Vanguard had another successful season and almost won back-to-back regular season Golden State Athletic Conference titles. VU once again made the NAIA Opening Round and Coach Pegg picked up career win No. 300 during the campaign. In 2023, Coach Pegg recorded his 200th GSAC win.
Pegg has led the Lions to nine consecutive winning seasons, including seven 30-plus-win campaigns. The 2022 club set a new program best with 44 wins and had potentially the longest winning streak in program history at 16. His 2016 and 2021 teams registered 40 wins, with both clubs reaching the final game of the NAIA Opening Round and coming up one game short of advancing to the NAIA College World Series.
The recent string of success reflects high expectations for the program – a berth in the College World Series.
In 2015, Pegg’s squad did just that. The Lions won the Santa Clarita Regional Bracket in thrilling fashion with a 4-0 record as the fourth seed. Becoming just the second program to qualify for the College World Series – and the first in 30 years – the Lions finished 1-2 at the final site after defeating Lindsey Wilson in the tournament’s opening game.
The 2016 team came up two runs short of appearing in the NAIA College World Series for a second straight year, falling in the decisive fifth game of the Faulkner Bracket.
Vanguard made program history in 2021 by winning its first Golden State Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships. The Lions finished 22-10 during GSAC play to earn a share of the West Division crown, then took two out of three from OUAZ in the GSAC Championship Series.
The 2021 club recorded the program’s highest ever national ranking, reaching No. 4 in the country at one point.
In GSAC play, the Lions have finished third or better six times in nine seasons. In 2020, the Lions were 9-3 in conference action before the season was canceled due to COVID-19. Pegg is 174-112 in GSAC play since 2013.
In nine seasons, Pegg has coached 30 all-conference players, including four who have garnered multiple awards – Brandon Sandoval (2015-17), Jose Rojas (2015-16), Sean Isaac (2015-16), Shane Elias-Calles (2017-18), and Aki Buckson (2021-2022).
Rojas became the first under Pegg’s tutelage to reach “The Show.” Rojas, a 36th-round selection in the 2016 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Angels, made his major league debut in 2021. He hit six home runs in his rookie season.
Pegg has had a total of four players taken in the MLB Draft. Isaac was nabbed in the 35th round by the Angels in 2016, while the same club tabbed Sandoval in 2017 as a 27th-round selection. Alex Camacho was the most recent draftee, taken in the 37th round of the 2018 draft by the Atlanta Braves.
Several of Pegg’s former players also have gone on to coaching positions in collegiate or professional baseball. Isaac (Milwaukee Brewers) and Jason Ochart (Philadelphia Phillies) are involved with MLB organizations.
Pegg has helped groom four NAIA All-Americans under his watch. Rojas, the 2016 GSAC Player of the Year, earned First-Team NAIA All-American honors. He also was an Honorable Mention All-American in 2015. Isaac was named the 2016 GSAC Pitcher of the Year as well as a First-Team All-American. Jordan Dreibelbis claimed Honorable Mention All-American recognition after receiving 2018 GSAC Pitcher of the Year accolades. Lastly, Aki Buckson was named an Honorable Mention All-American in 2022 after being named the GSAC Player of the Year.
Six Lions have been honored on the NAIA Gold Glove Team for their excellence in the field. Michael Fuchs (2017, 2018) is the lone two-time honoree, while Rojas (2015), Sandoval (2017), Josh Weeks (2018), and Joe Johnson (2021 and 2022) also made the list.
Vanguard’s success has not been limited to the field. The Lions have flourished in the classroom with five NAIA Scholar Teams (2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020) sporting team cumulative grade point averages above 3.00.
37 Lions have been named GSAC and NAIA Scholar-Athletes, including a three-time honoree in Elias-Calles.
Prior to Vanguard, Pegg spent seven seasons (2006-12) as the head coach at NCAA Division II Colorado Christian. He developed and coached three NCCAA First Team All-Americans, two NCCAA All-Region players, and 12 All-Conference players. As the three-time NCCAA Regional Coach of the Year (2008, 2009, 2010), Pegg also guided his then-squad to a third-place NCCAA World Series finish in 2009.
Pegg, a native of Ontario, Canada, graduated summa cum laude from Vanguard, then Southern California College, in 1997 with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics. As a student-athlete at VU, Pegg experienced considerable success as the starting catcher on the baseball team for two seasons.
He was named Vanguard’s Male Athlete of the Year and the baseball team’s Most Valuable Player during his senior campaign in 1997. That same year, he was a member of the All-GSAC First Team and an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention selection.
In the classroom, Pegg maintained a 3.97 GPA, leading to All-GSAC Academic and NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors.
Upon graduating, Pegg broadened his baseball résumé, accepting an offer to play professional baseball in the Frontier League for the Canton Crocodiles in Ohio. His squad won the league championship in its inaugural season. Additionally, Pegg was selected as a reserve member for the Canadian National Team in 1998.
Pegg is married to Angela, an alumna of the VU women’s basketball program who played for current head coach Russ Davis. The couple has four children – Daniel, Mia, Trent, and Landon.
He returned to SCC and received his California teaching credential in secondary school mathematics. He also began his seven-year stint as the lead baseball assistant under former head coach Kevin Kasper. Under their guidance, the program made great strides competitively. The 2002 team became Region II Champions and was one game away from qualifying for the NAIA World Series.
