Baseball Coach Dennis Pugh announced his retirement at the seventh annual Student-Athlete Award Banquet on April 11.  

Prior to coming to CSUSM, Pugh spent 27 years at Mission Bay High School in Pacific Beach. He led the team to 18 Western League Championships, eight CIF titles and 12 appearances in the CIF Championship game.

Pugh founded the baseball program at CSUSM in 2007. Five former CSUSM players, coached by Pugh, have signed a Major League Baseball contract.

In 2009 the Cougars made their first appearance in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Championship Tournament. In 2011 the Cougars won the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) Championship. The Cougars then moved on to the NAIA National Tournament and finished third, the best finish in program history. Their best overall record also happened in 2011 when they won 34-19.  

In 2015 Pugh and his Cougars achieved his third A.I.I. in 5 seasons.

Pugh’s last game with the Cougars will be at home on May 8 against UCSD.