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| Founded: 1891 Enrollment: 26,000 (2020) Played baseball since: 1928 Team name: Gauchos School colors: Navy and gold Home ballpark: Caesar Uyeska Stadium Conference: Big West (NCAA Div. I) |
Founded in 1891 as the private Anna Blake School, the campus was deeded by Blake to the City of Santa Barbara in 1898. In 1909 the campus was taken over by the state of California and renamed the Santa Barbara State Normal School. In 1921, the school was again renamed, this time to Santa Barbara State Teachers College – part of the California State University. In 1944, the school was moved from the CSU system to the University of California system, with the name Santa Barbara College of the University of California. In 1958, the state adopted the current name, the University of California, Santa Barbara.
The school’s first intercollegiate baseball team was in the 1928 season. By 1931, the Gauchos were playing in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. From 1947 to 1958, they played in the California Collegiate Athletic Association. In 1958, UCSB moved to the California Intercollegiate Baseball Association. The Gauchos were independent in 1967, then joined the West Coast Athletic Conference for two seasons. They played in the Pacific Coast Athletic Association from 1970-’74, were independent again in 1975, played the 1976 season with the Pac-8, then joined the Southern California Baseball Association for eight seasons. From 1985 to ’88, they were back with the PCAA.
In 1989, UCSB joined the Big West Conference, where they have played ever since. They made their only College World Series appearance to date in 2016.
Baseball Almanac lists more than two dozen former Gauchos who have made it to Major League Baseball. Among the more notable alumni are longtime San Francisco Giants and Montreal Expos shortstop Chris Speir, Giants and A’s pitcher Barry Zito, former Cardinals’ outfielder and current Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, and Indians’ / Guardians’ starting pitcher Shane Bieber,
The Gauchos’ home field is Caesar Uyeska Stadium, which opened in 1964. It has undergone several renovations over the years – including adding lights for night games in 2020. The stadium has a capacity of 1,000.
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