University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
John Savage
Photo by: Ross Turteltaub
Savage Recognized as Skip Bertman Coach of the Year
June 13, 2026 | Baseball
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. โ After leading his team to a historic season UCLA Head Coach John Savage has been named by the College Baseball Foundation (CBF) as the 2026 Skip Bertman Coach of the Year, sponsored by Marucci Sports.
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Savage guided UCLA through a historic 2026 campaign, delivering what is unquestionably the greatest regular season in program history to earn Big Ten Coach of the Year honors. This marked the third Coach of the Year honor of his career. The Bruins finished 52-8, matching the program record for total wins, and their 48-6 regular-season mark stands alone as the best in school history. After opening the year as the preseason No. 1, UCLA became the first team in college baseball history to remain the nation's top-ranked team wire-to-wire across every major poll.
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The Skip Bertman Coach of the Year Award is college baseball's premier coaching honor. Named after Skip Bertman, the first coach inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame, the award celebrates leaders whose impact reaches well beyond the field. Savage adds to an impressive list of Coach of the Year honors as he was named the 2013 National Coach of the Year by Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America, the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Perfect Game USA following the team's national championship run.
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"I am truly honored to receive this award. Having Skip Bertman's name on the trophy says everything," UCLA Head Baseball Coach John Savage said. "He's the legend of legends in this game. As a young coach out West, I always admired and looked up to Skip."
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In Big Ten play, the Bruins were dominant, setting a new conference record with 28 wins and clinching the regular-season title with two weekends to spare. UCLA then swept through the Big Ten Tournament, defeating Purdue, No. 25 USC, and No. 13 Oregon to capture the program's first-ever conference tournament championship. UCLA entered the postseason as the No. 1-overall seed for the first time since 2019, hosting an NCAA Regional for the second straight season.
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Savage is the third-longest-tenured head coach in UCLA baseball history and owns a 776-489-2 career record, cementing his place among the most accomplished coaches in the college game.
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Savage is one of just two head coaches in college baseball history - alongside Vanderbilt's Tim Corbin - to have guided his team to a College World Series title, produced the first overall pick in the MLB Draft, coached a Golden Spikes Award winner, and had a former player win a Cy Young Award in Major League Baseball. Savage is one of just six coaches all-time with a CWS title, No. 1 pick, and Golden Spikes winner, joining an illustrious group of current and former head coaches in Corbin, Skip Bertman (LSU), Jim Brock (Arizona St.), Augie Garrido (Cal State Fullerton, Texas), and Jim Morris (Miami).
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Savage's strong work with UCLA's program has been equally evident in player development and the MLB Draft. Over his 22 seasons in Westwood, UCLA has produced 130 draft selections. Under Savage, the Bruins led or co-led all NCAA schools in draft selections in both 2019 (13) and 2021 (10), and produced a first-round draft pick in three consecutive years (2019-21) for the first time in program history. In addition, he has coached 30 players at UCLA that have competed in the major leagues.
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Other finalists for the 2026 Skip Bertman Coach of the Year Award included Mike Degan (Denison University, NCAA Division III), Dan Fitzgerald (University of Kansas, NCAA Division I), Scott Forbes (University of North Carolina, NCAA Division I), Kyle Gould (Taylor University, NAIA), Eric Horner (Johnson County Community College, NJCAA Division I), Wes Johnson (University of Georgia, NCAA Division I) and James Ramsey (Georgia Tech University, NCAA Division I).
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Savage guided UCLA through a historic 2026 campaign, delivering what is unquestionably the greatest regular season in program history to earn Big Ten Coach of the Year honors. This marked the third Coach of the Year honor of his career. The Bruins finished 52-8, matching the program record for total wins, and their 48-6 regular-season mark stands alone as the best in school history. After opening the year as the preseason No. 1, UCLA became the first team in college baseball history to remain the nation's top-ranked team wire-to-wire across every major poll.
ย
The Skip Bertman Coach of the Year Award is college baseball's premier coaching honor. Named after Skip Bertman, the first coach inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame, the award celebrates leaders whose impact reaches well beyond the field. Savage adds to an impressive list of Coach of the Year honors as he was named the 2013 National Coach of the Year by Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America, the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Perfect Game USA following the team's national championship run.
ย
"I am truly honored to receive this award. Having Skip Bertman's name on the trophy says everything," UCLA Head Baseball Coach John Savage said. "He's the legend of legends in this game. As a young coach out West, I always admired and looked up to Skip."
ย
In Big Ten play, the Bruins were dominant, setting a new conference record with 28 wins and clinching the regular-season title with two weekends to spare. UCLA then swept through the Big Ten Tournament, defeating Purdue, No. 25 USC, and No. 13 Oregon to capture the program's first-ever conference tournament championship. UCLA entered the postseason as the No. 1-overall seed for the first time since 2019, hosting an NCAA Regional for the second straight season.
ย
Savage is the third-longest-tenured head coach in UCLA baseball history and owns a 776-489-2 career record, cementing his place among the most accomplished coaches in the college game.
ย
Savage is one of just two head coaches in college baseball history - alongside Vanderbilt's Tim Corbin - to have guided his team to a College World Series title, produced the first overall pick in the MLB Draft, coached a Golden Spikes Award winner, and had a former player win a Cy Young Award in Major League Baseball. Savage is one of just six coaches all-time with a CWS title, No. 1 pick, and Golden Spikes winner, joining an illustrious group of current and former head coaches in Corbin, Skip Bertman (LSU), Jim Brock (Arizona St.), Augie Garrido (Cal State Fullerton, Texas), and Jim Morris (Miami).
ย
Savage's strong work with UCLA's program has been equally evident in player development and the MLB Draft. Over his 22 seasons in Westwood, UCLA has produced 130 draft selections. Under Savage, the Bruins led or co-led all NCAA schools in draft selections in both 2019 (13) and 2021 (10), and produced a first-round draft pick in three consecutive years (2019-21) for the first time in program history. In addition, he has coached 30 players at UCLA that have competed in the major leagues.
ย
Other finalists for the 2026 Skip Bertman Coach of the Year Award included Mike Degan (Denison University, NCAA Division III), Dan Fitzgerald (University of Kansas, NCAA Division I), Scott Forbes (University of North Carolina, NCAA Division I), Kyle Gould (Taylor University, NAIA), Eric Horner (Johnson County Community College, NJCAA Division I), Wes Johnson (University of Georgia, NCAA Division I) and James Ramsey (Georgia Tech University, NCAA Division I).
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