LSU Eunice baseball head coach Jeff Willis has been elected to serve as the president of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Baseball Coaches Association.
Elected at this past January’s ABCA Convention, Willis takes over duties as the president this month.
“It was a very humbling experience to be elected by your peers to serve in a leadership capacity,” LSU Eunice head coach Jeff Willis said. “I look forward to working with the committee to help improve and grow the game we love so much for all levels of competition.” Coach Willis begins his three-year term with the 2022 calendar year and can be re-elected for one more three-year term afterwards.
He takes over for Erie Community College’s Joe Bauth, who stayed on as the leader of the coaches association through this past NJCAA postseason.
In addition to his duties as the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association President, Willis will serve on the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) executive committee concurrently with his duties with the NJCAA.
The longtime LSUE skipper, Willis enters his 21st season on the Cajun Prairie. Willis has established LSU Eunice as one of the preeminent junior college baseball programs in the nation, leading the Bengals to seven NJCAA Division II National Championships since 2006.
Under his watch, the Bengals are the second winningest program in college baseball history, amassing a 942-213 (.827 win percentage) record. Willis has produced 60 NJCAA All-Region selections, 25 NJCAA All-Americans and 57 players have gone on to play for an MLB franchise.
There have been more than 200 students-athletes that have moved on to four-year schools in Willis’s tenure. The NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association has an executive leadership that meets in conjunction with the annual ABCA convention. They are tasked with the promotion of intercollegiate baseball as an integral part of the total junior college educational program.
The ABCA Executive Committee is made of the ABCA President and Vice Presidents as well as chairmen representing all levels of organized baseball – NCAA Divisions I, II and III as well as NAIA, Junior College, High School, Youth, Travel Baseball and the Diversity Committee.
The committee reviews the business and affairs of the Association and its committees in accordance with the policies of the Association and the Board of Directors.