June 2008 Archives

San Bernardino Valley College stayed close to home in selecting the next coach for its marquee athletic program as Quincy Brewer has been named men's basketball coach.

Brewer, 34, spent last season as an assistant to Gerry Wright. He is the program's fourth coach in as many years. The past three coaches were once assistants in the program.

Brewer is an Inland Empire product. He graduated from Riverside North High School in 1992 and later came back to get his start in coaching at Riverside Ramona High School after finishing college.

He has a bachelor's degree in social work and master's degrees in education and physical education.

"I grew up here and I like this area," Brewer said. "This job doesn't have to be the stepping stone for anything else for me."

Brewer's appointment was finalized at the monthly Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday although word of his selection has been circulating for several weeks.

Wright, then an assistant, took over the program in December of 2006 when Derrick Pugh was let go only minutes before the team was leaving for an afternoon game. Wright did an admirable job and led the team to a Foothill Conference title, earning conference coach of the year honors in the process.

The team settled for fourth in 2007-08, missing the playoffs for the first time in 10 years. But that is deceiving. The Wolverines finished 13-15 overall and a respectable 9-5 in conference and were part of a four-way tie for first on the final day of the season.

Wright was not retained because his master's degree is in education and the position is full-time, based out of the physical education department which requires a master's in that area.

The two boast contrasting styles.

"He's the guy that's cool as ice and I'm the guy that's fiery hot," Brewer said. "One isn't better than the other. We're just different."

While his demeanor may be different, Brewer said one thing that has been a trademark of the program will not be altered.

"All the coaches here have done a good job of advancing players and that will not change," Brewer said. "Our goal is always an education. It's nice to win games but it's about getting guys to the next level."

Before arriving on the SBVC campus, Brewer spent three seasons as the coach at Ramona where he directed the Rams to an overall mark of 71-16, with a pair of league titles.

That record is noteworthy because the Rams won just three games the year before Brewer took over. The team made the playoffs all three seasons, reaching the CIF quarterfinals in 2005 and the semifinals in 2007, the best playoff run for the Rams in three decades.

As a player, Brewer helped the Riverside North Huskies to a pair of appearances in the CIF finals.

He went on to Arizona State, where he was a three-year starter. The Sun Devils advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16 his junior year. After college, he played professionally in six countries.

Athletic Director Dave Rubio was pleased with the pool of 24 applicants. The school interviewed five before deciding on Brewer.

"He gave a great interview, by far better than anyone else. He was well prepared and had all the right answers," Rubio said. "He also has great work ethic and will run a disciplined program."

In addition to coaching with the Wolverines, Brewer runs the NextLevel basketball training company. He and his wife, Berenice, live in Riverside. They have three children -- Kenneth, Andrea and Brianna.

Mississippi Braves right-hander Thomas Hanson didn't exactly get off to a good start in his outing Wednesday against the Birmingham Barons.

Hanson, a graduate of Redlands East Valley High School and Riverside Community College, issued two walks, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch in the first inning. But he regrouped quite nicely. In fact Hanson ended up throwing the first no-hitter in the history of the Double-A Southern League franchise, striking out a career-high 14 in a 6-0 victory.

"I felt really good in the bullpen warming up," he said. "I was pumped, maybe a little too pumped. I just tried to calm myself down and just attack the strike zone the way I normally do."

Hanson, 21, said it was his first no-hitter since Little League. He came close last year at Low-A Rome where he had a no-hitter broken up in the seventh.

A more casual approach this time helped.

"I tried not to think about it as much," he said. "It is hard not to think about it. last year I kept sitting there thinking `I hope they don't get a hit.' This time I just tried to focus on what I had to do to get guys out."

Hanson said Birmingham, an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, had two hard hit balls, one coming on the last out of the game when Ricardo Nanita lined out to centerfielder Jordan Shafer.

"He got good wood on it. Squared up pretty good," he said. "Fortunately it was right at someone."

With the win Hanson improved to 4-3 on the season with a 4.32 earned run average in nine starts. He has 49 strikeouts in 50 innings. Take out one bad outing in which he allowed eight earned runs and his ERA is a nifty 3.02.

Hanson, a 22nd round draft pick, started the season with the Braves affiliate in Myrtle Beach, S.C., of the High-A Carolina League but earned a promotion after going 3-1 with 49 strikeouts in 40 innings and an 0.90 ERA in seven starts there.

Two baseball standouts from Victor Valley College have decided their next move.

Sophomore shortstop and pitcher Blane Lloyd (Granite Hills HS) is headed to Division II Cal State Dominguez Hills while freshman outfielder Derek Richie (Silverado HS) is headed to La Sierra.

Both were second-team All-Foothill Conference selections the past season.
Rams coach Bob Smith said Richie is also considering playing basketball.

The duo helped the Rams improve over the past season, going from three wins in 2007 to 10 this season. 

San Bernardino Valley College soccer standout Gemma Gastro (Yucaipa HS) is headed to La Sierra University on an academic scholarship.

She is two-time All-Foothill Conference selection with three goals and six assists in her career. She spent 2006 as a midfielder but anchored the defense the past season, helping the Wolverines to their first playoff win in school history.

She is the third player from the team to move on to a four-year college following Kalee Lopez (Grambling) and Megan Dias (Cal State Los Angeles).

Seven volleyball players from Southern California, six of whom competed in the Foothill Conference, will be taking their games to a little-known town in Oklahoma in the fall.

The contingent headed to Bacone College in Muskogee, Okla. is headed by Chaffey College libero Emilie Shewmaker and Citrus College setter Janelle Martinez who are close friends.

Rounding out the group are outside hitter Riley Collins of conference champion College of the Desert and outside hitter Dorinda Cherry, outside hitter Amy Mulcock, rightside hitter Jewel Robinson and middle blocker Kami Speir, all out of Mt. San Jacinto.

The fact that eight athletes from the area are headed to a town of 38,000 located a half hour out of Tulsa didn't happen by accident.

The Bacone program is directed by Indio native Bianca Oakley, who played volleyball and softball at Desert, continued her playing career at Bacone and just completed her first year as head coach.

"She wanted to recruit a lot of California players," said Shewmaker, who has visited the school twice. "It should be fun with all of us going out there together."

Shewmaker said had talked to Collins at some tournaments but didn't know any of the girls from Mt. San Jacinto until meeting one of them on her first visit. Now she is trying to arrange a beach day for the eight to get together before they head off to college.

"It would be nice to get to know each other a little bit before we get there," she said.

Shewmaker (Don Lugo) played in 61 games and recorded 294 digs for the Panthers, who finished 6-12 overall and 5-7 in Foothill Conference play.

Martinez, a native of Rancho Cucamonga who played at South Hills High School, chalked up 478 assists in 52 games for an average of 9.19 per game for the Owls (10-15, 4-6), who were fourth in the Western States Conference South Division.

Freshman defensive lineman Fred Solaita of San Bernardino Valley College has signed with NAIA Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Mo.

The 6-foot-1, 265-pounder played six games in 2007, recording 10 tackles and two sacks.

Missouri Valley College, located about 90 miles east of Kansas City, MVC plays in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. In the 2007-2008 season the Vikings went 8-2 and were one game away from the NAIA title game.

Victor Valley College has named former Hesperia High School coach Michael Stewart its women's basketball coach. He replaces Lana Tomlin, who headed the program for two years.

"I am going to make a commitment of being here at least five years," said Stewart, 41. "My expectations are always going to be high. My priority right now is going out to the schools here because there is talent here."

The Rams were just 5-50 overall and 1-29 in Foothill Conference play under Tomlin, who resigned for job and family reasons.

The program was already struggling when she took over, going 8-20 overall and 2-12 in conference play under previous coach Stacia Rustad in 2005-06.

Stewart also previously coached the boys varsity team at Victor Valley High School and says his roots in the community have already made a difference.

"I've been here since 1972. My dad umpired in the Pac-10 and has done a lot of clinics and I have worked with him. So I think word has gotten out," he said. "They have only carried eight or nine players in the past but we're going to have a full squad and I have been pleased with how I have been received so far."

Stewart has been employed with the Hesperia Unified School District but that will end later this month. He and his family are in the process of opening a sports memorabilia shop in Victorville not far from the college.

But bringing back a competitive team is his main goal.

"We're going to do what it takes to get back on track," he said.

Also, Rams Athletic Director Jaye Tashima said the school is suspending the track program. The coach had resigned and she was going to have to look for another one anyway.

"The budget is really tight," she said. "We have to do it to save some of the other programs."

Two sophomores who helped Chaffey College to a 30-9 record and its third straight Foothill Conference title have decided the next step of their college careers.

First-team all-conference infielder Ryan Delgado is headed to NAIA contender Azusa Pacific University while second-team pitcher Andrew Steinmeyer will play at Biola, also an NAIA institution.

Delgado, who prepped at Damien High School, batted .329 with 11 doubles, one triple, 11 home runs and 43 RBI. He boasted a slugging percentage of .657 and an on-base percentage of .430. The highlight was a grand slam home run in a playoff game against local rival Riverside Community College.

Steinmeyer, a left-hander out of Corona High School, went 5-1 with a 3.86 ERA and batting average against of .228. He pitched 44 and a third innings, allowing 37 hits, 19 earned runs and 29 strikeouts with 13 walks.

- Michelle Gardner