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Ever since Pat Casey took over the Oregon State baseball program in the summer of 1994, it seems the Beavers have been making history. On Friday, they open the Corvallis Regional as the nation's No. 1 overall seed.

(Ross William Hamilton/The Oregonian)

CORVALLIS — Back when the Oregon State baseball team had to walk over the railroad tracks and across the street to share its locker room with the wrestling team ... back when puddles formed in the outfield because it was 22 inches lower than home plate ... back when the Beavers were excluded from playing the southern conference schools ... back when very few knew baseball existed in the rainy Northwest ... a 36-year-old named Pat Casey was named head coach.

Nearly 20 years later, Oregon State is the class of college baseball, standing as one of the greatest success stories in the state's athletic history.

So how did Casey turn a program that was an afterthought within its own conference, let alone its own athletic department, into a two-time NCAA champion and the No. 1 national seed in this year's tournament?

He dared to dream.

He dared to call a meeting with Nike founder, and University of Oregon alum Phil Knight to ask for funding. He not only got the meeting, he got the money, helping spike an upgrade in facilities that now rank among the conference's best.

He dared to lobby the conference coaches and school presidents to allow the northern schools to merge with the baseball-rich southern schools. Before 1999, the Beavers played in the Northern Division, or NorPac, which at times included Portland State, Portland, Gonzaga, Washington, Washington State, Oregon and Eastern Washington.

In 1998, they allowed Oregon State to play nine, non-counting conference games against UCLA, Arizona and USC. The Beavers swept UCLA and Arizona and won one of three against the Trojans, who won the national title.

The next year, the conference merged the north and south, allowing Casey greater exposure and recruiting possibilities.

And, he dared to believe the Beavers belonged.

"I'll never forget, in (2000) we were walking over in the bottom of Gill Coliseum to our poopy locker room and a kid looks at our schedule and said 'Hey! We get to play Texas A&M this year!''' Casey said. "I grabbed him and said 'What do you mean we get to play Texas A&M?! They get to play US!'''

Casey still chuckles at the memory.

"I was so fired up,'' Casey said. "But I had to change the attitude.''

It took money, politicking and an attitude adjustment, but Casey started to change the course.

Still, players play the game, and Casey had to get them to soggy Corvallis. He didn't know how, but he knew who he would go after, and it was a decision that defines his legacy: Beavers baseball would be rooted in players from the Northwest.

"The one thing we always talked about was recruiting inside-out,'' Casey said. "We took the Northwest – Oregon and Washington – and said we will go from there.''

After an awkward start, things start to roll

The Beavers under Casey first became a team rooted in hustle and determination because the likes of UCLA, Stanford and Arizona State could run faster, throw harder and hit it farther.

"At first, he needed to get a bunch of scrappers in there, because they had such poor facilities that no one would want to go there if they had a chance to go to, say, Stanford,'' said Ryan Lipe, an All-Conference third baseman in 1996 and 1997. "So we were a team that by the end of the game, every player had dirt on their bodies and face, and we ran on and off the field.''

The players left over from the Jack Riley era met Casey warily. After all, Riley was a gruff and tough old-school fixture, and now a boyish 36-year-old from tiny George Fox College was taking over a program that won the NorPac title.

"It was awkward at first,'' said Allen Snelling, the starting shortstop on Riley's last team and Casey's first. "We had some skepticism in our mind. We had just won the North title, and he was coming up a level, and we thought we were maybe at a different level. But we quickly realized the passion he had and his drive to take it to the next level. Everything he did pointed toward moving forward.''

Casey said the anchor of his tenure is a philosophy that still stands as the foundation of the program today: Everything is going to be important.

"Everything,'' Casey said. "How we lift, how we workout, how we practice, how we walk around town, how we involve other people, how we reach out to boosters, the community. ''

In his third season, the field was skinned and replaced, leveling the 22-inch dip in the outfield. In his fifth season, the funding from Knight and the McGrath family helped turn the field into a stadium.

"And,'' Casey said matter-of-factly, "things started to roll.''

The scrappers eventually turned into blue-chippers like Darwin Barney and Jacoby Ellsbury, yet they still hustled on and off the field.

In his 11th season, the Beavers in 2005 reached the postseason and advanced to the College World Series. In 2006, they returned and won six straight elimination games on their way to the national title. In 2007, they didn't lose a game in Omaha and repeated.

Last season, Casey and the Beavers advanced to their fourth College World Series. This season, they are the No. 1 national seed.

Both title teams carried the mark Casey envisioned: predominantly Northwest kids. After all, Casey grew up milking cows before practice in Newberg, and so he knows thing or two about Northwest kids.

"I do think it's neat we are using players in our backyard,'' Casey said. "Especially that first run (in 2006). It was us against the world. Nobody knew baseball exists up here and nearly every guy on that club was from the Northwest. The farthest south was John Wallace, who was from Reno (Nev.).''

This year's team, which is the No. 1 national seed for the first time in school history, features the finest pitching staff in the nation, whose frontline starters are all from Oregon: Jace Fry (Beaverton), Ben Wetzler (Clackamas) and Andrew Moore (Eugene).

And the Beavers' outfield all earned first-team all-conference, the first time that has happened since 2003 when Stanford's Carlos Quentin, Sam Fuld and Danny Putnam did it. The Beavers outfielders are all from the Northwest: Michael Conforto (Woodinville, Wa.), Dylan Davis (Redmond, Wa.) and Jeff Hendrix (Corvallis).

"He is one of the first people to put Northwest baseball on the map,'' Davis said. "He's a Northwest guy, and he knows what the Northwest is capable of. ''

But while Casey knew the facilities had to improve, and the recruiting had to stay local, he also knew that the diamond was only half of the job.

To build a program, you have to be a program that stands for something. And from Day One, Casey knew the lasting legacy of his program would come after the players left campus.

Lessons beyond the diamond

When Lipe arrived in Corvallis in 1995 from Klamath Falls, he wasn't sure what to think about the new coach. He was recruited by Riley, who retired after 22 seasons, and as he sat down in his first meeting with Casey, it was with a curious ear.

"Right out of the gate, Casey says 'Let's talk about your goals. What do you want to do in life?' It wasn't what are your baseball goals, it was about your life,'' Lipe said.

Lipe told his new coach he had visions of attending medical school. Lipe remembers Casey raising his eyebrows.

The next day, Casey met with Lipe again, only this time, the coach was armed with information about what it takes to get into medical school, and a plan for Lipe to reach that goal.

"After our first meeting, he went and met with my guidance counselor and got a good sense of what it takes to get into medical school,'' Lipe said. "So we meet again and he says, 'If you have the commitment, we are going to do it together and make this happen.'''

Lipe remembers getting a 4.0 grade-point-average the first term of his freshman year. In winter term, when baseball starts and travel comes into play, his GPA slipped to 2.9.

"Normally, a coach would see a 2.9 and be pleased and give a pat on the back,'' Lipe said. "But he called me in his office and said 'Hey! I thought we had a commitment? A 2.9 is not good enough.'''

Lipe eventually made it to medical school at the University of Minnesota and today is a national vice president in sales for a medical device company in Chicago.

"That's the thing that impressed me from the get go -- all the time, all the energy he put in to understand what it would take for me to be successful in my career,'' Lipe said. "It wasn't just baseball. And he does that for everybody. He cares so deeply for his kids that it comes through his pores.''

Jason Stranberg, an outfielder from Ashland, was one of four players Casey took to that 1997 meeting with Knight at Nike headquarters near Beaverton.

He still remembers how Casey conducted himself in the meeting, from his preparation to his delivery.

"Today, I'm involved in a number of non-profit ventures, and that meeting was my first introduction to this is what it takes to make things happen in a community,'' said Stranberg, who was all conference in 1997. "It was a life experience, one I will never forget.''

In Sherwood this week, Snelling and David Schmidt, a catcher from 1994-1996, met for a beer. They said when they visit with Casey, it's more about the now than the past.

"I think one of the things he cherishes most is how the kids live after they leave the program,'' Snelling said. "The best compliments I've had from him are how I am as a dad. That's important to him.''

A moment -- and only a moment -- to reflect

Sitting in his car beyond the outfield fence, Casey this week did something he rarely affords himself: He soaked in what he has accomplished at Oregon State.

Just the day before, he said he "looked forward" to the day he would allow himself to look back at his accomplishments, but with this weekend's regionals and national No. 1 seed at hand, now wasn't the time.

But there he was, hours later, staring at the expansive backside of the outfield scoreboard, where a photo of one of his two NCAA title teams celebrating in Omaha sits under the heading of 2006 & 2007 College World Series champions.

"You asked me the other day if I ever step back and reflect, and I don't know why, but that question stuck with me,'' Casey said. "So I found myself sitting there looking at that photo.''

But then he caught himself. He figures if you are looking back, you are not looking forward, and there is too much he wants to still accomplish.

"One of my problems is I don't know if I'm ever satisfied,'' Casey said. "I'm grateful. I'm appreciative. I'm thankful and humbled by the success we've had, and I mean that, but ...''

He trailed off, and started listing the names of the players who laid the groundwork for the current run of success. Two of those players – Barney and Ellsbury – made substantial donations to a $4.2 million complex that will be built next season alongside the left field line.

The complex will include a new players' clubhouse, new offices for the coaches, more seating, and more concessions.

And to think, 20 years ago he was digging holes trying to get rid of puddles forming in an uneven outfield. Back then, he could only look ahead, so today, he figures the same approach applies, the moment in his car notwithstanding.

"I will tell you one thing: It was easier to build it than it is to sustain it to where you want to be,'' Casey said. "When you are building, nobody cares. Now, the higher the monkey climbs, the more of his butt you see.''

-- Jason Quick | @jwquick