_(cropped).jpg) Orloff (right) batting for theTri-City ValleyCats in 2010 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | UC Irvine |
| Conference | Big West |
| Record | 203–97 (.677) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1987-04-26)April 26, 1987 (age 37) Simi Valley, California, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 2006–2009 | UC Irvine |
| 2009 | Greeneville Astros |
| 2009–2010 | Tri-City ValleyCats |
| 2011 | Lexington Legends |
| 2012 | Lancaster JetHawks |
| 2012–2013 | Corpus Christi Hooks |
| Position(s) | Shortstop |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2016–2018 | UC Irvine (asst) |
| 2019–present | UC Irvine |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 203–97 (.677) |
| Tournaments | NCAA: 5–4 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| |
| Awards | |
| |
Ben Orloff (born April 26, 1987) is an Americanbaseball coach and formershortstop, who is the current head baseball coach of theUC Irvine Anteaters. He playedcollege baseball at UC Irivine for head coachMike Gillespie, where he won theBrooks Wallace Award, as the nation's best college shortstop. He has also played in the World Baseball Classic, for theIsraeli national baseball team, before pursuing aprofessional baseball career for theHouston Astros organization from 2009 to 2013. He retired on June 12, 2013, and became an assistant coach for the UC Irvine.[1][2]
Orloff attendedSimi Valley High School inSimi Valley, California, where he played for the school's baseball team as ashortstop, winning theCalifornia Interscholastic Federation championship in his junior year.[3] He then enrolled at theUniversity of California, Irvine (UC Irvine), where he playedcollege baseball for theUC Irvine Anteaters baseball team in theBig West Conference (BWC). He began his freshman season as asecond baseman, but became the team's starting shortstop later in the year. He led the nation insacrifice hits as a freshman, but struggled with a .217batting average. He improved his hitting in his sophomore season,[4] as he finished the year with a .324 average.[5]
After his junior year, in which Orloff had a .344 batting average, theColorado Rockies drafted Orloff in the 19th round of the2008 Major League Baseball draft, but he chose to return to college for his senior year.[5] In the 2009 season, Orloff had a .358 batting average and was named the BWC player of the year as the Anteaters won their first BWC championship in school history. Orloff received further recognition, as he won theBrooks Wallace Award as the nation's top collegiate shortstop, and received first-teamAll-America honors from theNational Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and third-team All-American honors fromCollegiate Baseball. Orloff also set school records for careerhits (280),runs scored (178), andgames played (241).[6]
The Houston Astros drafted Orloff in the ninth round of the2009 Major League Baseball draft, and he signed. He suffered from elbowtendinitis in 2009, while playing for theTri-City ValleyCats of theClass A-Short SeasonNew York–Penn League (NYP).[7] Returning to Tri-City in 2010, Orloff led the team with a .307 batting average and 52 runs scored. He was named to the team's most valuable player and was recognized as a member of the NYP's all-star team.[8] He played for theLexington Legends of theClass ASouth Atlantic League in 2011,[9] and theLancaster JetHawks of theClass A-AdvancedCalifornia League[10] andCorpus Christi Hooks of theClass AATexas League in 2012. He returned to Corpus Christi in 2013, and retired 41 games into the season.[11]
Orloff, who isJewish, played on theIsraeli national baseball team during thequalifying round of the2013 World Baseball Classic.[12] Orloff did not play in the opening game of the qualifier,[13] or in the final game.[14] Orloff's only appearance was as the starting second baseman in the second game, batting ninth, and going 0 for 3 and leaving 3 men on base.[15]
In 2013, Orloff rejoined UC Irvine's baseball team as an assistant coach.[11] Head coachMike Gillespie retired after the 2018 season, and Orloff succeeded him as head coach.[16] In his third season with the Anteaters, Orloff lead the team to theBig West Conference championship, winning Coach of the Year in the conference.[17]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UC Irvine Anteaters(Big West Conference)(2019–present) | |||||||||
| 2019 | UC Irvine | 37–17 | 17–7 | T-2nd | |||||
| 2020 | UC Irvine | 8–7 | 0–0 | Season canceled due toCOVID-19 | |||||
| 2021 | UC Irvine | 43–18 | 32–8 | 1st | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 2022 | UC Irvine | 32–24 | 16–14 | 6th | |||||
| 2023 | UC Irvine | 38–17 | 19–11 | 4th | |||||
| 2024 | UC Irvine | 45–14 | 22–8 | 2nd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| UC Irvine: | 203–97 (.677) | 106–48 (.688) | |||||||
| Total: | 203–97 (.677) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
