Fall Check-In: Long Beach

Our next stop in the Fall Check-In series keeps us out West as we check on Long Beach and Head Coach James Otto.

To read the prior installments of our Fall Check-in Series click here: Virginia Tech (DI), Florida Atlantic, Chapman, Montana, Washington

You all beat or were competitive with several DII teams last year, have you all considered moving from DIII to DII?

James Otto: We have considered it, and definitely are planning on it. Obviously, the overall end goal for us is to win an SLC DIII championship. However, our schedule will include a lot of DII programs as we are looking to move DII after the 2026 season. 

Nathaniel Amidon and Nick Johnson are both slated to return giving you all a formidable starting point at attack, do you expect the offense to run through them again this year?

JO: We are definitely mixing things up on offense this season. Nathaniel, and Nick will still be a very key part of our offense this year. Our roster this year definitely got a big boost. Which will allow us to spread the responsibilities around and take pressure off some guys. Plus, with our offensive coordinator Will Beaston, our offense will be ready to go for the spring season.

What does Fall Ball look like for you all?

JO: The fall ball schedule is definitely a bit tougher.  We believe that to be better every season, you have to play some good teams early. Through playing a good fall ball game we will be ready for the spring season. For us, we start off playing against USC, and then have the annual UCI tournament in early November. 

What are the schedule highlights?

JO: Our spring schedule highlights this season is really going to be the amount of DII teams we play this season. Like I mentioned, our goal is to get better each and every day. On top of that it is to strive to be ready come playoffs, and winning a championship come mid April. This season a big schedule highlight will be our Arizona trip this year. We are going out to play Arizona Christian, and Colorado School of Mines. That should be a great trip for the boys.  

Are you doing anything differently this year to catch Moorpark and SBCC who finished ahead of you in the SLC last year?

JO: This year we definitely changed some things. Losing to Moorpark in the Semi-Final definitely left a bad taste, but we got to taste what being in the playoffs are like. Just being back in the postseason for the first time in a while got the guys going. Our coaching staff will be growing as we have our offensive coordinator Will Beaston, who carries a lot of knowledge for our offense. On top of that, our defensive coordinator Brett Fink who has been with us now for 2 seasons. Lastly, our roster has definitely grown not just in numbers but experience as well, which is super exciting. This will be an exciting year for us.

Thanks to Coach Otto for taking the time to answer some questions. 

Coaches, if you'd like your program to be featured in our Fall Check-In series, please email info@mcla.us to receive your questions.