Drew Rea made a move that meant the most for his family.
After six successful years at Norco College, Rea was announced as the University of La Verne’s new men’s soccer coach on Monday, March 3.
“Leaving is the tough part,” Rea said. “We were bare bones, (and) now we’re one of the best in the state, so that’s tough, but I live on the same street as University of La Verne. I can walk to work now.
“With a 5-year-old and a 4-year-old at home, this makes life that much easier,” Rea said.
Rea changed the culture at Norco, leading the Mustangs to two Inland Empire Conference championships and five consecutive appearances in the California Community College Athletic Association Southern California playoffs.
Ranked 130th in the state when he arrived, Norco was ranked as high as No. 4 last season.
“I’m eternally grateful to have helped take Norco from where it was to where it is now,” Rea said. “It’s a destination place now for JUCO players.”
He leaves behind a program bursting with talent, and a growing reputation.
“It’s tough to leave because we just beat Cal State Fullerton in a preseason game and we’ve put together a really good group,” Rea said. “It’s one of those things where as a coach you go, ‘Gah, it’s so hard to leave!’”
The Mustangs finished 15-3-5 overall last season and advanced to the third round of the CCCAA SoCal regional playoffs.
Rea remains director of operations for Eastvale-based youth club Legends FC, and said he plans to create a collegiate pipeline for players to La Verne.
“(La Verne) wants me to create a winning culture and I know I can do that,” he said. “Now it’s about finding that recruiting niche that fits this program. I have that with Legends FC.”
After spending more than 10 years as an assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s teams at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Rea helped UC Riverside win its first Big West Conference championship in 2018 as the men’s assistant head coach.
A graduate of Aquinas High, Rea won a section title as captain of the Falcons in 1998 before playing at Central Michigan. He finished his collegiate career at Cal State Bakersfield, where he was a two-time NCAA Division II all-American.
Born in Northern Ireland, Rea played professionally for Glentoran FC in the Northern Ireland Football League Premiership before returning to the U.S. to coach.
HIGHLANDERS TAKE TWO
The UC Riverside baseball team won the first two games of this year’s Crosstown Showdown Series last weekend.
The Highlanders shut out California Baptist 3-0 at Totman Stadium on Friday, Feb. 28 behind five quiet innings from junior left-hander Matthew O’Brien, who scattered two hits and struck out five to get his first win of the season.
On Sunday, March 2, junior centerfielder Robert Pitts went 4 for 5 with a double, two RBIs, two stolen bases and two runs as UCR (8-5 overall) held off the Lancers 7-4 at Riverside Sports Complex.
The third and final game of the series will be played at The Plex on Monday, April 28 at 6:30 p.m.
JUCO HOOP PLAYOFFS
Both Chaffey College and San Bernardino Valley College men’s basketball teams play this weekend with eyes on next week’s California Community College Athletic Association state finals tournament.
Chaffey (25-5 overall) has playoff wins over Irvine Valley and West L.A. so far, and plays at Fullerton on Saturday at 6 p.m.
SBVC (25-5) has scored more than 100 points in each of its two playoff victories, and plays at Mt. San Antonio on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The winners advance to the 3C2A men’s basketball championship tournament, hosted at Mt. SAC in Walnut from March 13-16.
FIRST-TEAMER AGAIN
Cal Poly Pomona senior point guard Kalaya Buggs repeated as an all-California Collegiate Athletic Association first team selection as the No. 16-ranked Broncos (24-4 overall) had three players receive postseason honors.
Buggs is just five points away from surpassing 1,000 points for the Broncos, and ranks second in the CCAA in free-throw percentage.
Fellow first-teamer Sydney Nelson (Roosevelt High) leads the conference in field-goal percentage (58.7) and the team in scoring (15.8 points per game). Senior Breanne Ha (Etiwanda High), the CCAA’s leading three-point shooter, was selected to the second team.
ODDS & ENDS
Redlands plays Saint Joseph’s College of Maine in the first round of the NCAA Division III national championship tournament on Friday at 1:05 p.m. at host Tufts University in Medford, Mass. The Bulldogs (22-4) earned an at-large selection after finishing No. 26 in the NPI rankings and are playing in the tournament for the first time since 2013. … Richard Sanchez was named the new head football coach at La Verne on Monday, March 3. Sanchez was previously a three-time CIF North Coast Section finalist as coach at Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa. … Cal State San Bernardino guard Evan Oliver (Riverside Poly High) was selected to the CCAA first team after leading the conference in assists per game (5.3) and steals per game (2.3) this season.
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