Jeff Sziksai

Heading into his tenth year as the head coach LMU Baseball program, Jeff Sziksai is looking to build on past success and take the Railsplitters to the next level.  Amassing more than 200 victories in his tenure, the baseball program has seen steady improvement under Sziksai’s direction, and while the Railsplitter baseball program is pointed in the right direction, Sziksai has big expectations for the future.  “The goals for our program are simple.  First, win the SAC.  Second, go to an NCAA regional then on to the World Series.  We will continue to work tirelessly to achieve our mission.”
  
LMU competes in the South Atlantic Conference which is widely regarded as one of the top Division II baseball conferences in America. “We expect to be competing for a conference championship very year.  However, to win this league, you have to be focused and compete at an extremely high level every weekend.”
 
Sziksai took over the helm of the Railsplitter baseball program after spending four years as an assistant coach. From 2002-2003, Sziksai served on the staff at Old Dominion University, a Division I member of the Colonial Athletic Association. While at ODU, he was responsible for coaching the hitters and infielders while coaching third base.  During his two-year stint with the Monarchs, he was part of a recruiting effort that helped lead ODU from 8th place in 2003, to 4th place in 2004 as well as their first conference tournament appearance in three years, while the team batting average increased by twenty-five points from his first to second year.
 
Before being hired at ODU, Sziksai served as an assistant coach at Western Carolina University from 2000 to 2001.  While there, he coached the infielders and hitters, while coaching first base.  During his first year, he was part of a recruiting effort
that led to the biggest single season turnaround in Southern Conference History (10th to 3rd, an increase of 15 wins, while the 2001 team led the Southern Conference in batting average and home runs.

Over his 13 year career, Sziksai has coached 27 players that have gone on to play professional baseball, two players winning conference Player of the Year, and three more  garnering All-America honors.

A native of Asheville, North Carolina, Sziksai is a former infielder at Western Carolina University from 1995-1998.  In 1997, he was named All-Conference, and was selected to the Southern Conference All-Tournament Team.  That year he was instrumental in helping the Catamounts win their conference tournament, allowing the team to advance to the NCAA Division I East Regional. Also that season, Sziksai played in 48 straight games at second base without committing an error. In 1998, Sziksai was named team captain, led the Southern Conference in RBI’s (69), and helped lead his team to a 45-15 record, tied for the most wins in school history.  Following his career at WCU, Sziksai was a 22nd round draft pick of the New York Yankees were he spent time in Single A, both in Oneonta, NY and Tampa, FL.
 
Coach Sziksai is married to former Michele Napier of Pineville, KY and they are parents to Mason Sziksai, born September 17th, 2010, and are expecting their second son this September.  They reside in Middlesboro, KY.