The Big West School Spotlight: Cal State Fullerton

5/1/2026 9:00:00 AM

See the full 2025-26 School Spotlight Series - About, UCSB, CP, LBSU, UCR, CSUN, CSUB, UCI, UCSD

Cal State Fullerton was established in 1957 as Orange County State College, the 12th state college in California to be authorized by the state legislature as a degree-granting institution. The school moved to its permanent campus in 1960, a site famously transformed from orange groves in northeast Fullerton. Because of its growth from a local college to a major university, the school was renamed Orange State College in 1962, California State College at Fullerton in 1964, and finally California State University, Fullerton in 1972.

Cal State Fullerton has a rich athletics history, particularly in baseball and softball. The Titans boasts 31 national championships, covering 11 sports and dating back to its first in 1967; 12 team national titles and 19 individual championships. Cal State Fullerton became members of NCAA Division I prior to the 1974-75 academic year and have since produced 11 (6 team and 5 individual) national titles, four of them by the Titans' baseball team.

SCHOOL FACTS

Location:	Fullerton, Calif.
Founded	1957
Nickname:	Titans
Enrollment:	45,863
Alumni:	300,000+
President:	Dr. Ronald S. Rochon
Athletic Director:	Jim Donovan
Big West Member Since:	1974
Big West Championships:	100 (3 postseason, 3 regular season)

BOLDNESS SHOWCASE

Baseball Powerhouse

CAL STATE FULLERTON BASEBALL
Cal State Fullerton baseball has a rich tradition of winning with four College World Series championships (1979, 1984, 1995, 2004) and 18 College World Series appearances. The Titan baseball program has had over 300 players selected in the MLB draft over the years, with over 70 reaching the major leagues. Historically guided by legendary coaches like Augie Garrido and George Horton, the program has maintained its reputation for developing talent and strong fundamental play.

4 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
1979, 1984, 1995, 2004

18 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES APPEARANCES
1975, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2015, 2017

17 BIG WEST TITLES
1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018

3 GOLDEN SPIKE AWARDS
1979, Tim Wallach, 3B
1992, Phil Nevin, 3B
1995 Mark Kotsay, OF

316 MLB DRAFT PICKS
including 13 First-Rounders

14 MLB All-Star Selections
most recently Michael Lorenzen (2023), Matt Chapman (2019), Justin Turner (2017)

Excellence in Softball

1986 National Champions
After finishing top three in the four previous trips to the Women's College World Series, Cal State Fullerton brought home its first NCAA Championship, finishing 57-9-1 for the season in 1986. Pitching carried the Titans throughout the entire season, sporting a team ERA of 0.28 in 500 innings. In the postseason, the Titans went a perfect 5-0 in the WCWS, only allowing one run.

Head Coach: Judi Garman
Overall Record: 57-9-1 (.858)
Conference Record: 22-5-1 (.804)
Home: 30-4
Away: 16-3-1
Neutral: 11-2
Postseason Record: 7-0
National Finish: 1st (NCAA)

Recent Big West Champions

2022 Men's Basketball

2023 Men's Track & Field

2026 Softball (Regular Season)

2023 Women's Soccer (Regular Season)

2025 Women's Golf

NOTABLE ALUMS IN THE PROS/OLYMPICS

Tanner Bibee

Karen Bardsley

Atlanta Primus

Bruce Bowen

TJ Dillashaw

Michael Lorenzen

Jackson Rowe

Kelsie Whitmore

ACADEMICS

The graduate business program is ranked No. 3 in California. [2026]
The online engineering and computer science graduate programs — Master of Science in Software Engineering and Master of Science in Environmental Engineering — are No. 4 in California. The CSUF online graduate programs rank No. 38 nationally, and are tied with engineering programs at Florida A&M University/Florida State University, Stevens Institute of Technology, University of Arkansas, University of Massachusetts-Lowell and Washington State University. [2026]
The ranking is a designation given to universities and colleges that excel at enrolling and graduating economically disadvantaged students. [2025]
Cal State Fullerton earned the highest rating on Money’s Best Colleges list for its quality of education, affordability and alumni outcomes. [2025]
The FirstGen Forward Network is a journey for institutions of higher education, a national scaling model that brings together higher education leaders from around the country to share data, model innovation, and scale impact to first-gen student support. [2025]