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Saturday, November 10th

Adam Melhuse

Adam Melhuse was born in Santa Clara, Ca. He attended Lincoln High School of Stockton where he lettered in baseball and basketball.  After high school Adam went on to play baseball at UCLA. Melhuse is a former switch-hitting Major-League Catcher. He was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 13^thround of the 1993 amateur draft. Melhuse played eight Major League seasons (2000–08) with the Dodgers, Rockies, Athletics and Rangers, appearing in 311 games,hitting .234 with 24 home runs and 98 RBI.

After his playing days were over Melhuse spent 4 years with the Chicago Cubs as an advanced scout. He then moved on to be the Manager of the Burlington Bees of the Los Angeles Angels farm system. He is currently in the Los Angeles Dodgers Organization as the hitting coach for the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers.

Tom Gamboa

Tom Gamboa was born in Los Angeles, California and attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, California. He was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles as a first basemen. He chose to attend the University of California, Santa Barbara (B.A., History, 1971) on a full scholarship and played primarily center field, along with a little first base for the Gauchos. While at UCSB he won All-Big West Conference honors in 1969 and 1970.

After college Gamboa played outfield for and was the manager of Stratford (Ontario) in the Canadian Baseball League, where he was a two-time All-Star in 1971 and 72. Gamboa has gone on to manage in the minor leagues as high as AAA and coached first and third base as well as in the bullpen for the Chicago Cubs and Kansas City Royals in the major leagues. Most recently he served as the bench and 3rd base coach for Team Israel in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Vince Maiocco

Vince Maiocco became the Taft College head baseball coach in 2005 after being a Taft College assistant coach from 2001 to 2004. In 2018 he guided the Cougars to their first NorCal postseason playoff appearance since 1992, ending a 26-year playoff drought. With their 11-3 NorCal Wildcard Playoff win vs Los Medanos College, it marked the first Taft College baseball postseason victory in over 30 years. The Cougars finished last spring winning 10 of their last 12 regular games to get their deserved at-large playoff bid. The Cougars ended up losing their NorCal Regional matchup to the eventual 2018 California State Champions San Joaquin Delta College, even though both games were very competitive.

In 2009 the Cougars posted a 24-19-1 record, which marked the program’s first winning season since 1994. The 2010 and 2011 team’s both finished with a 22-14 record; this marked the first time the Cougars had 3-consectutive winning years since the mid 1980’s. Also in 2015 the Cougars posted a 21-15 record. The Cougars finished both the 2011 and 2015 seasons as NorCal’s #17 ranked team.

Coach Maiocco had extensive head coaching experience prior to coming to Taft College. He was the head coach at College of the Siskiyous in Weed, California from 1992-1998. He served as an assistant coach from 1988-1992 to California Community College Hall of Fame coach, Dennis DeRoss at College of the Siskiyous. He also played for Coach DeRoss from 1982-1983. Coach Maiocco was the head coach for the Humboldt Crabs summer collegiate baseball club from 1993-1995 in Arcata, California.

Coach Maiocco also coached at the high school level as well, serving as the varsity coach at Delano High School in 2000. From 1994-1986 he coached at Corning High School and in 1987 he coached at Orland High School in Northern California.

Maiocco’s wife Tami is a Physical Education Teacher, Girls Golf Coach and Boys Tennis Coach at Bakersfield High School. They have two daughters Mary and Laurynn.

Guy Anderson

One of the winningest coaches in high school baseball history, Anderson led the Cordova Lancers team for 45 years as varsity coach. A National High School Hall of Fame inductee, Anderson piled up 927 wins, second most in California history. Under Anderson, Cordova produced some of the region’s best teams and players.

The Lancers were a powerhouse in the 1970s, 1980s and into the early ’90s, winning five section titles. Anderson has continued his 55+ year coaching career as First Base Coach at Capital Christian and assistant to Coach Nelson Randolph.

Ralph Rago

Ralph Rago is a former Davis High baseball coach and part of the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Class of 2013. Ralph Rago, offers players decades of experience and wisdom as a coaching lifer. Rago has taught the game at Davis High, UC Davis, Cordova, European League and through camps and clinics around the world.

Rago has continued his 55+ year coaching career as an assistant coach at Capital Christian to Coach Nelson Randolph.