A member of Pepperdine's 1992 national championship team and an assistant coach for the Waves the past four seasons, Steve Rodriguez, 32, became the University's 16th head baseball coach when he was named to the position on June 18, 2002. Rodriguez, who earned All-American honors in 1991 and 1992, becomes only the third former Pepperdine player to assume the head coaching duties for the Waves in the program's 64-year history. Gary Marks became the first former Pepperdine player to pilot the program when he skippered the program from 1963-67.

Rodriguez, a fifth-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 1992, was named WCC "Player of the Year" in 1992 as the Waves posted a 48 – 11 mark and captured the College World Series (CWS) title. Rodriguez was named to the All – CWS team and was part of two memorable plays in Omaha – a grand slam that helped defeat Texas in the semifinal round and a late-inning defensive gem in the Waves' 3-2 win over local rival Cal State Fullerton in the championship game.A first-team All-West Coast Conference (WCC) selection in 1991 and 1992, Rodriguez made a big splash as a sophomore in 1991 when he batted .419, the second highest single-season average in school history. His 104 base hits that season are a Pepperdine single-season record. He currently ranks in the Top 10 in five different single-season categories. This past fall, Rodriguez was named one of the WCC's Top 50 athletes of all-time that was announced by the conference office.

Rodriguez returned to Pepperdine to earn his Master's Degree in Educational Technology in 2003.

Tabbed the West Coast Conference's (WCC) "Player of the Year" in 1989, Hirtensteiner was an eighth round draft pick by the California Angels. Hirtensteiner played professional baseball for seven seasons with the California Angels, Florida Marlins and Montreal Expos organizations, reaching the AAA level with Montreal. Hirtensteiner also played in the Northern League with the St. Paul Saints, the Salt Lake City Trappers of the Pioneer League plus stints in Australia and Mexico.

A three-time All-WCC pick, Hirtensteiner ranks No. 11 on Pepperdine's all-time hitting chart with a .337 career batting average. Hirtensteiner is the Waves' all-time career leader in runs scored (228) and triples (17), and ranks No. 2 in base hits (295), RBI (175) and at-bats (876). As a senior in 1989, Hirtensteiner led the Waves with a .366 batting average and clubbed a team-best 12 home runs as a leadoff hitter. Hirtensteiner tied a single-game school record by slugging three home runs in a game at UC Santa Barbara. Additionally, Hirtensteiner emerged as the Waves' closer, oftentimes tossing warm-up pitches in the outfield during conferences on the mound.

Hirtensteiner earned Academic All-American honors in 1989 after earning a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration. Hirtensteiner was also recognized as the WCC's "Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year," becoming just the second Pepperdine athlete to earn the prestigious Pat Malley Award.

Strauss, who played for the Dirtbags during the team's College World Series run in 1993 and in 1994, was on Coach Dave Snow's staff from 1995 to 2000 and then again as the volunteer coach in 2006. During his time at LBSU as a coach, the Dirtbags have gone 288-198, won three Big West titles, advanced to six NCAA Regionals and finished third at the 1998 College World Series behind one of the top hitting teams in school-history. 

The Spartans were 34-26 in 2007 as the recruiting class for 2008 was rated amongst Collegiate Baseball's annual rankings. Strauss served as the the pitching and recruiting coordinator at Loyola Marymount for three seasons (2003-05) where 11 pitchers signed pro contracts. The Lions twice won the Divisional Championship (2004-05) and reached the WCC three-game Championship Series in each of those seasons.

After leaving LBSU in 2000, he was the head coach at Glendale Community College, where he went 66-25 with a pair of league titles under his belt in 2001 and 2002. He was also twice named the Western State Conference Coach of the Year.

Strauss graduated from LBSU in 1996 with a degree in psychology after spending a year in the Yankees minor league system (1994). He served as the pitching coach for Chatham in the Cape Cod League in 1997 and 1998. The 1998 team won the Cape Cod League Championship.

A Southern California native, he prepped at Glendale High School and played at the College of the Canyons prior to coming to LBSU.

Joe Wilkins is in his first season as a volunteer assistant coach at Pepperdine. Wilkins was hired by head coach Steve Rodriguez in July of 2009. 

Wilkins responsibilities will include training the catchers, helping to develop the offense and coaching first base.

Wilkins move to Pepperdine marks his West Coast coaching debut. He spent this past season volunteering at Wake Forest where he tutored 2009 Cape Cod All-Star catcher Mike Murray.

Prior to his hiring at Wake Forest, Wilkins spent more than year working at the Florida-based IMG Academies where he worked under former Cleveland Indians bench coach Ken Bolek as the full-time catching instructor.

Wilkins helped in the development of 2009 New York Yankees second round draft pick J.R. Murphy while at IMG. A catcher, Murphy hit .627 this spring with 11 home runs in 102 at-bats. He added 34 extra-base hits and struck out just four times.

As a catcher with more than a decade's worth of competitive experience, Wilkins has transferred much of his expertise about the game and the catching position onto his personal website at www.JoeWilkinsCatching.com. The site includes a blog on catching tips, a series of instructional videos, plus information on how teams, groups or individuals can sign up for workouts and lessons.

As a two-year assistant baseball coach Tiffin (Ohio) University, Wilkins coordinated the recruiting efforts, developed athletic marketing plans and coordinated fundraising efforts to improve facilities. These efforts are now being implemented at Tiffin.

In the summer of 2007, Wilkins was the head coach for the Stark County Terriers of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League. As head coach of the Terriers, he worked with players from such collegiate programs as Wake Forest, Kent State and Cincinnati.

Wilkins was an assistant coach for the Delaware Cows of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League during the summer of 2006. While with the Cows, Wilkins was the third base coach and worked with the hitters, catchers, outfielders and infielders. Wilkins began his coaching career at Dublin Scioto High School during the 2005 season, where he worked with the catchers and served as the off-season hitting instructor.

Wilkins played professionally for three years, spending time in the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks farm systems. He led the Northwest League's Yakima Bears in hitting in 2002.

A four-year letterwinner at Ohio State, Wilkins was named second team All-Big Ten during the 2002 season and also earned Most Outstanding Player honors at the 2002 Big Ten Tournament after hitting a walkoff home run vs. Indiana. The Buckeyes won two Big Ten regular season championships and advanced to three NCAA Tournaments, including a Super Regional appearance in 1999, during Wilkins' collegiate career.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Wilkins graduated from Ohio State in 2005 with a degree in human ecology and a specialization in consumer affairs. He earned his masters of business administration in 2007 from Tiffin University.

Wilkins was a two-sport student-athlete at Dublin Scioto High School, where he was an All-State selection in both baseball and football.