since 1980. Bret was the starting catcher for the American League in the Double-A All- Star game at San Antonio, TX in 1997. He was also named to the Northwest League All-Star Team in 1994. During his time in professional baseball, Bret was a member of two championship teams, Lake Elsinore (1996) and Boise (1994). Brett was also named the Angels’ Best Defensive Catcher by Baseball America in 1994, '95 and '96.
Prior to his professional baseball career, Bret was a standout at Cal State Fullerton where he was part of two teams that played at the College World Series (’92 & ’94). He played for future Hall of Fame Coach Augie Garrido and current Oregon Head Coach George Horton. He was voted “Best Defensive Player” for the 1994 team. Bret was named honorable mention All-Big West in 1994 and was voted to the All-Tournament Team for the 1994 Midwest I Regional. Coach Hemphill feels the time that he spent at Fullerton was not only the most rewarding time he had in baseball, but the most educational as well. It was there that he feels he really learned how to play the game the right way.
Prior to his professional baseball career, Bret was a standout at Cal State Fullerton where he was part of two teams that played at the College World Series (’92 & ’94). He played for future Hall of Fame Coach Augie Garrido and current Oregon Head Coach George Horton. He was voted “Best Defensive Player” for the 1994 team. Bret was named honorable mention All-Big West in 1994 and was voted to the All-Tournament Team for the 1994 Midwest I Regional. Coach Hemphill feels the time that he spent at Fullerton was not only the most rewarding time he had in baseball, but the most educational as well. It was there that he feels he really learned how to play the game the right way.
Bret is one of the three founders of Golden Spikes Baseball in Roseville. Golden Spikes Baseball is a baseball academy dedicated to improving the skills of young athletes who wish to perform at a high level. Bret can be found doing many lessons at Arena Softball in Roseville during his time away from Sierra College.
Bret and his wife Stephanie live in Roseville with their two daughters Julia 12, and Ashlyn 9. Bret has plans to be a head coach someday.
Assistant Coach - Mikela Olsen
Mikela, recently coached at the high-school level as the head J.V. baseball coach at Granite Bay High-School in 2008.
As a player, Mikela was a switch hitting first baseman and outfielder. He began his professional career as a 15th round draft pick of the Florida Marlins in 2003. He played 5 years professionally, highlighted by a championship in the Golden Baseball League in 2005 with the San Diego Surf Dawgs.
Prior to his time as a professional, Mikela was a standout college baseball player as well. Out of hgh school Mikela spent 2 years at Santa Ana College in 2001-2002. He helped the Dons advance to back to back California State Super Regionals and helped lead the Dons to a Orange Empire Conference championship in 2001. After his time at Santa Ana he received a scholarship to play under coach John Smith at Sacramento State University.
As a member of the Hornets Mikela was the team M.V.P. in 2003, was awarded the Independent Conference Hitter of the Year in 2003 and was named to Sacramento State Baseball’s All-Decade Team for the years of 2001-2010.
Assistant Coach - Ryan Stevens
The 2012 Season will be Ryan Stevens 2nd Season as an assistant coach with Sierra College. Last year Ryan helped Sierra reach its 8th straight post season. His duties will include working with hitters, infielders, and recruiting. Ryan also coaches youth baseball with the Golden Spikes Baseball Academy. Coach Stevens is working on his Master’s Degree so he can teach at the Junior College level. Ryan played at Del Campo High School where he lettered all four years in baseball and basketball. He made first team All-Metro and All-Conference in 2003, 2004, and ‘05. After High School Ryan red shirted at Sacramento State while on scholarship.
He transferred to Sierra College in 2007 and helped the Wolverines reach the Super Regional Final game where they came up one game short of the state Final Four. In 2008 Ryan was a team captain and batted clean up for the State Championship Team. Ryan was voted 1st team All Big 8 Conference and 1st Team All Northern California. He batted .368 with 8HR and 68 RBI.
After Sierra College Ryan received a scholarship to Sonoma State University and played there in 2009 and 2010. Ryan was voted to the All-CCAA tournament team in 2009. He finished his college career with a batting average well over .300. Ryan now lives in Antelope CA, and hopes to be a head coach one day.
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