Savage hires former UCI assistant

Former UC Irvine baseball coach John Savage, introduced as the new

UCLA coach Thursday, announced Friday he has hired former UCI

assistant Pat Shine as a member of the new Bruin coaching staff.

Shine was an assistant all three years of Savage’s tenure at UCI.

“We feel very fortunate that Pat has decided to join the UCLA

coaching staff,” Savage said. “Pat has worked very hard to get to

where he’s at and he’s now become one of the top assistants on the

West Coast. His passion for the game and his players is evident on

and off the field.”

Shine was the Anteaters’ hitting instructor and also oversaw the

outfielders.

“I think this is a great opportunity to continue recruiting in

Southern California and to compete in the Pac-10,” Shine said. “I’m

very excited to work for a university with such a great baseball

tradition.”

Prior to UCI, Shine served as an assistant at the University of

New Mexico and a volunteer coach at California. He served as an

assistant coach for the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cap Cod Summer

League in the summer of 2000 after being named Northwoods League

Manager of the Year in 1999 for leading the St. Cloud Riverbats to a

league record for wins. Shine was the head assistant at San Francisco

Community College in 1997 and was also the head coach at Gonzaga Prep

Academy in 1996. His first coaching job was as a head assistant for

the Topeka Capitols in the Jayhawk League in the summer 1996.

Shine, 32, earned his degree as a double major in speech

communications and business management from Gonzaga University in

1995. The native of Spokane, Washington, played shortstop for the

Bulldogs and concluded his playing career upon graduation.