Spring sports are finally here!
Coming along with the spring season, Pepperdine Baseball gears up to get its 2025 season started. With 23 lower level students, 18 upper level students and an all new coaching staff, Waves Baseball has seen much change but is looking to get back on track to Pepperdine Waves’ winning past.
“The vision is to get back to what Pepperdine Baseball was and what it has been, and that is a championship-level program,” Head Coach Tyler LaTorre said. “Culture doesn’t change overnight, but we’re slowly starting to change that.”
Pepperdine hasn’t had a winning record since the shortened 2020 season and is recently coming off a 15-38 2024 season. This rough stretch marked the end of an era for Waves Baseball as former Head Coach Rick Hirtensteiner concluded his 26-year coaching tenure with Pepperdine, serving nine as head coach, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
On June 14, Director of Athletics Tanner Gardner announced LaTorre as the next skipper, marking the dawn of a new era for Waves Baseball.
In his first year at the helm, LaTorre said the beginning of this era is a rebuilding process for the program, starting with a new look to the coaching staff.
New Look Coaching Staff
LaTorre brought in Logan Robbins, hitting coach and recruiting coordinator, and Dane Stankiewicz, assistant coach and fielding coordinator. Stankiewicz is also the son of Andy Stankiewicz, Waves alum and former MLB professional.
“Our coaching staff care, and they’re passionate about baseball, but they’re more passionate about people, and that was important to me,” LaTorre said. “As a head coach, we want our coaching staff to just be an extension of us as head coaches, and that’s what I did.”
The club retained Pitching Coach Cameron Rowland, who has a history with LaTorre at San Francisco State University. Rowland took over as the team’s pitching coach following LaTorre’s decision to take another role. Due to this past, LaTorre said he trusts Rowland’s ability to develop pitchers while also noting how Rowland’s own growth as a coach has been noticeable.
“His passion, his drive on player development, is something that allowed me to keep him on the staff,” LaTorre said.
That same player development has already made its way to the roster, as both veterans and rookies have said the coaching staff alone has helped pave the way for team growth.
Freshman infielder Danny Cook said from the hitting side, Robbins ensures each hitter has a dedicated hitting plan, methodically building one around the style of hitter you are.
“He sees what we can improve on but also sees our strengths and helps us utilize those strengths,” Cook said.
And when it comes to LaTorre, Cook said his perspective on the game is something he hasn’t ever seen from a coach before.
“He’s very good at seeing all aspects of the game,” Cook said. “All the coaches are great at seeing the game, but he sees the game and a different perspective, from a catcher’s point of view.”
A Plethora of Experience Alongside a Young Roster
The team is very young, with 23 lower level students leading the charge. However, the coaching staff and players said they also have many returners whose experience will pay dividends moving forward.
“We have a lot of returning players and a lot of older returning players,” senior infielder Justin Rubin said. “We have a really hungry group that is eager to show what they can do.”
Rubin is one of these returners. He battled through injuries last season, but to LaTorre, his presence alone will help the program’s future.
“Pepperdine, in the past, has always had that shortstop in the middle of the field, and I think Justin Rubin has a lot to prove, not only to himself and to his teammates, but to the whole country,” LaTorre said. “I’m looking forward to having him back in the lineup after he battled injury last year.”
Alongside Rubin, the team welcomes back all but one Wave from the 2023 roster: right-handed pitcher Nick Bonn. Losing Bonn was a massive blow to the pitching outlook coming into the season, but LaTorre noted redshirt junior Tommy Scavone and graduate Matthew Boyer as two pitchers who are key to their staff moving forward.
“You’ve got those two guys that are coming back with me having my pitching background as a pitching coach,” LaTorre said. “I want to hopefully help them, guide them to be better pitchers.”
In addition, LaTorre has prioritized instilling a leadership mentality into the veterans and the freshmen. He says this mentality is important to building a dependable group of teammates.
“I’ve had a lot of conversations with the other guys of the group, and I don’t do team captains; team captains is something that isn’t in my philosophy,” LaTorre said. “The entire team needs to be team leaders in their own right, and they need to be authentic to themselves.”
Season Outlook
It is no secret that Pepperdine is entering a new chapter in its program, and the coaching staff and players know the beginning will be a rebuilding process. However, the players said they have the dedication toward putting in the hard work to potentially surprise everyone this season.
“A big thing for us is we will not be able to out-talent our opponents, but we can out-beat them in the things you can control, in our preparation,” Rubin said.
The freshman and sophomores on the roster have already noticed this dedication to hard work, and Cook said it will set up Pepperdine’s program moving forward.
“What stands out to me is our work ethic,” Cook said. “We have a couple of really good, hard-working guys that just want to get better and that has the mindset that they want to do anything that it takes to win. Young guys that have that mentality, getting the information and knowledge from these older guys is going to be a great setup for a great program building forward.”
So far, the team has survived fall ball and officially opened their 2025 season Feb. 14, against the University of Utah at Eddy D. Field Stadium, dropping the matchup 1-3 in extras.
However, in their short pre season stint, LaTorre said he has learned much about this team.
“They have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder,” LaTorre said. “We have returners who probably came here with high aspirations of being a part of Pepperdine and the winning tradition, and obviously, it hasn’t gone the way they had hoped. They have a little bit of a sour taste in their mouth of how it has gone, and they want to be a part of that change.”
LaTorre said that change may not happen at the College World Series in Omaha, but in the culture that this current set of Waves are setting the standard for, future Waves will likely follow in their footsteps.
However, the players’ competitiveness has Rubin and Cook wanting to go all out, surprise everyone and win the West Coast Conference. But more importantly, to Cook, he wants to be the start of a winning program.
“My expectations are that we at least make the conference tournament, we win the conference tournament and ultimately make regionals,” Cook said. “See what happens from there but also be better, a lot better than last year, and compete in every single game we’re in.”
On top of this, LaTorre and his Waves will focus on upholding a winning mentality as they navigate the toughness of a college baseball season. He said he will always be on guard for instances of the previous culture creeping back in, especially when the team hits a rough patch.
“College baseball is really hard, especially out here on the West Coast,” LaTorre said. “We have a really tough schedule, and even though there may be a loss on the scoreboard, allowing our guys to understand and know that we may have lost on the scoreboard, but walking down into the clubhouse the next day, we still have an opportunity to win today.”
The WCC also selected Rubin to their 2025 WCC Preseason Team, with Pepperdine slated to finish seventh in the league, according to Pepperdine Athletics.
Let’s Go Waves!
As the Waves approach the beginning of the season, the teams said fan support will help power them through a new era of Pepperdine Baseball.
“If people can see the progress we’re making, they’ll want to come out to more games,” Cook said. “No one wants to watch a bad team, so we’ll let the playing speak for itself, but fans are definitely a big part because we like playing in front of people.”
LaTorre echoed his player’s sentiments.
“I want fans to come out and watch us,” LaTorre said. “This is a great place to watch a game, and we have a lot of home games, so check out our schedule, and come down and take in a game.”
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Email Justin Rodriguez: justin.rodriguez@pepperdine.edu
