Wing Hired as Dominguez Hills Baseball Coach

Saying he “wants to see the seniors go out with a bang,� George Wing has accepted the head baseball coaching position at Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Last spring Wing, 34, was the coach at Cosumnes River Community College in Sacramento, which shocked heavily favored Sacramento City College by tying for the Bay Valley Conference title.

Cosumnes River was 40-27 under Wing in a season and a half. He was also a head coach at Napa Valley Junior College. His overall community college record was 87-64. Previously, he was an assistant at UC Riverside.

Wing was one of five finalists for the job, which became available June 8 when Andy Lopez resigned to accept the head job at Pepperdine. The finalists included two local community college coaches, one assistant community college coach and an assistant from an NCAA Division 2 school. Reportedly, the top two choices for the position were Wing and Long Beach City College Coach Ken Gaylord.

School officials had hoped to fill the spot by mid-July. Toro Athletic Director Dan Guerrero characterized the search to replace Lopez, the winningest coach in the school’s history, as “very arduous.�

“We were looking for an individual that would bring a measure of success and maintain the caliber of quality that we have been accustomed to in past years,� Guerrero said. “George is an unknown commodity in Southern California, but his success in turning around programs in a very competitive Sacramento area was a plus.�

Guerrero indicated that Wing’s experience as an assistant coach at Riverside, which competes in the California Collegiate Athletic Conference with Dominguez Hills, was also a factor in his hiring.

Wing has built a reputation as a quick-fix artist by turning around losing programs in short periods of time. When he joined Cosumnes River in mid-season in 1987, the team was 2-12, but it finished the year 12-22. He will need every bit of that ability next year at Dominguez Hills, which stumbled to an injury-plagued 19-30 after winning back-to-back CCAA titles under Lopez.

“I have a lot of work to do� in recruiting players, Wing said, since the prime recruiting period--late spring--has passed, and most top players have decided where to play next year. Wing indicated that he will attempt to bring in several community college players to fill gaps for the Toros next year.

“A lot of people probably think that we’re going to take our knocks next year and just roll over,� he said. “We are just not going to do that. I don’t want to set my goals too high, but I’d like to see the (remaining) seniors go out with a bang.�