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Long Beach State Dirtbags head coach TJ Bruce continues to assemble his coaching staff for year two at his alma mater, bringing in another trusted name with strong ties to the program.
After announcing the return of Jon Strauss as an assistant coach, Bruce followed up with the news that former All-American pitcher Abe Alvarez would be coming home to Long Beach for the 2026 season.
“I’m very excited to welcome Abe and his family back to Dirtbag Nation,” Bruce said in the announcement. “Abe has a proven track record from his time as an All-American baseball player at Long Beach State, World Series Champion, followed by a coaching career that has seen him continue to find increasing success as a pitching coach.”
Alvarez coached with Bruce at the University of Nevada, and has served as the pitching coach at BYU for the past two seasons. He said he initially turned down Bruce’s offer to join him at Long Beach State last season, while enjoying his tenure in Provo. But the thought of reuniting with a fellow Dirtbag and returning home really stuck with him, and the LA native says he’s excited to be back on his home turf.
“The second time around, I really started thinking more about family and the place,” Alvarez said. “In Utah, having to travel to recruit, it was hard because I missed my son’s games, missed my daughter’s dance performances, just being gone longer for recruiting trips. Now I’ll go recruit, but I’ll be home, and being around family really mattered.
“And talking to TJ consistently, and seeing how the staff was coming together, and what we could do as an All-Dirtbags staff, really just put things over the edge. Like, wow, I’m gonna be part of this. This is really cool.”
As a player, Alvarez spent three seasons at Long Beach State from 2001-03, and his junior year was his best. The left-handed starting pitcher was the 2003 Co-Big West Pitcher of the Year along with teammate Jered Weaver, earning second team All-American honors that year. His career numbers at the Beach are terrific, posting a 23-5 record with a 2.56 ERA.
Alvarez was drafted by the Boston Red Sox with a second round pick in the 2003 MLB Draft, quickly making his way through the minor leagues to make his big league debut in July of 2004, a little over a year after he was drafted. Alvarez earned a World Series ring as a member of those ‘04 Red Sox, and pitched in three big league seasons with Boston.
He started his coaching career locally at Cerritos High, then at St. Bernard High where he led the program to its first league title in 30 years and consecutive CIF quarterfinal appearances.
His connections to Dirtbags lore runs deep, having played a season under Dave Snow, then two seasons under Mike Weathers with Troy Buckley as his pitching coach.
During Alvarez’s freshman season at Long Beach State, Strauss was a volunteer coach on staff, meaning the two have known each other since Alvarez was just 17. Those two will work closely together in support of Bruce, who has clearly emphasized pitching expertise this offseason. Alvarez says his role will be as pitching coach, with Strauss overseeing recruiting and other aspects of the program.
With all three coaches bringing similar backgrounds and a ton of familiarity, there’s optimism that this year’s staff can hit the ground running for a bounceback 2026 campaign.
“We know what the recipe is. We know what the formula is as players,” explained Alvarez. “Now coming back, the goal is doing it as coaches and doing it together. We’ve all had experiences at different places, and our experiences have molded who we are now as coaches. Now it’s about bringing in that Dirtbag mentality, the blue collar way that we were taught, to this generation who need it, and finding the right players who fit it. Because not everybody can be a Dirtbag.”
