Rattlers Head Coach Aaron Levin
Former Israel Baseball League player and current Cuesta College assistant coach Aaron Levin begins his 2nd season as the head coach of the San Luis Obispo Rattlers.
Beginning his baseball career in his hometown, Calabasas, California, Levin played infield at Calabasas High School for coach and former MLB Kansas City Royals pitcher Bret Saberhagen. After high school, Levin played third and first base at Custa College for two years. In his second season at Cuesta, Levin was selected to first team in the Western State Conference.
In 2007, Levin was the first pick of the Israel Baseball League draft to play for Israel’s Modi’in Miracle. Players from all of the world, including the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Canada and Australia, teamed up with Levin to create the Modi’in Miracle.
“The tricky thing about playing in a foreign country and having teammates from all over the world is making sure that everyone is on the same page with communication and learning to play together,” Levin said. “We had to learn from each other but we all had the same goal of going out each day, trying to compete and win games.”
Under the management of MLB player Art Shamsky who was part of the 1969 “Miracle Mets” team that won the World Series, the Modi’in Miracle finished with 22 wins and 19 losses. The Modi’in Miracle made it to the IBL championship game but was ultimately defeated by the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox. Hitting .311 with seven home runs and 23 RBIs, Levin was one of two players in the entire Israel league to play every game that season.
Once his season was finished in Israel, Levin returned to San Luis Obispo to coach varsity baseball for San Luis Obispo High School with former head coach and MLB player Casey Candaele.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Casey. Learning baseball and being beside him for that period of time was great for my future coaching opportunities in baseball,” Levin said.
Since he began working with the San Luis Obispo High School Tigers, Levin has continued to grow as a coach through other teaching opportunities. In 2005, he worked alongside many of the current and past LA Dodger players and coaches in the Los Angeles Dodgers Dream Foundation coaching camp. Levin also continues to coach a 16-and-under summer baseball team in Los Angeles. Every summer Levin’s team participates in a national tournament for 10 days in August.
Levin looks forward to expanding his ever growing coaching experience with the San Luis Obispo Rattlers.
“I'm very excited to be a part of the Rattlers. We can bring a lot of talented college players to this team,” Levin said. “It is a great opportunity for these players to compete against good teams.”
Pitching Coach Nick Burger
- Born in Corona, CA
- Moved to Paso Robles in 1986. Graduated Paso Robles High School in 1999.
- Played baseball at Cuesta in 2001 & 2002. Threw a no-hitter against SB City College in 2002.
- Earned a scholarship to Chico State and was a two-time 2nd Team All-American
- Has the Division II all-time saves record at 33
- Played for Chico Outlaws in the GBL and traded to Amarillo the following season
Assistant Coach Darrell Cottrell
Assistant Coach Regan Candelario
General Manager Kevin Iversen
San Luis Obispo High School baseball and basketball coach Kevin Iversen returns to the San Luis Obispo Rattlers as general manager for the 2012 summer season. Iversen began playing baseball on the Central Coast at five years old and continued his baseball career at Arroyo Grande High School. After he graduated in 1997, Iversen began coaching baseball and basketball at Arroyo Grande High School. In 2007, he was the head coach of the San Luis Obispo Blues Scout team, which consisted of many Cuesta College, Allan Hancock and local high school players. In 2011, Iversen was the assistant coach for the San Luis Obispo Rattlers before accepting the general manager position.
“Its a great opportunity for these players to get exposure and experience playing quality teams for the better part of two months,” Iversen said. “I think the fans can expect the Rattlers to bring a fun and exciting atmosphere to the ballpark.”
