April 8, 2026

OC Sports Zone: Community First

Santa Ana baseball program has a new varsity coach a few weeks into season

Dan Hansen, new Santa Ana High School varsity baseball coach. (Photo courtesy Santa Ana High School).

Santa Ana High School officials announced Wednesday that assistant coach Dan Hansen has been promoted to varsity head coach.

“Louis Oakley {previous head coach} stepped down for personal reasons,” said Santa Ana Athletic Director Brian Lillie.

Santa Ana was 8-14-1 and 6-6 in league play last year.

Hansen takes over a team that is 3-6 overall and 1-1 in the Orange Coast League.

“His baseball experience includes playing catcher for four years at the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania,” Lillie said.

“After college, he coached high school baseball in Montana for seven years before moving to California where he was the JV head coach at Estancia High School for the 2025 season. He joined the Santa Ana program this year as a varsity assistant coach, and has done an outstanding job leading the team through a challenging transition.”   

—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com