By Cal Lutheran NewsHoward Davis named director of athletics
After seven months as interim director of athletics at Cal Lutheran, Howard Davis, EdD ’18, is now the permanent head of the school’s 22-varsity-sport program.
“I could not be more excited and honored to serve in this role,” Davis said. “It is a perfect match of my passion for integrating athletics and academics, my experience in athletics leadership, and skills sharpened in collegiate administration. Beyond that, as an alum of Cal Lutheran and a Thousand Oaks resident, I love this university.”
Davis joins Cal Lutheran after a professional journey that has included leadership positions in Academic Affairs, Student Success and Athletics. He most recently served as the vice president of Academic Affairs at Antelope Valley College, where he was responsible for more than 75 academic departments, including an athletics program of 16 women’s and men’s teams.
Davis brings to Cal Lutheran extensive knowledge and experience in enrollment management, integrated planning, program development, budgeting and compliance. He is committed to improving equity within higher education and outcomes for marginalized students, and gender equity through enhanced programs for women.
“I’m excited for the year ahead with Dr. Davis at the helm of athletics,” said Matthew Ward, Cal Lutheran vice president of Enrollment Management and Student Success. “He joins us at a critical yet exciting time for our athletics program, as our student-athletes continue to excel academically while achieving national success in their sports.”
Davis has athletic roots in Ventura County going back 35 years. He served 10 years as the athletic director at Moorpark College before transitioning to dean of student learning for six years. He was the founding athletic director and head basketball coach at Pacifica High School for seven years.
A lifelong educator, Davis also teaches in the doctoral and master’s degree programs for CSU Northridge’s Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program. He holds a BA in communications from the University of Redlands, an MA in education from Claremont Graduate University and an EdD in higher education leadership from Cal Lutheran. Davis and his wife, Christina, have been married 36 years and have three grown daughters and four grandsons.
Erik Scherer named head baseball coach
Cal Lutheran conducted a national search to lead its prestigious national championship baseball program and found the ideal candidate in its own dugout: longtime assistant coach Erik Scherer ’95, who has been promoted to replace Marty Slimak as head coach.
“I am grateful and honored that Cal Lutheran has selected me to be the head baseball coach,” Scherer said. “I was fortunate to be part of coach Slimak’s staff and know that the lessons of his leadership will serve me well going forward. I’m proud of the success the program has had over the years, and I look forward to the challenge of sustaining those highest standards of achievement, as we work tirelessly to help our players reach their full potential as citizens, students and athletes. We are excited for the opportunity to not only compete in the SCIAC, one of the toughest NCAA Division III baseball conferences in the nation, but on the regional and national level as well.”
“We could not be more excited to name Erik as Cal Lutheran’s head baseball coach,” said Howard Davis, director of athletics. “Erik’s national championship pedigree and terrific service to the university over two decades have earned him universal respect on the field and in our athletic department. We are excited about the future of Kingsmen Baseball under coach Scherer’s leadership.”
Scherer played for Cal Lutheran from 1992-95 and was named an assistant coach in 2000. As acting head coach in 2022, he led the team to a second straight Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Tournament Championship.
Scherer took over at the helm in February 2023 and guided the Kingsmen to a 29-16 (16-8 SCIAC) season. As the No. 4 seed, the Kingsmen swept through the SCIAC Tournament and into the NCAA Tournament, where they finished one game shy of playing for a regional championship.
With Scherer on staff, the Kingsmen have made nine NCAA West Regional appearances, won seven regular season SCIAC titles, and appeared in 10 SCIAC tournaments, winning six SCIAC championships. In the run to the 2017 National Championship, four members of the pitching staff earning post-season honors.
Since 2000, Cal Lutheran has seen 11 players (six pitchers) drafted by Major League Baseball organizations, and won 30-plus games eight times, capped off by a 40-win campaign in 2017. Under Scherer’s tutelage, three pitchers earned All-American honors, and 17 were selected All-West Region. Eighteen pitchers have received All-SCIAC First Team honors, with another 21 earning All-SCIAC Second Team awards.
Slimak said the program is in great hands: “Erik is a Cal Lutheran alumnus. He has played in this program as a student-athlete and has been a part of the winning system for over 20 years. He will continue the success of the baseball program and continue to keep our baseball alumni in the fraternity of the Purple and Gold.”
Scherer graduated from Cal Lutheran with a bachelor of arts in social science in 1995 and earned a master’s in physical education from Azusa Pacific University in 2000. He lives in Valencia with his wife, Nicole. They have five children and two grandchildren.
“ We could not be more excited to name Erik as Cal Lutheran’s head baseball coach.”
— Howard Davis, director of athletics
Tim Settem named head men’s and women’s water polo coach
Tim Settem has been hired as the head coach for the men’s and women’s water polo programs.
“We are excited to bring in coach Settem to lead our men’s and women’s water polo programs, and the Cal Lutheran Athletics team,” said Howard Davis, director of athletics. “He brings vast collegiate experience and success. Coach Settem’s hiring poises our teams for immediate leadership and success.”
Settem comes to Cal Lutheran with a wealth of water polo knowledge. He has coached at Pepperdine, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, UC Santa Barbara and Ventura College. Teams have excelled with Settem at the helm, and he helped coach players to All-America status and teams to league championships.
“I am elated to step into this position,” Settem said. “I’m looking forward to seeing how we can elevate water polo at Cal Lutheran and in the county.”
Settem’s experience has no bounds. With the USA Water Polo Club, he has helped the South Coast Water Polo Club, Sharks Water Polo Club, Santa Barbara Water Polo Club, Foothill Water Polo Club, Waves Water Polo Club and Ventura Gold Coast Aquatics Club.
Settem’s most recent coaching has been at Villanova Preparatory School. He was a six-time Coach of the Year, and his teams were six-time league champions.
Athletics partners with Sidearm Sports to create new website
Cal Lutheran Athletics has released a new look for CLUSports.com in partnership with Sidearm Sports. “The redesign features a modern look that is very user-friendly,” said Brianne Talboom, associate athletic director.
The new site’s enhanced design better suits the Cal Lutheran fans who follow all 22 varsity sports. It’s the place to catch up on all news about Cal Lutheran Athletics, featuring news releases, box scores, photo galleries, videos and more. The responsive layout scales to fit any device, whether a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or mobile phone. The CLUSports.com URL will remain the same for easy access on all devices.
In addition, a soon-to-be-released Cal Lutheran Athletics mobile app will be free and compatible with both iOS and Android devices. The app’s user-friendly interface integrates with CLUSports.com to provide the latest digital content and will include links to video and audio streams of live games, in-game stats, team social media feeds and photos for all Cal Lutheran sport programs.
Sidearm provides a technology platform that powers the official websites, mobile apps, statistical integration, live audio, video streaming and e-commerce platforms for college athletic partners across the nation.
“We look forward to promoting our athletic programs by telling the stories of our talented student-athletes and successful coaches on CLUSports.com,” Talboom said.
Kingsmen Golf wins CA State Intercollegiate; Adam Cartozian sets program record
Cal Lutheran men’s golf and Adam Cartozian made history at the CA State Intercollegiate tournament in September at Olivas Links Golf Course in Ventura. The Kingsmen won the tournament at 9 under par, and Cartozian, who finished 10 under par, won the first tournament of his career.
Cartozian’s 54-hole score of 206 is a program record, and his 63 in round two tied the program record. He shot a 73 in round one and 70 in round three for two rounds under par and took gold with his 206 strokes.
The scoring team for Cal Lutheran consisted of JP Guimaraes Jr., Jot Singh, Blake Fitzhugh and Tyler Lumpkin. After combining for a 1-under-par 287 in the first round and a 271 in the second, they finished with 298 and claimed the team title.
Competing individually for the Kingsmen were Jacob Fox, Hudson Solters, Tanner Stewart, Nick Huffman, Ryan Mattivi, Ty Kuroda, Jack Wilson and Braden Chestnut.
Guimaraes and Fox made it three Kingsmen in the top 10. Guimaraes tied for seventh with 214 strokes. He carded a 69 in round one, a 71 in the second, and a 74 in the third. Fox tied for ninth and started his tournament with a 70 in the first and second rounds, and a 75 in the third.
Five Kingsmen finished in the top 20 as Solters tied for 11th and Stewart tied for 16th.
Rounding out the Kingsmen were Fitzhugh (T-31, 73-73-77-223), Huffman (T-31, 70-71-82-223), Mattivi (T-41st, 72-80-76-228), Kuroda (48th, 77-76-79-232), Wilson (57th, 82-78-77-237) and Chestnut (58th, 78-84-77-239).
The tournament featured nine teams and 60 individuals. The teams shot 36 holes on the first day and 18 on the second.
