Mark Machtolf nearing Gonzaga baseball record for wins as coach
Apr. 1—In 1988, Mark Machtolf got his coaching start at Gonzaga under longtime Bulldogs baseball boss Steve Hertz. Now, Machtolf is about to break Hertz's program record for wins as head coach.
Machtolf can become the program's all-time winningest coach this weekend during a West Coast Conference series in Spokane against Pepperdine on a field that is named after his predecessor. The 23rd-year GU coach has guided the Bulldogs to 636 wins since succeeding Hertz, who compiled a 637-627-6 record over 24 seasons as Zags coach. Gonzaga (13-13, 4-2 WCC) will open its series against Pepperdine at 6 p.
m. Thursday on Coach Steve Hertz Field at Patterson Baseball Complex. Machtolf has a 636-541-2 record since he became GU's coach ahead of the 2004 season.
He's been on Gonzaga's staff for 36 seasons overall. The 61-year-old Spokane native is a five-time WCC Coach of the Year who has led GU to five NCAA Tournament appearances. Under Machtolf, the Zags have produced five WCC Player of the Year winners, six WCC Pitcher of the Year honorees, 15 All-Americans, 55 MLB draft selections and 15 major leaguers.
A Gonzaga Prep grad, Machtolf entered the coaching ranks as GU's hitting coach in 1988 after wrapping up his collegiate career as a standout hitter for a Stanford team that won the College World Series in 1987. He assisted for Hertz's Zags through the 1990 season, then spent a year as an assistant at Whitworth before a stint as G-Prep's head coach. He returned to GU as a fulltime assistant in 1996, received a promotion to associate head coach in 1998, then took over head-coaching duties six years later when Hertz retired from the post.