It's a special thing, making history. It's a feat reserved for the privileged few who help blaze a trail toward something bigger than themselves. The members of the 2006 USF baseball program know this feeling. They are familiar with paving the way toward bigger and better things within the baseball program that gave them a chance to make history, in addition to providing so many other opportunities in the decade since.
 
Ten years ago the Dons won a share of their first-ever West Coast Conference championship, sharing the regular season title that year with Pepperdine. They went on to play in their first WCC Championship Series. If that wasn't history enough, USF was then selected for an at-large bid to the program's first NCAA Regional. In a perfect world, the story would have continued on to Omaha for the College World Series, but some Cinderella stories are still waiting to be written. That year, the Dons helped establish USF baseball as a force, not only in the WCC, but among the West Coast's premier collegiate programs.      
 
"Special," said head coach Nino Giarratano, who was named the WCC coach of the year in 2006. "Just a special group, a special mix going back to 2002. You look at what these guys did on the field and now what they're doing in their lives, the careers they're having, the families they're having, and I just go back to the fact that they were just special."
 
The Dons went 39-23 – a program-record for wins - and 15-6 in WCC play in 2006, while thoroughly dominating at home, going 18-5 at Benedetti Diamond. USF was one of three WCC teams to make the NCAA Tournament that year - along with Pepperdine and San Diego; one of just three times that has happened in WCC history and the first since 1988. It hasn't happened since.
 
To outsiders, it may have been a fluke year for USF baseball. But to the coaches and players who had barely missed out on a Regional bid in 2005 after finishing 38-18 and one game back in the West division standings, it helped plant the seed that would bloom into an unbridled determination the following year. 2006 did not sneak up on any of them.  
 
"Not a surprise at all," said right-hander Patrick McGuigan, the unquestioned ace of the staff in 2006 who set a new team record for wins by going 12-3. "When the class of '06 started at USF, we wanted to do something that had never been done before, it took all four years, but we did it."
 
"If you had asked anyone after game 15 or 16, heck yes," said left-hander Cole Stipovich on whether or not he was surprised by the team's success. "But I always think about how the 2005 squad was robbed and probably would have been even stronger in a Regional, so in that sense no. Most everyone I think knew we had some amazing talent."

Amazing talent, indeed. The 2006 Dons featured the conference player and co-pitcher of the year in Scott Cousins and McGuigan, respectively, along with five All-WCC picks in first-teamers McGuigan, Cousins, lefty Aaron Poreda and outfielder Stefan Gartrell and second-team selection Andrew Smith. Outfielder Jonnie Knoble and catcher Jon Norfolk would go on to be first-teamers in 2007.
 
USF also boasted three MLB draft picks that year. Cousins, who led the Dons with a .343 batting average and 21 stolen bases, was drafted in the third round by the Marlins and would go on to play parts of four seasons in the big leagues with the Marlins and Angels.
 
McGuigan was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 27th round and Gartrell by the White Sox in the 31st after compiling one of the most prolific offensive seasons in team history, hitting .330 with six long balls while driving in 62 runs.
 
Five more Dons from that 2006 roster would go onto get drafted over the next three years, including Poreda, the Dons' winning pitcher in their Regional victory over Nebraska, who ended up being USF's first-ever first-round pick in 2007 and played 26 games in the big leagues over two seasons.
 
"In 2003, 2004 and 2005 when we were close, I always said that we were missing that piece that could get us that emotional win that gets us over the top," said Giarratano, "and in 2006 we had those guys who could do that."
 
For that became of the 2006 campaign, it didn't start on a high note. The Dons were swept in the first series of the season at UC Riverside. They would start the season 5-11 before going on to win 15 of their next 17 games and later close out the regular season by winning 12 of their final 13. It took a special blend of determination and confidence to overcome the slow start and finally get on a roll.    
 
"Sometimes when you have a team with that much talent, there can be a lot of individuals who are out there to get their stats," said Knoble. "We put our individual stats aside and tried to do what was best for the team every time we stepped on the field. I think that attitude came from the majority of us not being highly recruited out of high school. Not many coaches throughout the country gave us that opportunity so we came in hungry and humble."
 
"We had a kind of 'us vs. them' attitude because no one thought we could compete at that level," said Smith, an infielder who hit .322 that year. "It was like we were this unknown diamond in the rough toiling away and only we knew what we were all about."
 
USF hosted Pepperdine in the West Coast Conference Championship Series that year, taking game one before dropping the next two. Despite the loss, the Dons earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament and were slotted in the Regional in Lincoln, Nebraska along with perennial powers Nebraska and Miami and fellow mid-major Manhattan.  
 
"The time between when school got out and when the WCC Championship series started," said pitcher John Quine on what he enjoyed the most from that year. "I just remember it being the most fun time. We just had baseball to worry about, the weather was beautiful, the stands were full and we were all hanging out together each night."
 
The Dons lost their first-ever Regional game to Miami – a team that featured five future big leaguers – by a score of 11-2. Were they out of their element? Not quite.
 
"None of us were afraid of anything," said Norfolk, who holds the distinction of getting the first hit in a Regional game in USF history. "We all had each others' back no matter what. A special team for sure."
 
USF drew the host and No. 6 national seeded Cornhuskers in an elimination game and knocked Nebraska out with a 5-1 victory amidst a sea of red. When asked about what stood from that experience, many of those former Dons share the same memories.
 
"Taking batting practice with 5,000 people in attendance," said McGuigan, who earned the save in USF's win over the Huskers. "Those memories will always remain. I also remember how good it felt to win in that environment and knowing that USF could compete and beat anyone in the country."
 
"The thing that sticks out the most was the hospitality of the fans in Nebraska," said Quine, who went on to become a 33rd-round pick of the A's in 2007. "I remember as our bus pulled out of the parking lot after upsetting Nebraska that the fans were applauding us. It was also my first experience playing in front of a real crowd, which added a layer of excitement and nerves."
 
"I still remember like it was yesterday seeing a sea of 10,000 Nebraska fans silent and 50 USF fans chanting USF, USF, USF as we won," said Knoble. "Nebraska has some of the best fans in college baseball and it was amazing to see that first hand. It was awesome to eliminate them, but Nebraska fans taught me a lesson on how to lose with class."
 
The Manhattan Jaspers of all teams were the foes that ended up knocking USF out of the postseason, handing the Dons a 6-4 defeat that ended the magical 2006 run. But despite the loss, those members of the 2006 squad knew they had accomplished something special.
 
"We accomplished something that can never be taken from us and will always bring that group of men together," said McGuigan. "That matters most to me."
 
"Every single guy accepted the role that I gave them and executed the role so I could then expand their role," said Giarratano. "It was just wonderful to see unselfishness and guys do what they needed to do to help the team be successful. They're going to sleep well being proud of what they accomplished, but I think more importantly, you can see that they're proud of what they did for each other."
 
The 2006 Dons helped pave the way for WCC titles in 2011 and NCAA Regional appearances in 2011 and 2013, and in many ways helped lay the foundation for the development of the program that was highlighted this season by the opening of the brand new Benedetti Diamond.
 
"I have the plaque sitting on my desk and look at it everyday," said Knoble. "This means a lot to me to know that we were able to accomplish something at USF that had never been done before. We understood the concept of what it meant to be a TEAM. The friendships and bond we created that season are still with us today."
 
Winning games, making postseason appearances and taking home the accolades is nice, but it pales in comparison to the long-term impact that year's team had on its members.
 
"The 2006 team was a FAMILY," said Norfolk. "As I've said to many people in my life, USF was my second family away from home because the coaching staff, the program and my teammates helped me grow as a person and player. We were tough as a unit. We laughed as a unit. We had thick skin. We never quit and most of all we believed in the coaching staff's culture they set for us and years to come."
 
"I always tell people, unless you have experienced college athletics first hand, you can never really understand the bond that you have with your teammates and coaches," said Smith. "The amount of hours spent together on and off the field forms a lasting brotherhood that will always be there. The USF experience in general was great, but without those coaches and teammates it certainly wouldn't have been what it was."
 
 "My life was positively impacted by the coaching staff that put me on a trajectory to reach where I am today," said Quine. "While baseball was my love, I was not put on this earth to be a baseball player forever and my experiences at USF have helped me be successful in life after baseball."
 
As the members of the 2006 team can attest, 10 years goes by quickly, but putting a stamp on your legacy remains timeless.