The winningest coach in Oregon State athletics history has earned yet another accolade.
On July 2, the American Baseball Coaches Association named former Oregon State baseball head coach Pat Casey a member of the organization’s 2026 Hall of Fame class. On Jan. 9, he’ll be honored at the 82nd ABCA Convention in Columbus, Ohio.
Casey will be joining former coaches Steve Bazarnic (Allegany College), Terry Gobert (Jasper High School), John McCormack (Florida Atlantic), Sam Piraro (San Jose State) and Steve Ruzich (South Suburban College) in the 2026 class.
Among the considerations to make the Hall of Fame, the ABCA website notes that coaches must “have significantly contributed to the advancement of baseball at the local, national or international level, and should be representative of high moral character and ethical standards, excellence and leadership.”
Casey led all three College World Series championship wins in Beaver baseball history as the team’s head coach from 1995-2018, including back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007. Current Beaver baseball head coach Mitch Canham played under Casey both years.
“Tremendous mentor. Always has been. Always will be,” said Canham of his former coach after Casey attended the Beavers’ June 13 win over Louisville in the 2025 CWS.
Casey won 900 career games with Oregon State, and 116 of his players became selections in the MLB Draft.
Casey was named National Coach of the Year four times over his career, and shared the honor in 2005. He’s also a five-time Pac-10/12 Coach of the Year. The ABCA won’t be Casey’s first hall of fame, either; the longtime Beavers coach was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024.
Casey retired after his third CWS victory in 2018. “Coaching is difficult. If you do it with passion, it consumes you,” he told the ABCA’s Inside Pitch Magazine the following year. “You’re around it every day and if you’re constantly working to sustain what you’re doing, you’re always thinking about it. So I thought it was a good time to take a break.”
The ABCA was founded in 1945. Per its website, the organization now includes over 15,000 coaches across both collegiate and youth baseball levels. You can read more about the organization and its Hall of Fame here.
