Oct. 19, 2015 - The Anaheim Angels have announced the hiring of Mesa alumni Billy Eppler as their new general manager. According to CBS News, "Eppler has been one of the Angels' primary targets for some time. Eppler was runner-up to become GM of the Angels four years ago when they hired Jerry Dipoto. He was also a serious candidate to become GM of the Padres last winter."  Eppler, 39, is leaving his posiiton of 11 years as the assistant GM of the New York Yankees, to work with the Angels.  Prior to that, he was a scout with the Rockies.

The former Olympian started his baseball career with Mesa in 1994 and graduated in 1996.  During his time in the blue and gold, he amassed a 7-3 record as the starting pitcher in 1996 and then transferred to UCONN.  It was at UCONN where he suffered a shoulder injury which led Eppler to start playing rugby for UCONN where he helped his team win their way into the Final Eight of the NCAA tournament.