Staff Directory
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email Address:
- Alma Mater:
- Nebraska
- Graduation Year:
- 2001
- Phone:
- 936 294-2580
| PLAYING EXPERIENCE | |||
| Year(s) | Team/School | ||
| 2000 | Columbus/Kinston (Cleveland Indians) | ||
| 1999 | Burlington/Mahoning Valley (Cleveland Indians) | ||
| 1997-99 | Nebraska (NCAA) | ||
| 1996 | Texas A&M (NCAA) | ||
| COACHING EXPERIENCE | |||
| Year | School - Position | ||
| 2020-Pres | Sam Houston - Head Coach | ||
| 2018-19 | Sam Houston - Assoc. Head Coach/Pitching Coach | ||
| 2015-17 | Sam Houston - Pitching Coach | ||
| 2005-14 | UT Arlington -Â Pitching Coach | ||
| 2002-04 | Barton County CC - Assoc. Head Coach | ||
| 2001 | Nebraska - Graduate Assistant | ||
| CHAMPIONSHIPS | |||
| Year | Championship | ||
| 2023 | WAC Tournament | ||
| 2022 | WAC - Southwest Division | ||
| 2019 | Southland Conference | ||
| 2018 | Southland Conference | ||
| 2017 | NCAA Lubbock Regional | ||
| 2017 | Southland Conference Tournament | ||
| 2016 | Southland Conference | ||
| 2016 | Southland Conference Tournament | ||
| 2013 | WAC regular season co-champion | ||
| 2012 | Southland Conference Tournament | ||
| 2006 | Southland Conference Tournament | ||
| NCAA POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE | |||
| Year | Experience | ||
| 2023 | NCAA Baton Rouge Regional | ||
| 2017 | NCAA Tallahassee Super Regional | ||
| 2017 | NCAA Lubbock Regional | ||
| 2016 | NCAA Lafayette Regional | ||
| 2012 | NCAA Waco Regional | ||
| 2006 | NCAA Austin Regional | ||
| 2001 | NCAA College World Series (Nebraska) | ||
| HEAD COACHING RECORD | |||
| Year | School | Record | Conference Record |
| 2026 | Sam Houston | 25-33 | 13-17 (CUSA) |
| 2025 | Sam Houston | 12-43 | 6-21 (CUSA) |
| 2024 | Sam Houston | 34-24 | 13-11 (CUSA) |
| 2023 | Sam Houston | 39-25 | 22-8 (WAC) |
| 2022 | Sam Houston | 31-25 | 21-9 (WAC) |
| 2021 | Sam Houston | 30-25 | 20-15 (Southland) |
| 2020 | Sam Houston | 7-7 | 1-2 (Southland) |
| Career | 7 years | 178-182 (.494) | 96-83 (.536) |
Jay Sirianni enters his eighth season as Sam Houston’s head baseball coach in 2027 and his 13th overall season with the program. He was named the 10th head coach in program history in July 2019 after spending five seasons overseeing the Bearkat pitching staff, including his final two as associate head coach.
Sirianni owns a 178–182 record as head coach, highlighted by the 2022 WAC Southwest Division championship and the 2023 WAC Tournament title and NCAA Regional appearance.
The veteran head coach is coming off a 2026 season which featured a breakthrough year for pitcher Ryan Peterson, who earned first team All-CUSA honors and was selected by the Miami Marlins with the No. 71 overall pick in the Competitive Balance B round of the MLB Draft. Peterson became Sam Houston’s highest-selected pitcher since Kevin Renz in 1984 after finishing with a 3.38 ERA and 105 strikeouts. He became the sixth Bearkat pitcher to reach 100 strikeouts in a season and the 10th to reach 200 in a career.
Freshmen Wes Baker and Cade Corcoran each earned CUSA All-Freshman Team recognition in 2026, finishing first and second among league freshmen in both home runs and RBI. Baker’s 8 home runs tied the program’s freshman record, while his 7 RBI at Texas established a single-game record for a Bearkat freshman.
The Bearkats also stole 127 bases in 2026, their highest total since 1987. Jeric Curtis, Hunter Alvord, Caleb Cotton and Jace Martinez each reached 20 stolen bases, marking the first time in program history that 4 players accomplished the feat in the same season.
Under Sirianni’s leadership, Sam Houston has produced 2 first-round MLB Draft selections. Colton Cowser was selected fifth overall by the Baltimore Orioles in 2021, and Walker Janek was chosen by the Houston Astros with the No. 28 pick in 2024.
Janek capped his collegiate career by winning the 2024 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award. He also earned first team All-America recognition from Baseball America, the ABCA and Perfect Game and was named CUSA Defensive Player of the Year. The Bearkats finished 34–24 in their first season in CUSA that year.
Sirianni guided Sam Houston to a 39–25 finish and the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional in 2023. The Bearkats won 4 consecutive elimination games over 2 days to capture the WAC Tournament championship, scoring 72 runs during that stretch and defeating Utah Valley 21–1 in the championship game. Sam Houston went on to defeat Tulane 10–2 in regional play.
In 2022, Sirianni led the Bearkats to a 31–25 record and the WAC Southwest Division championship with a 21–9 league mark. That followed a 30–25 season in 2021, when Sam Houston went 20–15 in its final year in the Southland Conference.
Before becoming head coach, Sirianni helped the Bearkats win Southland regular-season championships in 2016, 2018 and 2019, conference tournament titles in 2016 and 2017 and the NCAA Lubbock Regional in 2017.
The 2017 Bearkats matched the program’s then-record with 44 victories and advanced to the first NCAA Super Regional in school history. Sam Houston recorded consecutive 40-win seasons for the first time in its Division I history and finished nationally ranked in all 6 major polls.
Sirianni’s pitching staff established a program record with 522 strikeouts in 2017 while leading the Southland in ERA, strikeouts and saves. During the conference tournament, Bearkat pitchers posted a 1.32 ERA and held opponents to a .167 batting average across 4 games.
Before arriving in Huntsville, Sirianni spent 10 seasons as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at UT Arlington from 2005–2014. He helped the Mavericks win 3 conference championships and reach 2 NCAA Regionals while mentoring more than 21 pitchers who were drafted or signed professional contracts.
His 2012 pitching staff posted a 3.89 ERA, UT Arlington’s best since 1992. The Mavericks led the Southland in ERA in 2009 and strikeouts in 2010, when all 3 weekend starters were selected within the first 17 rounds of the MLB Draft.
Sirianni previously spent 3 seasons at Barton County CC in Great Bend, Kan., helping the Cougars compile a 113–56 record and qualify for 3 consecutive NJCAA Region VI Tournaments.
He began his collegiate playing career at Texas A&M before transferring to Nebraska. Following college, he signed with the Cleveland Indians and pitched for Burlington, Mahoning Valley and Kinston.
Sirianni returned to Nebraska in 2001 to complete his bachelor’s degree in history and served as a graduate assistant during the Huskers’ College World Series season.
A native of Indianola, Iowa, Sirianni earned 10 varsity letters at Indianola HS, including 4 in baseball and 3 each in football and track and field. He was a 2-time all-state and 3-time all-conference baseball selection.
His father, John, spent 28 years as director of athletics at Simpson College and 20 years as its head baseball coach. His brother, Mike, is an assistant baseball coach at Nebraska.
Sirianni has 2 children, Mia and Eric.
