Pasadena Poly baseball coach Wayne Ellis, who led the Panthers to the CIF-Southern Section Division 6 semifinals, has resigned after 27 years. He will remain an on-campus teacher.
The Panthers have won 25 out of the last 27 Prep League titles, including 19 consecutive league titles. They won a CIF-Southern Section Division 6 title in 2011, defeating Oxford Academy, 10-0, in the title game. The Panthers went 25-2-1 and he was the division’s coach of the year.
“The kids who showed up for practice are the ones we’ve gone with and it turned out that they played baseball the right way,” Ellis said of his teams.
Ellis, who was a basketball coach at Marshall High School, came to Poly in 1987 to coach the baseball team. He was hired by his brother, then-athletic director Chuck Ellis.
“Baseball was my first love and passion,” Wayne Ellis said.
His 2007 team, which went to the the semifinals, featured pitcher Rob Rasmussen, who plays for the Toronto Blue Jays.
“A lot of quality baseball players and a lot of quality teams have come out of Poly during Coach Ellis’ tenure and he deserves much of the credit for that,” Rasmussen said. “His passion for the game allows him to make the game fun for his players and has truly helped to grow the love for the game at Poly during his time. I’m very happy and proud to say that I played for Wayne and that I was able to help continue the winning tradition that he started.”
His 2008 team also went to the CIF-SS semifinals.
Ellis said his biggest accomplishment was that all but two of his players have been part of a Prep League championship team.
He finishes with a career record of 470-143-4, including a 252-36 record at home.