Varsity Coaching Staff
Head Baseball Coach Mike Curran
Esperanza Head Coach Mike Curran and the Aztec baseball program have seen much success throughout the last 31 years. His teams have benefited from a continuity of coaching excellence that has seen them constantly at the top of Orange County baseball, as well as National, prominence. His teams have captured league championships 11 times, while advancing to the CIF play-offs 21 of the past 25 seasons, six times playing all the way to the CIF finals, and three times walking away as champions in 1986, 1993 and 1997.
Since Coach Curran took the field at Esperanza, the program and its facilities have made remarkable strides with improvements to include state of the art batting cages, visual barriers, an electronic scoreboard, and most recently, a brand new playing field and split face block and brick backstop.
Coach Curran arrived at Esperanza in 1980 to a program not accustomed to playoff success. The new Coach Curran and his Aztecs were playoff bound within three years' time. The following three years Curran's Aztecs captured first place in the Empire League. The success continued beyond league play, when in 1986, the Aztecs won the 4A CIF Championsip. The honors continued for Curran's squad. It was named number one Team in the Nation by USA Today and Collegiate Baseball. The CIF roll continued in 1987 and 1988 with both teams reaching the finals, only to lose by one run in each game. The Aztecs reached the finals again in 1993 and this time celebrating a victory over Simi Valley 3-0. The Aztecs went on to be named the Number Two Team in the Nation.
Not only have Aztec teams won many accolades, so has Coach Curran himself. On April 20, 2002, Coach Curran reached a milestone with a 5-2 victory over Fountain Valley. This was his 400th victory at Esperanza and 500th win of his career. He was also named Orange County Coach of the Year by both the L.A. Times and the Orange County Register for the 1986 season.
Coach Curran was further honored by being named Coach of the Orange County All-Star team in 1986. He has assisted 4 times. Coach Curran was presented with the Honorary Service Award by the California Coaches Association in 1998. Mike was named National High School Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association in 1998. Coach Curran was inducted into the National High School Coach's Hall of Fame in December 2, 2011.
Assistant Coach Marcus Jones
Marcus returns for his third season as coach of the Varsity pitching staff. Coach Jones' background includes four years with Long Beach State and six years with the Oakland Athletics. His accomplishments include Big West Pitcher of the Year (1996), All Big West Conference (1996-1997), All CIF and All State (1993). Marcus resides in Yorba Linda with his wife, Heather and daughter, Taylor and new son, Jake.
Assistant Coach Al Verdun
Coach Al Verdun returns to the Esperanza coaching staff working with the catchers. Al comes to Esperanza with a rich history of coaching experience at the high school and college level where Al was an Assistant Coach on two state championship baseball teams. During Al's coaching tenure he actually coached our own Mike Curran and El Dorado's Steve Gullotti. As Coach Al says, "he survived this experience and lived to coach another day!" One of Al's special memories was working as a volunteer at a convalescent hospital while living in Missouri. Al and his wife Jan of 39 years have a son, Connor. Coach Al and Jan reside in Long Beach.
Esperanza High School Baseball
Assistant Coach Mike Franco
Mike returns again to coach outfielders and hitters. Mike played four years with the Aztecs graduating in 2006. His Senior year, the Aztecs won the Sunset League Championship. Mike lives in Yorba Linda.
