On April 12th, a ceremony was held at the CSUSM Baseball Field to celebrate its renaming to “The Dennis A. Pugh Baseball Field.”
Dennis Pugh’s legacy at CSUSM began in 2007 when he founded the university’s baseball team. Since then, he led the baseball team to success with his mentorship. Despite having a rough beginning, going 18-23 after the first season, the team eventually flipped that to 22-16-1 after the 2008 season. From there, CSUSM Baseball earned a spot in its first NAIA Tournament in 2009 after winning 27 games. Pugh also contributed to the team’s grand record of 36 wins and drafted 5 players to the MLB. Notable alumni from CSUSM Baseball include Adam Bileckyi, Johnny Holtman (signed with the St. Louis Cardinals and Anaheim Angels), Chris Skaaleen (Oakland Athletics). From his time coaching at Mission Bay High School, Matt Bush (San Diego Padres) and Henry Sanchez (Minnesota Twins) also went into the MLB.
From 2007-2011, CSUSM didn’t have a baseball field, which halted them from playing home games. This motivated Pugh to oversee the construction of the baseball stadium which officially opened on January 28, 2011. This was the same date as their first ever home game which they won 8-7.
Pugh passed away on May 15, 2020, at the age of 73 due to natural causes. Not only did he leave a legacy at CSUSM and in San Diego, but he left a legacy with our country when he served in the U.S Marine Corps and received the Purple Heart. He retired from coaching in 2016.
The renaming went into effect immediately after the ceremony. CSUSM faculty and students, as well as Pugh’s friends, family, and former players all came to the ceremony not only to celebrate the renaming of the field, but to also honor his life and victories.