IRVINE, Calif. --- UC Irvine baseball's coaching staff adds a new Director of Operations for the 2023-24 year in Erich Pfohl.

Erich Pfohl joins the UC Irvine baseball coaching staff ahead of the 2024 season as the Director of Operations. A veteran to college baseball coaching having done so since 2016, he comes most recently from the University of San Diego baseball where he was an assistant coach for the last two seasons with the Toreros going 51-45-1 in that time with a trip to the 2022 NCAA Corvallis Regional and 2022 WCC Tournament Championship.

With Pfohl in the third base coaching box, the 2022 campaign saw San Diego return to heights not seen in Alcala Park in nearly a decade. The Toreros went 37-20 (17-10 WCC), placing tied for second in the West Coast Conference's regular-season standings before completing a rousing run through the WCC Tournament bracket at Banner Island Ballpark to take home the team's second-ever WCC Tournament Championship.The victory advanced USD to the NCAA Corvallis Regional, where it opened the event with a signature win over perennial powerhouse Vanderbilt, beating the Commodores 3-2 before a packed crowd at Goss Stadium and a national audience watching at home on ESPNU. 

His first season with the Toreros saw him help direct the West Coast Conference's top offense, steering San Diego to the league lead in runs scored (390), hits (565), home runs (57), runs batted in (359), batting average (.286), on-base percentage (.384), and slugging percentage (.437) while striking out the second-least (375 times) of the WCC's 10 teams. This excellence at the plate was paired with elite defense — San Diego's .980 fielding percentage in 2022 led the WCC and ranked 15th nationally. Pfohl's guidance helped catcher Caleb Ricketts earn the 10th WCC Player of the Year honor in program history alongside all-conference selections for three other players (infielders Chase Meidroth, Kevin Sim, and RJ Teijeiro), including three to the First Team (Ricketts, Sim, and Meidroth).

San Diego's historic campaign culminated with two of Pfohl's players being selected in the 2022 MLB Draft: infielder Chase Meidroth to the Boston Red Sox (fourth round, 129th overall pick) and catcher Caleb Ricketts to the Philadelphia Phillies (seventh round, 212th overall pick). Paired with the two USD pitchers that were selected (lefties Brycen Mautz and Ian Churchill), the group represented the most Toreros taken in the first two rounds of the draft since 2010.

Prior to USD, Pfohl served as the first head coach in program at Hope International University (NAIA) in Fullerton, California.

While with the Royals, Pfohl led the baseball program through its formative years, steering the team to a 162-114-1 overall record, two regular-season GSAC titles (2017, 2021), a  GSAC Tournament Championship (2019) and three NAIA postseason appearances (2017, 2019, and 2021) in his six years at the helm.

Eleven of Pfohl's players at HIU earned All-GSAC honors, four were named GSAC Gold Glove Team Selections, two were selected as the GSAC Pitcher of the Year, six were named NAIA All-American Selections, and two were Cliff Hamlow Champion of Character Award winners.

Pfohl began his coaching career in 2007 at Warren High School after three seasons (2004-2006) as a pitcher for the Whittier College Poets. His stops previous to HIU included Cypress College, the Cape Cod League, the Northwoods League, Vanguard University, and Cal State Dominguez Hills, where he coached nine-year MLB veteran Kevin Pillar.

A native of Moraga, California, Pfohl has two children with his wife Kristina: daughter Chloe McKenna and son Gavin Reece.