When John Goelz took over the Sonoma State baseball program in 1986, the team was coming off a 7-42 year and 14 years of intercollegiate participation without a winning season. Within two years SSU had transformed into a NCAC power. Leading this change was one of the first true baseball stars in ssu history, Rob Wilson.
Wilson played first base for the COssacks in 1986 and 1987, an era that signaled a new beginning for SSU baseball. A career .300 hitter, Wilson played on the school's first winning baseball team in 1987.
In 1986, Wilson batted .304 with 24 runs batted in. He helped guide the team from 7 wins in the '85 season to 18 and a sixth place finish in the NCAC. The improvement didn't sotp there as the COssacks rallied to finish 30-20 in 1987, second place in the conference. Wilson's 1987 season was followed by First Team All-NCAC honors and he was drafted by the San Francisco Giants.
While in the Giants' organization, WIlson was a member of a Northwest League Championship team and he played against many future Major League stars including Ken Griffey, Jr.
While his leadership qualities were present at Sonoma State, they definitely didn;t stop once Wilson graduated in 1989. Following his graduation, Wilson went on to coach at City College of San Francisco and Laney Junior College. He is currently the head coach at Sierra College in Rocklin. In 1995 and 1996, while at CCSF, Wilson was named California Community College Coach of the Year and in 1997 he was named Bay Valley Conference Coach of the Year.
