After three decades of moderate success under Gary Adams, it
would seem the UCLA Athletic Department might want to make a clean
break from the Adams regime and hire a coach from outside the
baseball program.
But surprisingly, there is an in-house candidate for the job
““ UCLA hitting coach Vince Beringhele.
Athletic Director Dan Guerrero informed Beringhele late last
summer that he was a contender to be Adams’ successor, and
Beringhele is definitely interested.
“We talked after Gary announced his retirement,”
Beringhele said. “He said, “˜I want you to know you are
a contender for the job.’ But we haven’t really spoken
about the job ever since then.”
Associate Athletic Director Ken Weiner, who is in charge of the
search, stressed that the fact that Beringhele has coached under
Adams will not be detrimental to his candidacy.
“Every candidate will be judged on his merits,”
Weiner said.
For the players that will be returning next year, Beringhele has
enough merit to be considered their top choice.
“I’d love it if Vinny took over the spot. He’s
been with the program a long time and he deserves it,” junior
outfielder Billy Susdorf said. “He knows the program inside
and out. He’s a good guy. If he got the job, I would be all
for it.”
Sophomore first baseman Brett McMillan agrees with Susdorf.
“The obvious pick would be Vinny. We’re all used to
him and we have a level of comfort with Vinny,” McMillan
said. “If Skip (Adams) is giving him his full endorsement,
then I am giving him his full endorsement.”
Beringhele has been the team’s hitting coach for 15 years
and is also the recruiting coordinator for the Bruins.
He has groomed nine hitters that have been drafted in the first
five rounds, his most successful pupil being 2002 World Series MVP
Troy Glaus.
Beringhele’s recruiting classes have also been highly
regarded. In 1997 the pre-eminent college baseball magazine
Baseball America rated UCLA’s recruiting class No. 1 in the
country. In 2003, it rated the recruiting class No. 5.
Beringhele coached for two years at Cal State Los Angeles before
joining the Bruins staff in 1990. He is a Los Angeles native,
attended Loyola High School, and graduated from UCLA in 1983.
Another potential candidate for the job, Arizona coach Andy
Lopez, spoke highly of Beringhele.
“The pluses to a guy like Vince are continuity,”
Lopez said. “He’s an experienced college coach, and he
knows the inside workings of the Pac-10.”
Despite these merits which make Beringhele his top choice, Adams
knows the decision will be out of his hands.
“I want Vinny to be my successor, but I’m not the
athletic director. It’s not my choice, it’s his,”
Adams said. “I have no idea (on whether Beringhele will be
hired), this is one of those “˜I hope so’ type of
things.”
Adams also knows that if the greatest coach in UCLA history,
John Wooden, could not get his choice hired, that his voice will be
similarly ignored.
“When John Wooden retired, he wanted Denny Crum to be his
successor, and Crum went to Louisville,” Adams said.
“If they didn’t listen to John Wooden, they
aren’t going to listen to me.”
The athletic department has kept quiet about the search and has
not released names of any candidates. Beringhele believes this is
because it wants to have the focus of the season be on Adams, not
on the coaching search.
“They have played it very close to the vest, and I think
part of that is because it is Gary’s last year,”
Beringhele said.
“They didn’t want a distraction and they wanted to
give him his just desserts. It’s Gary’s last year, not
the year of the new coach.”
According to Beringhele, no decision will be made until the end
of the season.