Pepperdine University Athletics

From the 2015 Hall of Fame program:

In June, Rick Hirtensteiner received two pieces of good news. First, he learned he was being inducted into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame as a result of his All-American playing career with the Waves. Not long after that, he became the 17th head coach in Pepperdine baseball history.
 
A standout from Buena High School in Ventura, Calif., Hirtensteiner had played on the U.S. Junior Olympic Team before arriving at Pepperdine in the fall of 1985. He turned down the Houston Astros after being a 34th-round pick in Major League Baseball’s draft.
 
Hirtensteiner cracked the Waves’ lineup as a freshman and had one of the most productive careers in program history. He earned All-West Coast Conference honors all four years and made the first team three times. As a senior in 1989, he capped off his stellar tenure by becoming an All-American first team selection by Baseball America and the WCC’s Player of the Year.
 
He still holds the school records for career total bases (470) and triples (17) and remains highly ranked in runs scored (228, second), hits (295, third), runs batted in (176, third), doubles (57, tied for third), games played (239, fifth) and home runs (28, tied for seventh).
 
During his career, the Waves won at least a share of four WCC titles, played in four NCAA Tournaments, finished with a top 20 national ranking every year and posted a cumulative record of 165-76-7 (.678). The 1986 and 1988 teams made it to NCAA Regional championship games, while the 1987 squad ranked as high as No. 2 nationally and won a school-record 21 consecutive games.
 
As a senior, Hirtensteiner led the Waves with a .365 batting average and tied for the WCC high with 12 home runs. He tied a school single-game record by slugging three home runs in a game at UC Santa Barbara. Additionally, Hirtensteiner picked up several late-season saves while going 3-1 with a 2.12 ERA as a pitcher.
 
During the summer of 1987, he won a silver medal at the Pan American Games while playing for USA Baseball.
 
In addition to his on-field honors, Hirtensteiner earned CoSIDA Academic All-American first team status and was recognized as the WCC’s Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year after his senior year. He graduated in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in business and a 3.85 grade-point average.
 
In January 2007, Hirtensteiner was named to the WCC’s 40th Anniversary Team.
 
After being taken by the California Angels in the eighth round of the 1989 MLB Draft, Hirtensteiner would play professional baseball for seven seasons in the Angels, Florida Marlins and Montreal Expos’ organizations, eventually reaching the AAA level with Montreal.
 
His coaching career began in 1996-97 at Lamar University as a volunteer assistant while he attained a master’s degree in business administration. He returned to Pepperdine prior to the 1998 season as an assistant coach, and he served in that role for 17 seasons before his recent promotion. The Waves advanced to the postseason in 10 of those years and won nearly 600 games.
 
Hirtensteiner and his wife, Shannon, have five sons: Cade, Cullen, Crosby, Colter and Cash.