Rob Pegg Hired as USAO’s Baseball Skipper

CHICKASHA, Okla. – Monday morning, the University of Science and Arts Oklahoma announced the hiring of Rob Pegg as the sixth head coach in the history of the baseball program. Pegg comes to USAO as an experienced skipper with over 500 wins at the NAIA and NCAA Division II levels after 21-year between Colorado Christian University and Vanguard University (Calif.).

Rob Pegg was most recently the head coach of Vanguard baseball from 2012-2026.  An alumnus of the school, Coach Pegg led the Lions to 12 consecutive winning seasons, including eight 30-plus-win campaigns.

The Lions had a great end to their time in the GSAC and the NAIA, with the program's first GSAC titles in 2021 and NAIA World Series Opening Round appearances in 2021-2023.  In 2023, Coach Pegg recorded his 200th GSAC win, and after the transition to the NCAA DII and the PacWest, he added career win No. 400 on February 22, 2025.

Coach Pegg restored Vanguard baseball to a national name that carries weight.  The 2022 club set a program best with 44 wins and had potentially the longest winning streak in program history at 16.  His 2016 and 2021 teams registered 40 wins, with both clubs reaching the final game of the NAIA Opening Round and coming up one game short of advancing to the NAIA College World Series.

In 2015, Pegg's squad won the Santa Clarita Regional Bracket and became just the second team in Vanguard history to qualify for the College World Series – and the first in 30 years.

Vanguard made program history in 2021 by winning its first Golden State Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships. The Lions finished 22-10 during GSAC play to earn a share of the West Division crown, then took two out of three from OUAZ in the GSAC Championship Series.

The 2021 club recorded the program's highest ever national ranking, reaching No. 4 in the country at one point.

Prior to Vanguard, Pegg spent seven seasons (2006-12) as the head coach at NCAA Division II Colorado Christian. He developed and coached three NCCAA First Team All-Americans, two NCCAA All-Region players, and 12 All-Conference players. As the three-time NCCAA Regional Coach of the Year (2008, 2009, 2010), Pegg also guided his then-squad to a third-place NCCAA World Series finish in 2009.

Under Pegg's direction, he has guided four players to NAIA All-American selections, as well as four Major League Baseball draft selections.

In total, Pegg has guided four players to selections in the MLB Draft. Sean Isaac was nabbed in the 35th round by the Angels in 2016, while the same club tabbed Brandon Sandoval in 2017 as a 27th-round selection. Alex Camacho was the most recent draftee, taken in the 37th round of the 2018 draft by the Atlanta Braves. Jose Rojas became the first under Pegg's tutelage to reach "The Show." Rojas, a 36th-round selection in the 2016 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Angels, made his major league debut in 2021. He hit six home runs in his rookie season.

Several of Pegg's former players also have gone on to coaching positions in collegiate or professional baseball. Sean Isaac (Milwaukee Brewers) and Jason Ochart (Philadelphia Phillies) are involved with MLB organizations.

Pegg has helped groom four NAIA All-Americans under his watch. Rojas, the 2016 GSAC Player of the Year, earned First-Team NAIA All-American honors. He also was an Honorable Mention All-American in 2015. Isaac was named the 2016 GSAC Pitcher of the Year as well as a First-Team All-American. Jordan Dreibelbis claimed Honorable Mention All-American recognition after receiving 2018 GSAC Pitcher of the Year accolades. Lastly, Aki Buckson was named an Honorable Mention All-American in 2022 after being named the GSAC Player of the Year.

While at Vanguard, Pegg guided six players to the NAIA/Rawlings Gold Glove Team for their excellence in the field. Michael Fuchs (2017, 2018) is the lone two-time honoree, while Rojas (2015), Sandoval (2017), Josh Weeks (2018), and Joe Johnson (2021 and 2022) also made the list.

Pegg, a native of Ontario, Canada, graduated summa cum laude from Vanguard, then Southern California College, in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. As a student-athlete at VU, Pegg experienced considerable success as the starting catcher on the baseball team for two seasons.

He was named Vanguard's Male Athlete of the Year and the baseball team's Most Valuable Player during his senior campaign in 1997. That same year, he was a member of the All-GSAC First Team and an NAIA All-American Honorable Mention selection.

In the classroom, Pegg maintained a 3.97 GPA, leading to All-GSAC Academic and NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors.

Upon graduating, Pegg broadened his baseball résumé, accepting an offer to play professional baseball in the Frontier League for the Canton Crocodiles in Ohio. His squad won the league championship in its inaugural season. Additionally, Pegg was selected as a reserve member for the Canadian National Team in 1998.

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