Hot 25: 2009 Honorees
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Mike Gillespie
Head Coach, UC Irvine Baseball Team
Age: 69
Fact: He was cut from his Little League team at age 11. “I made the team at age 12, though!”
His philosophy: “We can never presume a victory; we must prove ourselves each game.”
In only his second season as UC Irvine’s head baseball coach, Mike Gillespie this year led the Anteaters to victory: The squad was named the No. 1 team in the nation and given the No. 6 spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Anteaters finished the season with 45 wins and only 15 losses.
“It was a great opportunity to return to college baseball at an elite university,” Gillespie says. “It’s a program that has enjoyed success – plus it has a facility that is first-class and is located in paradise.”
Before becoming head coach in 2007, Gillespie coached at USC for 20 years. He helped the Trojans earn appearances in 15 postseason tournaments and four College World Series.
And his accomplishments haven’t gone unnoticed. He’ll be inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in January.
“I have a hard time thinking of myself as a Hall of Famer, and it’s humbling to realize that it’s happening,” Gillespie says.
“I think it means that I’ve been doing this a long time.”
– Ashley Eliot
OC METRO's 2009 Hot 25 honorees:
Toby Bost | Mike Gillespie | Anil Puri | Sean Collins
Kevin Boylan & T.K. Pillan | Dr. Jason Knight | Hugh Hewitt
Luke Allen | Tina Aldatz | Sukhee Kang | Glenn Gray
Amelia & Florent Marneau | Tim McFerran | Tallia Hart
Bill Sanderson | Henrik Fisker | Janet Hamada | Wayne Gross
Julie Miller-Phipps | Michael Ruane | Carl St.Clair
Pretend City | Phil Willms | Sheryl Bourgeois | Steve Nichols
<<< Back to 2009 honorees
Web extra:
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of OC METRO's Hot 25 awards, here are our original Hot 25 honorees, who were featured in 1990.
Doug Rankin | Erich Vollmer | Dennis Aigner | Greg Patton
Janice Mittermeier | Carol Stogsdill | Carl St.Clair
Anton Segerstrom | Christopher Cox | Christine (Reed) Iger
Dr. Robert Bade | Thomas Mays | Mike Goode
Richard Gadbois | Rudy Castruita | Debbie Miede
Ernest C. Brown | Mossimo Giannulli | Daniel L. Rasmussen
Cynthia Ellner | Kathryn Braun Lewis | David Wilhelm
<<< Back to Web extra main page:
first Hot 25 honorees
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Head Coach, UC Irvine Baseball Team Age: 69 Fact: He was cut from his Little League team at age 11. “I made the team at age 12, though!” His philosophy: “We can never presume a victory; we must prove ourselves each game.” In only his second season as UC Irvine’s head baseball coach, Mike Gillespie this year led the Anteaters to victory: The squad was named the No. 1 team in the nation and given the No. 6 spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Anteaters finished the season with 45 wins and only 15 losses. “It was a great opportunity to return to college baseball at an elite university,” Gillespie says. “It’s a program that has enjoyed success – plus it has a facility that is first-class and is located in paradise.” Before becoming head coach in 2007, Gillespie coached at USC for 20 years. He helped the Trojans earn appearances in 15 postseason tournaments and four College World Series. And his accomplishments haven’t gone unnoticed. He’ll be inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in January. “I have a hard time thinking of myself as a Hall of Famer, and it’s humbling to realize that it’s happening,” Gillespie says. “I think it means that I’ve been doing this a long time.” – Ashley Eliot OC METRO's 2009 Hot 25 honorees: Toby Bost | Mike Gillespie | Anil Puri | Sean Collins Kevin Boylan & T.K. Pillan | Dr. Jason Knight | Hugh Hewitt Luke Allen | Tina Aldatz | Sukhee Kang | Glenn Gray Amelia & Florent Marneau | Tim McFerran | Tallia Hart Bill Sanderson | Henrik Fisker | Janet Hamada | Wayne Gross Julie Miller-Phipps | Michael Ruane | Carl St.Clair Pretend City | Phil Willms | Sheryl Bourgeois | Steve Nichols <<< Back to 2009 honorees Web extra: To celebrate the 20th anniversary of OC METRO's Hot 25 awards, here are our original Hot 25 honorees, who were featured in 1990. Doug Rankin | Erich Vollmer | Dennis Aigner | Greg Patton Janice Mittermeier | Carol Stogsdill | Carl St.Clair Anton Segerstrom | Christopher Cox | Christine (Reed) Iger Dr. Robert Bade | Thomas Mays | Mike Goode Richard Gadbois | Rudy Castruita | Debbie Miede Ernest C. Brown | Mossimo Giannulli | Daniel L. Rasmussen Cynthia Ellner | Kathryn Braun Lewis | David Wilhelm <<< Back to Web extra main page: first Hot 25 honorees |
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