Sneddon became the
all-time winningest coach in California community college baseball history
when he recorded his 832nd win on March 21, 2006 when Santa Ana defeated
Riverside College 2-1. Sneddon passed Jerry Weinstein who held the previous
record of 831 wins while coaching at Sacramento City College .
Santa Anas accomplishments with Sneddon at the helm have been
plentiful - as the Dons have won three state championships and 12
conference championships. Sneddons Dons have appeared in six state
championship games - with a record four in a row from 1993-96.
Previous to 1976, the Santa Ana baseball program had only finished above
.500 in 14 out of 43 seasons. Since then, the program has gone 26
straight seasons above .500including 19 seasons above .700.
A total of 101 different players have signed professional contracts
while another 178 players have received scholarships to play at
four-year colleges and universities during Sneddon's 26-year tenure.
His contributions to amateur baseball have been numerous over the years.
Sneddon has coached in the famed Alaska summer league and won a National
Baseball Congress tournament title in 1980. In 1990, Sneddon toured with a
team of California community college players throughout Taiwan. The
following year he traveled to Florida as an assistant coach for the West
team at the United States Baseball federation National Team Trialsthe first
step in the 1992 U.S. Olympic team selection.
A former All-Southern California player at Cerritos College, Sneddon
transferred to Cal State Fullerton, where he led the Titans to a California
Collegiate Athletic Association conference championship and became the
schools first NCAA Division II All-American in 1974.
After his playing days, Sneddon began his coaching career as an assistant to
Augie Garrido at Cal State Fullerton in from 1975-76. From there, Sneddon
came to Santa Ana as an assistant to Jim Reach in 1977. The Reach/Sneddon
connection turned a once sullen baseball program into a nationally
recognized powerhouse.
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