Torrance, CA (February 15, 2020): Prior to the 2020 Alumni Baseball game, Bishop Montgomery held a special ceremony to retire the uniform number of alumnus Mike Zuanich '04. In the fall, Zuanich was inducted into the BMHS Athletic Hall of Fame. Zuanich had a stellar career at BMHS, in college, and professionally.
He holds the BMHS single season record for batting average (.568), hits (46), doubles (14), total bases (69), and slugging percentage (.852). As a senior, he was the Del Rey League MVP, 1st Team Daily Breeze All-Area, LA Times All-South Bay, and 1st Team All-CIF and helped the Knights to the CIF playoffs. At UC Santa Barbara, he was named 1st Team All-Big West Conference after leading the conference in home runs as a senior. He also holds the UCSB single game record for home runs with 3. He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies and played five seasons, reaching the AA level. He retired with a career professional average of .305 and hit 45 home runs.
He holds the BMHS single season record for batting average (.568), hits (46), doubles (14), total bases (69), and slugging percentage (.852). As a senior, he was the Del Rey League MVP, 1st Team Daily Breeze All-Area, LA Times All-South Bay, and 1st Team All-CIF and helped the Knights to the CIF playoffs. At UC Santa Barbara, he was named 1st Team All-Big West Conference after leading the conference in home runs as a senior. He also holds the UCSB single game record for home runs with 3. He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies and played five seasons, reaching the AA level. He retired with a career professional average of .305 and hit 45 home runs.
At the start of the ceremony before the alumni game, his BMHS coach, Andy Marafino, recognized his induction into the BMHS Athletic Hall of Fame in front of the crowd. Marafino then handed the mic over to current head coach, Eric Fuller '94 (who was also an assistant coach during Zuanich's BMHS career), who made the announcement, to the surprise of Zuanich, that the number 15 would never be worn again by a BMHS baseball player. "We did our best to keep this a secret from Mike," said Fuller.
Zuanich's number 15 joins Dan Graham (#10) and Bill Bordley (#24) as retired numbers by the baseball program.