HEAD COACH MIKE GRAHOVAC

Coach Mike Grahovac begins his second year at Orange Lutheran. Prior to coming to OLHS, he spent eight years in law enforcement. Before his career in law enforcement, Coach Grahovac served as pitching coach at Orange Coast Community College for six years, where he developed several pitchers and catchers. He assisted in their progress and helped them to move on to Div. I, II and NAIA colleges. Coach Grahovac has also assisted several players in being drafted into professional baseball.

Coach Grahovac served as a pitching coach in Fairbanks, Alaska, which is considered one of the premier summer collegiate leagues. While in Fairbanks, he coached current big league players, Michael Young (Texas Rangers All-Star Shortstop), Jason Lane (Houston Astros), and Jason Phillips (former starting catcher for the LA Dodgers).

After playing baseball at Foothill High School, Coach Grahovac continued his baseball career at Chapman University, where he served as team captain for 3 years, was named team MVP in 1988, and voted all-league as a sophomore and junior. In 1989, the San Francisco Giants drafted Mike in the 4th round of the MLB draft. Coach Grahovac played four years of professional baseball before his career ended abruptly due to an arm injury.

Coach Grahovac graduated from Chapman University with a degree in Movement and Exercise Science and attended Azusa Pacific University where he received his Master’s Degree in Education. He currently teaches Health at Lutheran High School in addition to his duties as Head Baseball Coach.

“We are building a tradition here at Lutheran High School that no other schools can compare to. Prior to my arrival on the OLU campus, the program was pushed in the right direction and I am just trying to push us to the next level. We are entering the newly formed Trinity League and all of our players in the Lancer baseball program have been working extra hard to succeed both in the classroom and on the field. I enjoy being here at Lutheran High School, leading these fine young men to be better individuals overall. The Trinity League will be very competitive throughout the year and we look forward to competing against the very best in the county. We feel we can compete against anybody.”

 

	PITCHING COACH ED DEESE Coach Deese returns to Lancer Baseball for his seventh year. He has served as head coach of the Frosh and the Junior Varsity teams at Lutheran High. Ed returns for his third year as the Pitching Coach for the Varsity team, where he brings great knowledge and expertise to the Lancer pitching staff. Coach Deese played baseball at Sonora High School, where he was voted MVP of the Orange League, all CIF and to the Orange County All-Star Team. He went on to pitch at UC Irvine, where he served as Team Captain. Ed lives in Yorba Linda with his wife Teresa, son Paul and daughter, Samantha. Paul is a freshman at Chapman University and Samantha a junior at Lutheran High. “Coach Deese was such a valuable commodity to me last year. I look forward to working side by side with Coach Deese again this year.” - Coach Grahovac.   BENCH COACH CRAIG TEUBEN Coach Teuben is now the varsity assistant coach after leading the Frosh team in 2005. Craig serves as the PE Department Chairman at Orange Lutheran. He graduated from Chapman University with a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and holds a teaching credential from Concordia University. Coach Teuben is currently finishing his Master’s Degree at Concordia and hopes to move into the administration part of education. He has previous coaching experience at Mater Dei, El Dorado, Fairmont, and Etiwanda High Schools. Coach Teuben currently lives in Orange. "Coach Teuben is a great help with the inspiration and motivation of the team.  Coach Teuben controls the 1st base box like no other assistant coach in the county and lends a hand in keeping the players under control." – Coach Grahovac   BATTING COACH TIM WALLACH Coach Wallach comes to Lutheran High to serve as the hitting coach. Tim brings great knowledge and experience to Lancer baseball after an all-star sixteen-year career in the major leagues, one year as hitting coach at Cal State Fullerton, and two years as hitting coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Coach Wallach’s oldest son, Matt (2004 graduate of OLHS), currently plays at Cal State Fullerton. Matt was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 2005 Amateur Baseball draft as a "draft and follow." Tim’s second son, Brett, is a senior at Lutheran High and plays on the Varsity baseball team. Coach Wallach’s youngest son, Chad, is a Freshman at Lutheran High, and played Football in the fall and will be playing Freshman Baseball this spring. "Having Coach Wallach in the Lutheran Baseball Program is very exciting for the players and coaching staff.  Coach Wallach kept me under control throughout many tough situations last year.  Coach Wallach is going to take on more of a responsibility with all of the Lutheran baseball players." - Coach Grahovac VARSITY ASSISTANT COACH KEN HOKUF This is Coach Hokuf’s first year at Lutheran High, where he will work with Coach Grahovac as Assistant Coach. Coach Hokuf graduated from Edison High School, where he played baseball. He spent 2 years playing ball at Golden West JC., was drafted in the 14th round, but decided against that. He attended Cal State Fullerton, then Chapman College. Coach Hokuf then signed as a free agent and played for Three Years in the Oakland A’s Organization. After two years off, he signed with the Western Independent League, playing with the Sonoma County Crushers. Coach Hokuf served as pitching coach for six years at Kennedy High School. He looks forward to being a part of the Lutheran High baseball program that has such a rich tradition of class and sportsmanship. Coach Hokuf’s philosophy on Coaching has always been “Making Better People Through Athletics”.    Coach Hokuf has been married to Brandy for 14 years. They have two sons, Jackson (10), who will be a Lancer Bat Boy when he isn’t playing Little League, and Logan (2). They live in Corona.   JUNIOR VARSITY HEAD COACH DAN THOME Dan Thome returns for his 7th year as a coach in the Lancer baseball program. This will be Coach Thome’s 5th year as the Head Coach of the Junior Varsity baseball team. Dan is a graduate of Servite High School, where he was a member of the 1978 CIF Championship Team and named to the All-County team in 1980. Coach Thome went on to play collegiate baseball at Cal Poly Pomona and then play six years of semi-professional baseball in the Southern California area. Coach Thome lives in Anaheim Hills with his wife, Su, and their seven-year-old daughter, Madison.     JUNIOR VARSITY ASSISTANT COACH RICKY HAMM. The Lancers welcome back Ricky Hamm, a 2006 Lutheran High Graduate, who played Lancer Baseball for four years. Ricky is happy to be coaching the JV team this spring. Coach Hamm played Second, Third, and Shortstop for the Lancers, and enjoyed his time spent with teammates. Currently Ricky is attending Fullerton College full-time.           FROSH HEAD COACH TODD EKLUND Todd Eklund will serve in his second season with the Lancers as the head Frosh coach. This will be Coach Eklund’s third year coaching at the High School level, having coached in Colorado and Arizona before coming to California. He is a graduate of Denver Lutheran High School, and holds degrees from Concordia University, Irvine and the University of Arizona. He teaches Art at Orange Lutheran and is married to fellow O Lu teacher, Mrs. Rachel Eklund. Coach Eklund feels honored and blessed to be able to continue to work with the coaching staff and players who represent the Lancer baseball program.     FROSH ASSISTANT COACH PAUL DEESE Coach Deese returns to the Lancer Baseball Program as a coach after four years as a player. Paul pitched the last two years for the varsity team, compiling an E.R.A. of 1.16 per game. In his senior season, his teammates elected him Team Captain. Coach Deese is currently attending Chapman University on a Presidential Scholarship, studying Sociology and Pre-Law.           Not Pictured:  FROSH PITCHING COACH KENNY HARRISON Kenny Harrison will serve his first season as the Frosh pitching coach. Coach Harrison is a graduate of OLU (1998), where he participated in baseball and soccer. Coach Harrison went on to play at Concordia University with Frosh Head Coach Todd Eklund. He has been the head coach of the Junior Varsity team at Woodbridge High School for the past three years. Coach Harrison is currently teaching at St. John’s Lutheran School in Orange.