*Think of the name Pat Casey and assuredly the phrase "one of the nation's top collegiate coaches" comes to mind.
In 14 seasons at Oregon State, Casey has taken the Beavers and made them one of top programs in the nation. He has taken the Beavers to three College World Series, won two national titles, claimed the Pacific-10 Conference twice and has seen nine different players earn All-America honors. For his work, Casey has been named National Coach of the Year by multiple organizations on multiple occasions. Entering his 15th season, Casey has established a 468-295-4 record with the Beavers. Now in 21 seasons as a collegiate coach, the Newburg, Ore., native takes a 639-408-5 mark into 2009.
In the past four seasons, Casey has guided the Beavers to 173 victories, which is second in the Pac-10 by just four wins. During that same stretch, Casey's clubs have won 56 conference games, which is tied for the second-most among division clubs. In that four-year stretch, six players have earned All-America honors while 13 players have been recognized as All-Pac-10 performers. That includes two league Most Valuable Player awards and two Defensive Player of the Year selections.
Casey also saw his team have seven selections in the MLB First-Year Player Draft, giving the club 24 over the past three seasons, a program record.
In 2007, Casey, his staff and the team's players worked hard to build team chemistry, coming together at the right time for a second-straight national championship. Oregon State went an incredible 39-4 in non-conference games, including an 11-1 mark in the postseason. After losing their second game at the Charlottesville Regional, the Beavers went on a dynamic run, winning their last 10 games – including five in Omaha – to claim the national title.
"Not only did Oregon State become only the fifth school and the first in 10 years to repeat as national champions, but it also did it in dominating fashion. The Beavers won all five of their CWS games and trailed in only one of the 45 innings they played here," wrote ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach from Omaha.
That title has thrusted Oregon State including NCAA baseball lore. The Beavers became just the fifth program to win back-to-back national titles, joining Texas (1949-50), USC (1970-74), Stanford (1987-88) and LSU (1996-97).
For his ability to mold the Beavers into the nation's finest, Casey was again recognized as a national coach of the year, this time by Collegiate Baseball and the American Baseball Coaches Association. The honors comes a year after Casey was the consensus national coach of the year in leading Oregon State to its first title. That 2006 title was just as special, as the Beavers became the first program from the Pacific Northwest to the NCAA Division I College World Series.
The 2006 Beavers had a storybook season, capped by a run through the CWS that saw them win six elimination games in Omaha to win the national championship. After being beaten by Miami (Fla.) in its opening game, OSU won four straight-- including back-to-back shutouts of top-ranked Rice--to reach the championship series. In the best-of-three finals against North Carolina, OSU lost the opening game and trailed by five runs in the second game before rallying for wins of 11-7 and 3-2 for the title.
Oregon State's 50-16 season set a school record for wins for the second straight season, and the Beavers refuse-to-lose style of play captured the hearts of not only those watching in Omaha, but college baseball fans across the nation.
After the 2006 season, Oregon State signed Casey to a new 10-year contract to guarantee his future in Corvallis. Casey had become an attractive candidate for coaching vacancies at a number of high-profile schools given the Beavers' amazing success.