In 2011, the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos baseball team won the Big West Conference championship, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They finished the regular season with a record of 40-17 overall and 15-6 in conference play. The team was led by Head Coach Bob Brontsema and featured standout players such as Matt Vedo, who set a school record with 18 saves in the season, and Mark Haddow, who hit .361 with 12 home runs and 49 RBI. In the NCAA Tournament, the Gauchos were eliminated in the Los Angeles Regional after going 1-2.