Mark Yoshino has been in Bellevue for a long time.

Long enough to remember when a former columnist in the area referred to his Interlake Saints as the “Crossroads Maulers”. Long enough to have coached at Bellevue College before they were the Bulldogs, known instead as the “Helmsmen” and were brandished with an image of a yellow raincoat clad sailor manning the wheel of a ship. And long enough to collect one more NWAACC baseball title than the program won in the previous sixty years combined.

Yoshino did not attend BC himself. As a youngster, he remembers attending the same BC baseball camps he now runs. But when the time came to make a choice on college, he decided instead to make the trip north to Edmonds.

“I knew it was a good program,” Yoshino said of BC. “Even though it didn’t make sense to some back then to drive 40 minutes every day when there was a good program right in my backyard, it was one of the best decisions I ever made.”

It worked out for the Tritons as well.

Before an elbow injury prematurely ended his career, Yoshino went 12-1 on the mound for Edmonds in two seasons and was an Art Feiro Award recipient, the only Edmonds player to receive the honor bestowed upon the top scholar-athlete in the NWAACC.

After coaching stints with various select baseball clubs in the Bellevue area, assisting at local youth baseball camps and even scouting for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox, Yoshino joined the BC staff in 1994.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Three NWAACC titles in five seasons, with the first coming in 2007. 150 players and counting who have moved on from Bellevue College to continue their playing careers and educations at four-year universities. 31 former Bulldogs (and Helmsmen) who partly thanks to Yoshino, were able to realize their dream of being drafted to play professional baseball.

With so many successful players coming through the program, picking the most talented is maybe the toughest question for Yoshino to answer.

“Baseball talent is so diverse since there are so many tools that define a player’s ability,” Yoshino said. “For overall talent I would have to say Scott Stencil, who was both an outfielder and starting pitcher for us in 1999. Very few players can play multiple positions in college.” Stencil, now a teacher and baseball coach at Cascade High School (Everett) made the All-NWAACC team during his time at BC and was also an honor student majoring in mathematics. Evan Meek, who made the National League All-Star team representing the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2010, is another player Yoshino cited as a standout talent during his time at BC.

“As far as talent in one area or position, it would be Evan Meek,” Yoshino said. “He had pure arm strength like we’ve never had here. We don’t get pitchers who throw 95 mph on a regular basis.”

While putting the individual first may seem like a strange sentiment coming from a coach, Yoshino has made it work. Having played at the community college level (earning a scholarship to the University of Portland before being injured) himself, Yoshino knows the importance of helping each of his players have the chance to continue their careers when their tenure at BC is through.

“My program philosophy has always been to take care of the individuals first,” Yoshino said, acknowledging the break from tradition that school of thought embodies. “By working hard to help each player either get a scholarship and/or get drafted, the players see that the coach is working on their individual needs. The players in turn work for the team and actually emphasize the team concept on their own.” Yoshino said the inspiration for his approach is purely his own and is something he developed by looking at what was important to him during his time as a player on the community college level.

“My approach is different from most other coaches and I didn’t learn it from any other coach,” Yoshino said. “The end result has been a win-win on both ends; players achieve success individually and we have great team chemistry every year with a great track record as a team.”

A major piece to Yoshino’s championship puzzle at BC came back in 2007, when he decided to take control of the team’s offense for the first time since becoming head coach eight years earlier. The skipper said he was inspired by a quote he read from former Mariners manager Lou Piniella.

“Good managers make decisions by knowing their personnel,” Piniella once opined. With that in mind, Yoshino began making calls based on which player was in a given situation, rather than letting traditional baseball strategy dictate his next move. The plan worked out, as Yoshino guided his team to their first NWAACC title in 28 years.

After being at BC for over two decades, it is tough to imagine Yoshino anywhere else.

For his first 12 years at BC, the coach says he worked 80 hours per week. His idea of taking advantage of bachelor life.

He is a tenured faculty member at BC, instructing students in physical education and health. In addition, Yoshino serves as the Assistant Athletic Director and Men’s Athletic Commissioner for Bellevue College.

With a family of his own including his wife Lisa and two young children (Quinn age three and Molly age one), Yoshino is as anchored as ever to the place he will always consider home.

“My wife Lisa, who is a local Interlake product like me, now says ‘no way’ to leaving the area,” Yoshino said.

Many of his former players offer a similar take on the coach, unable to imagine him ever moving on from his post at BC.

“I guess my alumni players are right,” Yoshino said. “They say I’m going to rot here.”