Murphy Su’a
Head Coach

Mike Milstead
Ass't. Coach

Steve Hindman
Ass't. Coach

Josh Bendik
Ass't. Coach

A.J. Gomez
Ass't. Coach

Sherman Forbes
Ass't. Coach

Murphy Su’a, Head Coach E-mail Murphy Su’a

Jul 24, 2007: Murphy Su’a Named Cal State Dominguez Hills Baseball Head Coach

Murphy Su’a begins his first season as interim head coach of the Toros program, and fifth season overall at CSUDH.

Su’a, 49, brings over 20 years of coaching experience and 23 years of field experience to the program. He walked on and played two seasons at LA Valley College (1976-77) without ever playing baseball in high school. He then transferred to Brigham Young University where he was an NCAA Division I First-Team All-America selection in 1979. A First-Team All-Rocky Mountain Region and All-WAC selection, Su’a broke six Cougar single-season records for home runs, runs batted in, runs scored, doubles, total bases and at-bats. He was among the national leaders in home runs and RBI en route to leading BYU to the WAC Championship.

Invited to tryout for the USA National Team, Su’a instead elected to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1979. He played for the Class-A Lodi Dodgers in 1980 and was recognized as the Dodgers’ minor league system “Player of the Week” in July 1980. Su’a left the Dodgers to sign with the Milwaukee Brewers and played for the Triple-A team in Burlington, IA. In August of 1981, Sua was named the Brewers’ minor league “Player of the Month” and was selected to play on the Midwest League All-Star Team.

Su’a also brings 11 years international baseball experience with the American Samoa National Baseball Team (1989-2000) where he played in numerous international tournaments including the Olympic trials, World Baseball Challenge, and the NBC World Series. Su’a earned a gold medal in the BCO Championships and silver medals in the 1999 South Pacific Games and the 2000 Olympic qualifying tounrament.

Su’a began his coaching career with the Brewers as a player/coach for Paintsville in 1983 and was a player/manager for the Brewers’ affiliate in Stockton, CA. Coach Su’a served as the pitching coach at East Los Angeles CC for two years before taking over the head varsity coaching position at West Torrance HS where he guided the Warriors to six Bay League Championships and a No. 1 national ranking in 2000 with a record of 30-2.

In addtion to his baseball accolades, Su’a was a junior golden gloves boxer, received a music scholarship for gifted muscians to the Californian Institute of Arts, holds a third degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, was named to the USA full-contact Karate team, is a member of the Screen Actor’s Guild, and created Royal Pacific Express, Inc., which became the largest airfreight cartage and trucking company in the LAX airport area.

The Torrance resident lives with his wife Nina, daughter Natasha and sons Justin and Travis. Justin was a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American pitcher at BYU in 2001.

Mike Milstead, Assistant Coach -- Outfield

Coach Milstead begins his fourth year in the Toro dugout, after enjoying a sparkling two-year career as the starting Toros center fielder.

In his two years at CSUDH from 2002-03, Milstead compiled a .330 batting average, scored 68 runs with 37 RBIs, all while knocking 14 doubles, 5 triples and 6 homeruns. In addition, the 5’11” speedster was successful in 18-of-22 stolen base attempts over his two-year reign in Cardinal & Gold, good for an 81% success rate. He also garnered a Verizon Academic All-District nod as a senior in 2003.

“He is a humble young man and was a tremendous player,” begins Su’a, “and he brings enthusiasm and excitement to the coaching realm. He has continued to grow and develop and learn the game from all aspects, and he is going to make a tremendous head coach some day.”

Josh Bendik, Assistant Coach -- Pitching

Coach Bendik returns to the Toros for his second season after spending last year at the University of Arizona.

Bendik served as pitching coach at L.A. Harbor College for two seasons, and helped guide LAHC to the South Coast Conference Championship.

An Academic All-American honoree at L.A. Harbor College, Bendik was named the 1994 California JuCo MVP, after which he enjoyed a fine two-year career at the University of Nevada at Reno.

“I have all the trust in the world with him and our pitching staff,” says Su’a. “He brings a lot of knowledge to our program and was a tremendous pitcher in his own right.”

Steve Hindman, Assistant Coach -- Catching

Coach Hindman begins his first season as a Toro assistant coach, after spending two seasons as a player from 2000-2001 at CSUDH in which he batted .304 with 18 homeruns and 88 RBIs.

“He has great experience as a former professional player,” states Su’a. “That experience will enable him to relate to players about what it takes to get to the next level for those who have that dream.”

A.J. Gomez, Assistant Coach

After spending the last two seasons on the Toro roster as a utility infielder, coach Gomez begins his first season as an assistant coach.

In his two seasons in Cardinal and Gold, Gomez saw action in 39 games while making 21 starts. In 87 career at bats, Gomez hit .264 with 23 hits, including seven doubles.

“A.J. has always been the 10th player,” begins Su’a. “He knows what it is like to be a team player and will assist with the infielders. He also will add insight to our younger players as being the 10th player.”

Sherman Forbes, Assistant Coach

Coach Forbes is a new addition to the Toro family this season.

“He is mainly going to help with field maintenance and assist with some of the instruction that goes on on the field,” begins Su’a. “He a great moral guy and I love having him around.”