OSU's Casey Picks Up Another National Honor
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Oregon State hadn’t reached the College World Series since 1952 until coach Pat Casey took the Beavers there in each of the last two seasons. They capped the second trip with the school's first national baseball title, and Casey's work in turning the Pacific Northwest school into a national champion has earned him Baseball America magazine’s 2006 Coach of the Year award.
Casey's Oregon State team went 50-16, winning the Pacific-10 Conference regular season title for the second straight year, the first time that had happened in school history.
Casey has compiled a 391-253-4 record in 12 years at Oregon State. A year after setting a school record with 46 wins, the Beavers pushed past that mark by winning six times in Omaha this season after going 0-2 at last year's CWS.
"In my mind it's one of the most miraculous college baseball stories ever," said Arizona State coach Pat Murphy, who has become close with Casey as they've coached against each other in the Pac-10.
