Four former CCCBCA Coaches awarded at the 2023 ABCA Convention held
in Nashville, TN.
Pictured are (left to right) Don Sneddon, John Noce, & George Horton.
John Noce, College of San Mateo
2023 Lefty Gomez Award Recipient
Hall of Fame coach John Noce led the College of San Mateo baseball program
in California from 1962-92 and coached in the Olympic Games three times. In
31 seasons leading San Mateo, his teams compiled a record of 772-412 (.652)
while capturing 13 conference titles and finishing runner-up three times in
the California community college state playoffs.
At the time of his retirement, he was the winningest coach in California
community college baseball history.
HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES-
Don Sneddon, Santa Ana College (Calif.)
Don Sneddon spent 32 years as the head coach at Santa Ana College where he
became the all-time winningest coach in California community college
baseball history. Sneddon's tenure ended at Santa Ana with a career record
of 1,072-383-3 (.735).
Among those 1,072 victories are three state championships (1993, 1995, 1996)
and 16 conference championships. Sneddon also led the Dons to the second
round of postseason competition for 25 consecutive seasons from 1988-2012.
Sneddon's teams never finished with a losing record and 22 of his 32 seasons
had a winning percentage of .700 or higher. He was named conference coach of
the year 16 times, including five-straight seasons from 2007-2011.
After breaking the career wins record in 2006 with his 832nd victory,
Sneddon went on to become the first coach to record 900 and 1,000 wins.
Following his retirement from Santa Ana in 2014, Sneddon was inducted into
the California Community College Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame
in 2015.
George Horton, Cal State Fullerton/University of Oregon/Cerritos College
In his combined 28 seasons as a collegiate head baseball coach, George
Horton amassed a career record 1,091-546-2 (.666) record. Now a member of
the Orange Coast College coaching staff, Horton is known for guiding
national power Cal State Fullerton to the 2004 National Championship and for
resurrecting a dormant University of Oregon baseball program.
Hired in September 2007, Horton was Oregon's 12th baseball coach in school
history and its first since the program was discontinued following the 1981
season. In 11 seasons with the Ducks, Horton carried a 375-281-1 (.571)
record and led Oregon to five NCAA Regional tournaments (2010, 2012, 2013,
2014, 2015), one Super Regional (2012) and a school-record 48 wins in 2013.
Prior to Oregon, Horton spent 11 seasons at the helm of his alma mater and
national power Cal State Fullerton, leading the Titans to seven conference
titles and the 2004 National Championship. Overall, Horton posted a record
of 490-212-1 (.697) with the Titans, and oversaw six appearances in the
College World Series, including a pair of back-to-back berths (2003 and
2004, 2006 and 2007). Following his squad's title run in 2004, Horton
received National Coach of the Year honors from the ABCA/Diamond Sports and
Collegiate Baseball. He was also named National Coach of the Year by
Baseball America in 2003 and was a five-time Big West Conference Coach of
the Year.
Before taking the reins at Fullerton, Horton worked for six years as an
assistant coach for the Titans under legendary college baseball coach Augie
Garrido before succeeding him 1997.
Horton also served six years as the head coach at Cerritos College before
joining the Titans' staff, compiling a junior college record of 226-53
(.810) from 1985-90 and capturing three California state baseball
championships (1985, 1987, 1989).
John Altobelli, Orange Coast College
John Altobelli led the baseball program at Orange Coast College from
1993-2019, posting a 705-478-4 (.594) record over 27 seasons that made him
the winningest coach in school history. In 2019, he became just the 16th
coach in California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) history
to reach the 700-win mark. He passed away in January 2020.