Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska, hosted the 1998 NCAA College World Series National Championship game. Starting at second base and leading off for ASU was a baby-faced sophomore, Willie Bloomquist. The Sun Devils would fall to USC 21-14 and have not been back to the national championship game since.
The history of ASU baseball is rich in titles, All-Americans and legendary coaches. In 2026, that lineage seems like a relic of an ancient past; the program recently snapped a three-year postseason skid in 2025, the longest in school history.
Merely making the NCAA Tournament would've fallen short of the standard long associated with ASU, but in this age of Sun Devil baseball, there is a new hope. Bloomquist, a product of the program's golden era, is entrusted with guiding the team back to prominence, serving as the bridge between ASU's historic success and its pursuit of renewed prestige.
Bloomquist was extended through 2028 before the start of the 2026 season. During his tenure, ASU has been 126-105 with a lone postseason appearance.
"I have more energy and excitement now than I did on the first day that I took this job," Bloomquist said. "We have a ton of momentum going right now, and I firmly believe that the program from where we started to where we are now, things continue to get better."
READ MORE: ASU hires Willie Bloomquist as next baseball head coach
Bloomquist went 26–32 in his debut season in 2022 after taking over with no previous head coaching experience. He has since steered the Sun Devils to three straight winning years, highlighted by a 36–24 mark in 2025, ASU's best record since 2019.
The Washington native played 14 seasons in the MLB with four different clubs after his three years at ASU (1997-99), where he was a two-time All-American and the 1999 Pac-10 Player of the Year before being drafted in the third round by the Seattle Mariners in the 1999 MLB Draft.
Before taking over as skipper for the Devils, Bloomquist served five years as a Special Assistant to Arizona Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall after joining the front office in May 2016.
As part of the extension, ASU is planning to increase its overall investment in the baseball program, according to Baseball America. It is also in year two of funding 34 full baseball scholarships, the maximum allotment permitted since the NCAA's expansion from 11.7.
"The recruiting game is starting to pick up," Bloomquist said. "We're starting to be able to commit a lot of these top 100 kids in the country.”
ASU also had a strong transfer portal class, landing three top 100 portal players, according to Baseball America, with former Cal shortstop PJ Moutzouridis, former UNLV outfielder Dean Toigo and former TCU pitcher Kole Klecker.
"Everyone threw their egos out," Toigo said on the meshing of transfers with returners. "Everyone just sees each other as brothers. We're family in there, and that's a big reason why nothing off the field has affected us."
With commitment from the University not only in Bloomquist but in increased investment, he is better equipped to operate without the burden of subpar short-term success, leading to a replacement.
The extension provides continuity in Tempe as the Sun Devils look to transition into the next phase of the Bloomquist era with greater success than the past four seasons, and as they look to regain the high national standard that many still associate with ASU baseball.
The sentiment of commitment to Bloomquist in bringing glory back to the maroon and gold is shared by a former teammate of his from 1997-98, and current head baseball coach of Riverside City College, Rudy Arguelles.
"That community is rallying behind him, and I think they're rallying behind the right guy," Arguelles said. "He needs to get them there, get them back."
Edited by Alan Deutschendorf, Jack McCarthy and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at eapache3@asu.edu.
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