Willie Bloomquist

A terrific read on the leader of ?@ASU_Baseball?. He left his mark on the ?program & made a great living playing 14 yrs. in @mlb. But his passion for ASU & a desire to share what he learned brought him home so he can give back once again. #O2V https://t.co/Bij2oXbVKL — Graham Rossini (@GrahamRossini) October 14, 2021 Willie Bloomquist - among the legendary players in Sun Devil school history and a staple in the baseball world both locally and nationally - was named the head coach for the Arizona State University baseball program, on June 11, 2021, as announced by Vice President for University Athletics and Athletics Director Ray Anderson.   --Why Willie Bloomquist left relaxed life to become ASU's baseball coach (by Scott Bordow, ASU News/April 27, 2023) In three seasons with the program, Bloomquist has seen 18 of his players drafted in the MLB Draft, five All-Americans, three freshman All-Americans and a gritty squad that has shown its never out of game. Four times has his program overcome seven-run deficits to win a game, something that hadn't been accomplished since the 2000 season prior. Eleven times has ASU overcome a five-run deficit in three seasons under Bloomquist. In the last two seasons, ASU has 18 wins in games where it has trailed by at least three runs at some point in the game and the team has trailed at one point in 38 of its last 53 wins over the last two seasons.  The 2024 campaign saw the Sun Devils post one of the most prolific offenses in the country. ASU became just the eighth Sun Devil team in the program's illustrious history to reach 100 home runs and the first to do it since having 101 in 1990. The 2024 Sun Devils were the fastest to reach triple digits in the category in program history, doing so in 56 games and finished with 102 - 30th nationally and second in the Pac-12. ASU had five players reach double digits in homers, marking the first time at ASU since 1993 that five players accomplished the feat (Todd Cady, Doug Newstrom, Antone Williamson, Paul Lo Duca, Jacob Cruz). It was the first season that even four had reached the tally since 1994. ASU was sixth in the country with 143 doubles and fourth at 2.47 doubles per game. The team's .541 slugging percentage was 15th nationally while finishing second in the Pac-12 with a .403 team OBP. The team posted a .313 batting average for the year, good for 12th in the nation. Kien Vu (NCBWA) and Ryan Campos (ABCA) each earned third-team All-America honors for the season while Brandon Compton was named the Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year and Freshman All-American. The Sun Devils had nine players recognized on the All-Pac-12 teams for the second-straight season. Vu finished sixth in the country and tops in the Pac-12 with his .413 average. Campos was eighth in the country with 25 doubles and was a finalist for the Dick Howser trophy for the nation's top player. In his career - all three years coming under Bloomquist - he reached base in 137-of-147 career games (.932), posting a career. 369 average - good for 16th in ASU history. He would go on to become the 109th overall selection and a 4th round pick by the Cardinals in the 2024 MLB Draft.  Nick McLain finished his two years at ASU with a .327 average (92-of-281), with a .658 slugging percentage - a tally good for sixth in ASU school history (min. 250 at-bats) - en route to a third-round selection in the 2024 MLB draft by the White Sox. He logged 20 homers and 23 doubles in his career, in addition to five triples as over half his career hits going for extra bases. In his second year at the helm, Bloomquist oversaw a marked improvement of the Sun Devil program, leading the team to a 32-23 record and a Top-Five finish in the Pac-12. The Sun Devil Baseball team was highly represented in the 2023 MLB Draft with eight overall selections – the fourth-highest tally in the nation and the most for the program since 2015. The eight picks all went in the MLB Draft's most recent format of twenty rounds, after previous renditions typically included 40 or more rounds. ASU's eight selections are tied for the fourth-most in the first twenty rounds of an MLB Draft in program history and the most since also having eight in the 2008 MLB Draft. Only LSU (13), Wake Forest (10) and Stanford (9) had more overall selections than the Sun Devils this season. All-American second baseman Luke Keaschall highlighted the draft with his second-round selection by the Minnesota Twins – 90th overall.  It was the highest selection for a Sun Devil since Spencer Torkelson (1st overall) and Alika Williams (37th) in the 2020 Draft. He is ASU's 27th player to go in the first three rounds since 2000. Keaschall finished the season with 18 homers and 22 doubles, becoming just the fourth Sun Devil in school history to have at least 18 homers and 20 doubles in a season (Bob Horner '78, Chris Johnston '81, Dan Rumsey '88). He became the 132nd All-American in program history, recognized by both Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game. Nine Sun Devils were recognized on All-Pac-12 teams in 2023, as voted upon by the league's coaches.Sun Devil Baseball placed Keaschall and Ryan Campos on the All-Pac-12 Team, while landing Isaiah Jackson on the All-Defensive-Team in addition to six honorable mentions. Campos was also named a Buster Posey Award semifinalist, awarded to the top collegiate catcher in the nation.  Infielder Nate Baez (Collegiate Baseball, third team) and outfielder Joe Lampe (Perfect Game, third team) became the 130th and 131st All-Americans in Sun Devil program history with their selections in 2022. Baez was additionally named an ABCA West Region second team selection. Designated hitter Jacob Tobias (Collegiate Baseball) and catcher Ryan Campos (NCBWA) were named the 35th and 36th Freshman All-Americans in program history in 2022 as well. Six members of the Sun Devil Baseball program heard their names called as part of the 2022 MLB Draft. Joe Lampe (3rd Round/Cleveland Guardians/92nd overall) and Sean McLain (5th Round/Los Angeles Dodgers/165th overall) became the 460th and 461st all-time selection for the Sun Devils in the Major League Draft with their Day Two Selections. The six total selections were the most for the Sun Devils since 2015 (9), though that came over the course of a 40-round draft compared to the 20-round edition this year A 14-year Major League Baseball veteran and with over 20 years of experience in professional baseball, Bloomquist returned to the Sun Devils as one of the most accomplished alumni in program history and has remained deeply entrenched in all levels of baseball.   Bloomquist spent five years as a Special Assistant to Arizona Diamondbacks President & CEO Derrick Hall after joining the front office in May 2016. In this role, Bloomquist assisted Hall and other departments throughout the baseball and business side of the organization, including working on-field with players at all levels of the organization, attending community events, meeting with corporate partners, interacting with season ticket holders and visiting D-backs Minor League affiliates.   The Port Orchard, Wash., native joined USA Baseball's Board of Directors in 2016, a post he has retained since then. Bloomquist is a two-time alum of Team USA, having played for the Collegiate National Team in 1998 and for the 2013 World Baseball Classic.   Bloomquist became the first Arizona State Sun Devil to play for the Diamondbacks and spent three seasons with the franchise from 2011-13, serving a key role on the 2011 National League West Championship team. In 225 games for the D-backs, he hit .289 with 36 doubles, 8 triples, 4 homers, 63 RBI, 43 walks and 27 stolen bases. In the 2011 NL Division Series vs. Brewers, he hit .318 (7-for-22) with an RBI and three stolen bases in five games. In 2012, he set career highs with a .302 average and 21 doubles.   During his 14-year Major League career, which included time with the Mariners (2002-08, ’14-15), Royals (2009-10) and Reds (2010), Bloomquist hit .269 with 778 hits, 110 doubles, 23 triples, 18 home runs, 225 RBI and 133 stolen bases in 1,055 career games. He compiled a .977 fielding percentage playing outfield (339 games), shortstop (305 games), third base (142), second base (141) and first base (47). Of the 111 Sun Devils to play in MLB, only seven earned more service time than Bloomquist.   Bloomquist played three seasons at ASU (1997-99) and earned 1999 Pac-10 Player of the Year honors as a junior. In 1998, he tied a College World Series single-game record with 5 hits in a game while leading a team that competed for the National Championship. Bloomquist was an All-American in both the 1998 and 1999 campaigns. He finished his college career with a .394 average before being drafted by the Mariners in the third round of the 1999 draft.    To this day, Bloomquist still holds the fourth-highest career batting average in school history (.394) while he remains fifth in ASU history in runs (216), fourth in triples (22) and fourth in stolen bases (72) and was named to the All-Packard Team in 2014.   The definitive student-athlete, he graduated from ASU in December 2001 with a degree in management from the W.P. Carey School of Business and in 2013, he was inducted into the ASU Sports Hall of Fame. In 2019, he was inducted into the CoSIDA Academic All-America Hall of Fame. He was a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 1999 and a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic First Team selection.   A star on the field ?? and a scholar in the classroom ?? Congrats to @williebloom on his induction into the Academic All-America Hall of Fame! pic.twitter.com/qZvS8mwzUp — Sun Devil Baseball (@ASU_Baseball) April 25, 2019 Bloomquist has long been involved in the communities in which he played and was the D-backs’ 2012 Roberto Clemente nominee for his efforts with Phoenix Children’s Hospital where he and his wife, Lisa, founded the Abe and Mac Fund to supply electronics and entertainment for patients that have extended stays at the hospital.   In 2018, the D-backs dedicated Willie Bloomquist Field in Tempe as part of the Diamonds Back Field Building program.   He and his wife have four daughters, Natalie, Ava, Layla and Sydney.   What They Are Saying About Willie: “ASU made an exceptional decision in naming Willie Bloomquist to lead its baseball program. Coach Bloomquist is a brilliant baseball mind, and he possesses the excellent communication skills needed to coach and develop young men, both on and off the field.   Coach Bloomquist’s teams will never be outworked, and I know he’ll pass along the tremendous determination that I witnessed first-hand as his Manager.   The young men at Sun Devil Baseball should be excited to have him leading their program!”   -Kirk Gibson (2-time World Series Champion, 1988 NL MVP, 2011 NL Manager of the Year)  “Willie is going to have a great impact on the young men he will coach. He’s uncommonly competitive. If anyone can walk straight from the field to the coaching ranks, it’s Willie.  I believe he will do an incredible job leading the program at ASU.”   -Pat Murphy (1998 Baseball America Coach of the Year, ASU Head Coach 1995-2009, Milwaukee Brewers Current Bench Coach)    “Willie is one of my all-time favorite teammates. As a young player, he mentored me and helped me adjust to life as a Major League Baseball player. Our conversations were invaluable to my success as a baseball player. He taught me many lessons on and off the baseball field that I try to live out daily, and I’ve shared his wisdom with many teammates throughout my career. He set the example of the ultimate professional, leader, and friend that I am trying to emulate in my life today.”   -Paul Goldschmidt (St. Louis Cardinals First Baseman, 6-time MLB All-Star)    “I had the privilege of playing with Willie Bloomquist for two seasons. Willie was not only one of the hardest workers I have ever witnessed, but he was also one of the most natural leaders I have ever been around. His dedication to his family and baseball was truly inspirational to me. I learned a ton from him and am very appreciative to have learned from his veteran leadership.”   -Kyle Seager (Seattle Mariners Third Baseman, MLB All-Star)