The best season in Cal State East Bay baseball history got even better last week.

The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association named CSUEB Head Coach Bob Ralston 2016 West Region Coach of the Year earlier this month. The award comes after the Pioneers 33-22 overall record and 21-16 in California Collegiate Athletic Association Conference games this year. The 33 wins were the most ever by any baseball team in school history. It was the first CCAA North Division championship for East Bay and the first time they were selected to the regional tournament since 1977.

East Bay lost in the CCAA championship game to Chico State on May 14, 10-9. However, the Pioneers still qualified for the NCAA Division II West Regionals in Riverside on May 19 and 20 where they lost to California Baptist University and Dixie State before being eliminated.

Ralston also received the CCAA Coach of the Year award and is the first CSUEB coach to win the West Region honor since 2010. Ralston is now 134-114 in his five years at the helm for the Pioneers. Ralston graduated from Moreau Catholic High School where he had a stellar career for the Mariners that earned him a 2003 hall of fame induction at his alma mater. He also graduated from Cal State Hayward in 1988 with a degree in physical education.