Jeff Sziksai is in his 17th year as the head coach of the Lincoln Memorial University baseball program. During his tenure, the Railsplitters have amassed over 400 victories and become a perennial contender in the South Atlantic Conference and NCAA Division II Southeast Region. The team’s recent history suggests the program is headed in the right direction, and Sziksai has even bigger expectations for the future.
Under Sziksai’s leadership, LMU has claimed 30 wins or more in six different seasons, reached four NCAA Southeast Regionals and won three SAC Tournament titles. He has taken the Railsplitters to unheralded success, claiming at least 34 wins in each of the last three seasons and earning a trip to the NCAA Southeast Regional for three-straight years.
Finishing as the conference’s regular season runner-up in two of the last three seasons, Sziksai-led LMU won back-to-back SAC Tournament titles in 2017 and 2018 after his Railsplitters captured the program’s first SAC championship at the 2013 SAC Tournament.
In 2017, the Railsplitters caught fire late in the season, finished second in the SAC regular-season standings and went undefeated through the conference tournament to capture the program’s second SAC title and first since 2013. LMU then went on to pick up the first two NCAA tournament wins in program history before finishing the year with a 35-19 record.
The 2018 campaign was another record-setting season, as the Railsplitters again finished strong and won their second straight SAC tournament title in thrilling fashion with a 9-7 win in 11 innings over Catawba. LMU upset Georgia College – ranked No. 1 in the nation in one of the national polls – in the opening round of the NCAA tournament to match the single-season program record for wins with 36.
The 2016 season was highlighted by a quick start that saw the Railsplitters rise to No. 5 in the NCBWA Southeast Region rankings, only to falter down the back half of the season to earn the No. 4 seed for the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Baseball Tournament.
Newcomer Ethan Elliott stood out and was named SAC Freshman of the Year, and to numerous southeast region teams while Logan Augustine was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American, the first Academic All-American for the LMU baseball program in recent history. Although the 2015 season was riddled with injury, the Railsplitters still earned the No. 4 seed.
The 2014 season saw the Railsplitters achieve a then program-record for conference wins, the program’s first-ever conference player of the year (Josh Coker) and its second All-American in the last three years (Coker). Additionally, ace pitcher Logan Sawyer was selected in the MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies.
The 2013 season was a historic one in which the Railsplitters captured their first-ever South Atlantic Conference Tournament championship. The accomplishment was the first championship for the baseball program since joining the NCAA, and the first of any kind since 1959, dating back to when LMU won the VSAC as a member of the NAIA.
Sziksai took over the helm of the Railsplitter baseball program after spending four years as an assistant coach. From 2002-03, 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 a part of a recruiting effort that helped lead ODU from an eighth-place finish in 2003 to fourth place in 2004. ODU also made its first conference tournament appearance in three years, while the team batting average increased by 25 points from his first to second year.
Before being hired at ODU, Sziksai served as an assistant coach at Western Carolina University from 2000-01. While there, he coached the infielders and hitters, while coaching first base. During his first year, he was a part of a recruiting effort that led to the biggest single-season turnaround in Southern Conference history –– 10th to third and an increase of 15 wins –– while the 2001 team led the Southern Conference in batting average and home runs.
Over his 19-year career, Sziksai has coached 28 players that have gone on to play professional baseball, three players winning conference player of the year and eight more garnering All-America honors.
A native of Asheville, N.C., Sziksai is a former infielder at Western Carolina University from 1995-98. 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. That same 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 RBIs (69) and helped lead his team to a 45-15 record, which tied the program wins record. Following his career at WCU, Sziksai was a 22nd round draft pick of the New York Yankees where he spent time in Single A, both in Oneonta, N.Y., and Tampa, Fla.
Sziksai is married to the former Michele Napier of Pineville, Kentucky. Jeff and Michele are parents to Mason, born Sept. 17, 2010, Madox Sziksai, born Sept. 18, 2012, and Madelyn, born Nov. 1, 2018. The Sziksai family resides in Middlesboro, Kentucky.
Sziksai by the Numbers
| Season |
Record |
Conference |
Postseason |
| 2004 |
17-36-1 |
5-16, Gulf South |
|
| 2005 |
16-36 |
4-17, Gulf South |
|
| 2006 |
28-25 |
10-11, Gulf South |
|
| 2007 |
31-20 |
7-13, South Atlantic |
|
| 2008 |
30-22-1 |
6-15, South Atlantic |
|
| 2009 |
32-18 |
9-13, South Atlantic |
|
| 2010 |
26-24 |
12-12, South Atlantic |
|
| 2011 |
29-22 |
16-11, South Atlantic |
|
| 2012 |
21-28 |
10-17, South Atlantic |
|
| 2013 |
26-26 |
13-14, South Atlantic |
SAC Tournament Champions, NCAA Southeast Regional |
| 2014 |
27-17-1 |
16-8, South Atlantic |
|
| 2015 |
24-22 |
15-12, South Atlantic |
|
| 2016 |
29-20 |
13-11, South Atlantic |
|
| 2017 |
35-19 |
18-6, South Atlantic |
SAC Tournament Champions, NCAA Southeast Regional |
| 2018 |
36-21 |
15-12, South Atlantic |
SAC Tournament Champions, NCAA Southeast Regional |
| 2019 |
34-19 |
18-6, South Atlantic |
NCAA Southeast Regional |
| Totals |
441-375-3 (.540) |
168-150 (.528), South Atlantic |
Three SAC Tournament Championships, Four NCAA Regional appearances |
