Eddie Cornejo enters his fifth season as head coach of the CSUN Baseball team and eighth season overall in 2026-27. Cornejo is the 11th head baseball coach in Matador history.

Cornejo has led CSUN to 104 wins in his first four seasons as head coach while the Matadors have accumulated a 167-149 record and 96-94 Big West record in his first seven seasons in Northridge, highlighted by five consecutive winning seasons for the first time in the school's Division I history. CSUN players have earned 26 total all-conference honors in his time with the program.
Eddie Cornejo vs. UCD 2-27-24

In 2026, CSUN posted a 10-win improvement from the season before as the Matadors boasted five All-Big West selections including three first-team honorees. CSUN's offense ranked near the top in numerous categories in the Big West with the Matadors leading the league with 74 home runs and a .480 slugging percentage. The team's totals in homers and slugging percentage were the program's best since the 2002 season. The Matadors were also second in the conference in batting average (.286) and third in hits (519).

Cornejo guided CSUN to its third consecutive 30-win season during the 2024 season. Additionally, CSUN reached another benchmark in its history with its fourth-straight winning conference record for the first time as a D-1 program. Three Matadors also garnered All-Big West accolades after the season. One of those honorees, Kevin Fitzer would be selected in the 16th round of the MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies.

Cornejo would lead the Matadors to their most wins and their best Big West finish in 21 seasons in his first year at the helm in 2023. After the Matadors were picked to finish seventh in The Big West prior to the year, Cornejo guided the team to a 34-17 overall record and 20-10 league mark, good enough for a second-place finish in conference, as CSUN came a mere tiebreaker away from an NCAA Tournament berth.

Under Cornejo's direction, the Matadors led The Big West with a team .311 batting average in 2023, which also ranked 16th-best in the nation. CSUN topped the league with 69 stolen bases while the team finished second in runs (388), hits (552), RBI (360), slugging percentage (.472) and on-base percentage (.396). CSUN also had the fewest strikeouts in the conference (.371).

Seven Matadors collected All-Big West honors in 2023 highlighted by a pair of First-Team selections. Outfielder Jakob Simons would also become just the second Matador and first in 21 seasons to be named Big West Field Player of the Year. Following the year, pitcher Lucas Braun (Atlanta Braves) and catcher Graysen Tarlow (St. Louis Cardinals) would each hear their names called at the MLB First-Year Player Draft.

Cornejo succeeded Dave Serrano as head coach after previously serving as associate head coach in 2022. He would join CSUN in 2020 as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the program.

In 2022, CSUN went 32-22 and 17-13 in the Big West, placing fourth in the league. Four Matadors were named to the All-Big West Team including three first-team honorees, the program's most in 20 seasons.

Cornejo helped revamp a lineup in 2022 that lost six position players due to graduation and the MLB Draft, as the Matadors finished in the top five in the league in a host of categories including batting (.270), doubles (93), homers (44), slugging (.404) and runs (311).

In 2021, Cornejo helped coach the Matadors to a 21-19 record in a conference only season. CSUN finished fourth in The Big West, winning 15 of its last 21 games. The Matadors were second in the Big West in batting (.296). Kai Moody would win a Big West batting title, hitting .392.

Cornejo's first season saw the Matadors record their best start in 27 seasons by going 7-0 to begin 2020. In the shortened-season, CSUN went 10-5 with the second-best record in The Big West.

A nationally-recognized recruiter, Cornejo spent one season as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at San Jose State in 2019 before joining the Matadors.

Prior to San Jose State, Cornejo served as the recruiting coordinator at UC Santa Barbara from 2012-18 where he helped recruit five nationally-ranked classes including the 2016 class which ranked No. 9 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball. D1Baseball recognized Cornejo as the Top Recruiter in the Big West in 2016.

Cornejo helped coach the Gauchos to the 2013 and 2015 NCAA Regionals and team's first College World Series berth in 2016.

With Cornejo on the bench, the Gauchos hosted their first-ever regional in 2015. A year later, he helped UCSB break the school's D-1 record with 43 victories as the Gauchos marched deep into the postseason, winning the Nashville Regional before stunning Louisville with a two-game sweep in the Super Regionals.

He recruited and developed 39 Major League Baseball draft picks while with the Gauchos. The team set a new program record with 10 selections in 2015, which ranked second-best in the nation.

Cornejo also worked as an assistant coach at UC Riverside in 2011 and interim head coach at Riverside City College in 2010. He would guide the recruitment of all 10 sophomores to NCAA and NAIA schools while at Riverside CC.

Before venturing into coaching, Cornejo was an All-American shortstop at Riverside City College where he helped the Tigers win two-straight state titles from 2000-01. He went on to play two seasons at the University of Oklahoma, earning All-Midwest Region and All-Big 12 honors as a second baseman in 2003.

Cornejo was selected in the 13th round of the 2003 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Oakland Athletics. He went on to play six professional seasons in the Oakland and Colorado Rockies organizations, eventually advancing to the Triple-A ranks in 2008.

Cornejo has a master's degree in education from Cal State San Bernardino and a bachelor's degree in sociology from the University of Oklahoma.

Name	Title	Email Address
Eddie Cornejo	Head Coach	ecornejo@csun.edu
Bobby Andrews	Assistant Coach	bobby.andrews@csun.edu
Jon Strauss	Assistant Coach	jon.strauss@csun.edu
Nate Esposito	Assistant Coach	nathan.esposito@csun.edu
Brendan Brooks	Director of Player Development/Camp Coordinator	brendan.brooks@csun.edu
Freddy Smith	Director of Players/Operations	fred.smith@csun.edu

California State University Northridge Athletics

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