PARKLAND – Geoff Loomis, who tallied a Pacific Lutheran-record 325 wins and led the Lute baseball team to three Northwest Conference titles in 13 years, has been selected as the next head coach at University of Portland.
Loomis, a 1994 graduate of NCAA Div. I UP, returns to his alma mater after turning the PLU program into a perennial Northwest Conference contender. He became the winningest coach in PLU program history with his 318th win earlier this season, and he leaves PLU with a 325-197-2 overall record and the best winning percentage (.622) of any PLU coach with at least 50 games coached.
"I need to thank (former PLU athletic director) Paul Hoseth for taking a chance on a 31-year-old fresh-faced head coach, and also (PLU AD) Laurie Turner, who has been a great leader and colleague," Loomis said. "When you're somewhere for 13 years, you build friendships. Those friendships will stay with me. While at PLU I've been lucky to have dedicated assistant coaches who coached for all the right reasons and a group of amazing players that transformed the program."
Loomis came to PLU in 2003 and in his second season led the program to its most wins in almost 10 years (23). That was just the beginning, however, as the Lutes proceeded to set a team-record with 35 wins in 2007 while claiming the program's first conference championship in more than 50 years. The Lutes went on to win two more conference crowns in 2009 and 2015, and they reached the 30-win mark a total of four times. PLU averaged exactly 25 wins per season under Loomis' leadership after reaching that win total only once prior to 2003.
The 2015 season was another historic one for the PLU program, as the Lutes won 32 games and advanced to the NCAA Regional Tournament for the second time in team history (along with 2007). Loomis was named NWC Coach of the Year for the third time, and the Lutes won the regular-season conference crown and hosted the inaugural NWC Tournament.
"Coming off a great season this year and the position at his alma mater opening it is a natural next step for Geoff," Turner said. "It is always very exciting when a coach has the opportunity to make a move that has been a long-term goal. Geoff has had the desire to coach at the Division 1 level, and the timing is perfect."
In his time at PLU, Loomis coached 50 first-team all-Northwest Conference performers, three conference Pitchers of the Year and one conference Player of the Year. He coached four All-Americans and two Academic All-Americans, along with a pair of Major League Baseball draft picks in 2013 and 2014. He proved adept at winning with various styles, as his teams competed for conference crowns at different points with record-breaking offense (2009-10) and with record-breaking pitching (2014-15).
"The true measure of a great leader is to leave the program better off than when you arrived," Turner said. "Geoff has definitely done just that. Our baseball program will miss his leadership, work ethic and vision, and because of his tenacity we are in a good place to continue as one of the top baseball programs in the Northwest Conference."
Loomis played third base at University of Portland from 1990-92, where he still ranks among the Pilot career leaderboards in career batting (first, .376), slugging (second, .601), doubles (second, 52), runs batted in (fifth, 137). He also holds UP single-season records in hits (80) and doubles (22), while ranking among the single-season top-10 in numerous other categories. He was named Pac-10 North Division Player of the Year in 1992 and was a two-time all-region and all-conference honoree. He was inducted into the University of Portland Hall of Fame in 2003. He takes over a team that last posted a winning record in 2012, replacing long-time head coach Chris Sperry.
"It's tough to say goodbye to the current players," Loomis said. "I leave knowing that this group has been there and done that, and they're hungry to do it again. For me, it's an opportunity to coach at my alma mater, and that's an opportunity I'm not willing to pass up."
The PLU Athletic Department will move forward to fill its head baseball coach vacancy in the near future.
