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Gill Announces Coaching Staff
July 18, 2019 | Baseball, Features
LOS ANGELES – Newly hired USC Baseball Head Coach Jason Gill announced his coaching staff today, as he brings in former Nebraska pitching coach Ted Silva and will retain longtime Trojan assistant Gabe Alvarez.
Alvarez will serve as the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach, while still working with the infielders, and Silva will work with the pitching staff. Alvarez, a former Trojan standout on the diamond, has been with the program for the past nine seasons. Silva, a former teammate and assistant coach of Gill's, has been a collegiate coach for the past 15 years.
"The standard for USC baseball is winning championships," said Gill. "Ted and Gabe both come from championship pedigrees and each played in Omaha, with Ted also coaching in Omaha. Having both of these guys on staff, I feel we have the ingredients to uphold the standards that have been set here, and I feel that we will be in contention nationally in short order."
TED SILVA
Silva comes to USC after serving as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Nebraska under Darin Erstad, helping the Huskers to three NCAA Tournament appearances and six appearances in the Big 10 Tournament since 2012. He and Gill were teammates at Cal State Fullerton and coached together at Loyola Marymount.
"We are extremely excited to bring Ted and his family to USC," said Gill. "When I got hired, my first task was to assemble one of the most complete, competitive and elite coaching staffs in the country. Ted has proven to be one of the best pitching coaches and recruiting coordinators in all of college baseball. He has the unique ability to reach out to all different types of pitchers and to help them develop not only mechanically, but mentally and physically as well. He is a Southern California native who has worked hard to earn the respect of his peers and players by doing things the right way. Ted is the complete package and will fit in with our standard of championships here at USC."
Silva's pitching staffs at Nebraska were ranked in the top 100 nationally in ERA four times during his tenure, including the 24th best ERA (3.12) in the country in 2015. On the recruiting side, Silva's 2019 class was ranked as high as No. 16 in the country and his 2013 class was the highest ranked in school history, coming in at No. 11 nationally that year. The Huskers' 2014 class was also ranked in the top 25 as well.
During Silva's time as the Nebraska pitching coach, nine Husker arms were selected in the MLB Draft, including Aaron Bummer, who made his Major League debut with the White Sox in 2017.
Prior to his time in Lincoln, Silva served as Gill's pitching coach in his inaugural season at LMU in 2011, helping the Lions' pitchers cut their ERA nearly in half from the previous season to 3.25, which was good for 30th in the country. Three LMU pitchers were eventually selected in the 2011 MLB Draft.
Silva served the three preceding seasons (2008-10) at UC Irvine under legendary skipper Mike Gillespie, helping the Anteater pitchers to 19 combined All-America awards and some of the best numbers in program history. Silva's UCI staffs had the nation's third-best ERA (3.27) in 2008, a program-record 503 strikeouts in 2008, tied the program record with 20 saves in 2009 and led the Big West in ERA (3.98) and strikeouts (483) in 2010.
He spent the 2007 season at Fresno State, working under Head Coach Mike Batesole, and helping to lead the Bulldogs to an NCAA Regional appearance and the second best ERA (4.54) in the WAC.
Silva started his collegiate coaching career as a volunteer assistant at his alma mater Cal State Fullerton (2005-06), working for Head Coach George Horton and alongside Gill to get the Titans to Omaha in 2006.
As a player for the Titans, Silva pitched three seasons (1993-95), posting a 26-7 overall record and 2.92 ERA. As a teammate of Gill, he helped lead the 1994 team to Omaha and then played a central role on the 1995 National Championship squad, earning the win in the title game against USC.
Silva was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 21st round of the 1995 MLB Draft and spent five seasons in the Rangers organization. He also spent a year pitching overseas in Taiwan and played one year of independent ball in the Atlantic League.
A Southern California native, Silva attended Redondo Union High School, where he graduated in 1992.
GABE ALVAREZ
Alvarez, a former major leaguer, is set to enter his 10th season as an assistant coach at USC in the 2020 season.
"I'm thrilled to keep Gabe here at USC," said Gill. "When I was looking for guys to fill the responsibilities of recruiting coordinator, I knew I needed a guy with experience in the Pac-12 and who knew the landscape of power five recruitment. Gabe has proven with his multiple top 25 recruiting classes that he is one of the elite recruiters in the country. On top of the excellent recruiting, his ability to develop infielders and advance hitters to play at the next level is second to none. As a three-time All-American, Gabe has the unique perspective of also having been a student-athlete here at USC, and that is invaluable to our incoming recruits. He is a Trojan through and through and we are happy to keep him in a USC uniform."
The team's official recruiting coordinator since 2015, Alvarez has helped produce multiple top 25 recruiting classes and was named one of the nation's top 30 recruiters by D1Baseball.com in 2016. The Trojans' 2018 class was ranked No. 14 in the country by Baseball America and was the top-ranked class on the West Coast according to Perfect Game. The 2017 class was ranked 17th nationally.
A standout infielder himself, Alvarez has helped the Trojans develop one of the best defensive infields in the nation during his tenure. As a team, USC has had at least a .973 fielding percentage seven of the last nine seasons and the infield has turned at least 40 double plays seven of the last eight years as well. Alvarez has helped develop four All-Pac-12 first-team infielders during his tenure and coached third baseman Brandon Perez to Gold Glove honors in 2018. Since Alvarez came to USC in 2011, 10 Trojan infielders have been selected in the MLB Draft.
Alvarez played at USC as a shortstop from 1993-95 and had a career .338 batting average for the Trojans, with 28 home runs and 163 RBI. He earned Baseball America All-America second team honors in his 1993 freshman season, after batting .326 with eight home runs and 53 RBI. In 1994, he was a first-team All-America pick by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association after batting .326 with seven home runs and 51 RBI. In 1995, he was part of the Trojan squad that made its first trip to the College World Series since 1978, as USC reached the national title game. After batting .361 with 13 home runs and 59 RBI, Alvarez earned ABCA and NCBWA All-America first team, Collegiate Baseball All-America second team and Baseball America All-America third team honors.
He was a second-round selection in the 1995 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres and played three seasons in the major leagues (1998-2000). He was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 1997 expansion draft before being traded to the Detroit Tigers. He made his debut in 1998 with the Tigers and was eventually traded to the San Diego Padres in 2000, where he finished his career by playing 92 total major league games.
The El Monte, Calif. native graduated from Bishop Amat High School.
Alvarez will serve as the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach, while still working with the infielders, and Silva will work with the pitching staff. Alvarez, a former Trojan standout on the diamond, has been with the program for the past nine seasons. Silva, a former teammate and assistant coach of Gill's, has been a collegiate coach for the past 15 years.
"The standard for USC baseball is winning championships," said Gill. "Ted and Gabe both come from championship pedigrees and each played in Omaha, with Ted also coaching in Omaha. Having both of these guys on staff, I feel we have the ingredients to uphold the standards that have been set here, and I feel that we will be in contention nationally in short order."
TED SILVA
Silva comes to USC after serving as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Nebraska under Darin Erstad, helping the Huskers to three NCAA Tournament appearances and six appearances in the Big 10 Tournament since 2012. He and Gill were teammates at Cal State Fullerton and coached together at Loyola Marymount.
"We are extremely excited to bring Ted and his family to USC," said Gill. "When I got hired, my first task was to assemble one of the most complete, competitive and elite coaching staffs in the country. Ted has proven to be one of the best pitching coaches and recruiting coordinators in all of college baseball. He has the unique ability to reach out to all different types of pitchers and to help them develop not only mechanically, but mentally and physically as well. He is a Southern California native who has worked hard to earn the respect of his peers and players by doing things the right way. Ted is the complete package and will fit in with our standard of championships here at USC."
Silva's pitching staffs at Nebraska were ranked in the top 100 nationally in ERA four times during his tenure, including the 24th best ERA (3.12) in the country in 2015. On the recruiting side, Silva's 2019 class was ranked as high as No. 16 in the country and his 2013 class was the highest ranked in school history, coming in at No. 11 nationally that year. The Huskers' 2014 class was also ranked in the top 25 as well.
During Silva's time as the Nebraska pitching coach, nine Husker arms were selected in the MLB Draft, including Aaron Bummer, who made his Major League debut with the White Sox in 2017.
Prior to his time in Lincoln, Silva served as Gill's pitching coach in his inaugural season at LMU in 2011, helping the Lions' pitchers cut their ERA nearly in half from the previous season to 3.25, which was good for 30th in the country. Three LMU pitchers were eventually selected in the 2011 MLB Draft.
Silva served the three preceding seasons (2008-10) at UC Irvine under legendary skipper Mike Gillespie, helping the Anteater pitchers to 19 combined All-America awards and some of the best numbers in program history. Silva's UCI staffs had the nation's third-best ERA (3.27) in 2008, a program-record 503 strikeouts in 2008, tied the program record with 20 saves in 2009 and led the Big West in ERA (3.98) and strikeouts (483) in 2010.
He spent the 2007 season at Fresno State, working under Head Coach Mike Batesole, and helping to lead the Bulldogs to an NCAA Regional appearance and the second best ERA (4.54) in the WAC.
Silva started his collegiate coaching career as a volunteer assistant at his alma mater Cal State Fullerton (2005-06), working for Head Coach George Horton and alongside Gill to get the Titans to Omaha in 2006.
As a player for the Titans, Silva pitched three seasons (1993-95), posting a 26-7 overall record and 2.92 ERA. As a teammate of Gill, he helped lead the 1994 team to Omaha and then played a central role on the 1995 National Championship squad, earning the win in the title game against USC.
Silva was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 21st round of the 1995 MLB Draft and spent five seasons in the Rangers organization. He also spent a year pitching overseas in Taiwan and played one year of independent ball in the Atlantic League.
A Southern California native, Silva attended Redondo Union High School, where he graduated in 1992.
GABE ALVAREZ
Alvarez, a former major leaguer, is set to enter his 10th season as an assistant coach at USC in the 2020 season.
"I'm thrilled to keep Gabe here at USC," said Gill. "When I was looking for guys to fill the responsibilities of recruiting coordinator, I knew I needed a guy with experience in the Pac-12 and who knew the landscape of power five recruitment. Gabe has proven with his multiple top 25 recruiting classes that he is one of the elite recruiters in the country. On top of the excellent recruiting, his ability to develop infielders and advance hitters to play at the next level is second to none. As a three-time All-American, Gabe has the unique perspective of also having been a student-athlete here at USC, and that is invaluable to our incoming recruits. He is a Trojan through and through and we are happy to keep him in a USC uniform."
The team's official recruiting coordinator since 2015, Alvarez has helped produce multiple top 25 recruiting classes and was named one of the nation's top 30 recruiters by D1Baseball.com in 2016. The Trojans' 2018 class was ranked No. 14 in the country by Baseball America and was the top-ranked class on the West Coast according to Perfect Game. The 2017 class was ranked 17th nationally.
A standout infielder himself, Alvarez has helped the Trojans develop one of the best defensive infields in the nation during his tenure. As a team, USC has had at least a .973 fielding percentage seven of the last nine seasons and the infield has turned at least 40 double plays seven of the last eight years as well. Alvarez has helped develop four All-Pac-12 first-team infielders during his tenure and coached third baseman Brandon Perez to Gold Glove honors in 2018. Since Alvarez came to USC in 2011, 10 Trojan infielders have been selected in the MLB Draft.
Alvarez played at USC as a shortstop from 1993-95 and had a career .338 batting average for the Trojans, with 28 home runs and 163 RBI. He earned Baseball America All-America second team honors in his 1993 freshman season, after batting .326 with eight home runs and 53 RBI. In 1994, he was a first-team All-America pick by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association after batting .326 with seven home runs and 51 RBI. In 1995, he was part of the Trojan squad that made its first trip to the College World Series since 1978, as USC reached the national title game. After batting .361 with 13 home runs and 59 RBI, Alvarez earned ABCA and NCBWA All-America first team, Collegiate Baseball All-America second team and Baseball America All-America third team honors.
He was a second-round selection in the 1995 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres and played three seasons in the major leagues (1998-2000). He was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 1997 expansion draft before being traded to the Detroit Tigers. He made his debut in 1998 with the Tigers and was eventually traded to the San Diego Padres in 2000, where he finished his career by playing 92 total major league games.
The El Monte, Calif. native graduated from Bishop Amat High School.
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