John Goelz

John Goelz is an American baseball coach who is the current head coach of the Sonoma State Seawolves.[1] His career head coaching record is 1,150–810–5, as of the end of the 2023 season.[2] Prior to his coaching career, Goelz played college baseball at San Francisco State. He was a pitcher for the Gators in the mid-1970s.[3] He was named Northern California Athletic Conference Coach of the Year four times and was California Collegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 2001, 2007 and 2008.[4] Goelz has been recognized nationally by receiving awards from American Baseball Coaches Association and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association by being named NCAA Division II West Region Coach of the Year a total of five times.[5][6][7][8]

He began coaching as an assistant at his alma mater, San Francisco State from 1977 to 1982. He then became the varsity coach at Albany (HS). In 1986, he became the head coach at Sonoma State, replacing Steve Blateric. He recorded his first career victory on February 11, 1986, against The Master's College. On April 29, 1989, he recorded his 100th victory against UC Davis. On May 4, 2001, Goelz recorded his 500th career victory against UC San Diego. In 2008, Sonoma State had a 29–1 start to the season, the Seawolves set a school record with 52 wins on their way to their first trip to the NCAA Division II Championship Tournament. In 2011, four Seawolves were selected in the first eleven rounds and they led all Division II teams with four draftees. As of 2013, Goelz had a 55–53 career record against Division I opponents.[9] On April 25, 2015, Goelz earned his 1,000th career victory.[10] Goelz has managed former Major League Baseball players Daniel Barone, Tommy Everidge, O'Koyea Dickson and Scott Alexander. Seattle Mariners hitting coach Tony Arnerich also worked under Goelz as an assistant coach in 2006. As of 2023, 41 players have been selected in the Major League Baseball draft under Goelz.[11][12]