Cal State Bakersfield Fires Bob Macaluso

Cal State Bakersfield fired coach Bob Macaluso, the school announced Friday. Pitching coach Jeremy Beard will serve as the Roadrunners interim head coach this spring.

“The university felt that it was in the best interest of the baseball program and our student-athletes to move in a different direction,” athletic director Kenneth Siegfried said in a statement. “We want to thank him for the work he has put into our program over the last two years as both an assistant and a head coach and we wish him the best moving forward.”

Macaluso came to Bakersfield as an assistant coach in the fall of 2014 after seven seasons on staff at UC Irvine. The following spring, the Roadrunners went 37-24-1, won the Western Athletic Conference tournament and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time. Following the season, Bill Kernen retired as head coach and Macaluso was tapped to replace him. In his lone season as head coach, Bakersfield went 19-37.

Beard joined the Bakersfield staff a year ago after two seasons at Portland. Siegfried said he is confident in Beard’s ability to lead the program in 2017.

“He has shown me that he is committed to the vision of the department by promoting academic excellence, providing an outstanding student-athlete experience, pursuing competitive success, and engaging our community,” Siegfried said.