Jeff Willis was inducted into the NJCAA Hall of Fame in 2023.
Hall of Fame head coach Jeff Willis enters his 24th season as skipper of the Bengal baseball team and 22nd year as Athletic Director at LSU Eunice.
The Bengals have established themselves as one of the most dominant junior college programs in the nation under Willis, holding a, 1,104-231 record (.826 winning percentage) since his arrival in 2003 and have never finished ranked lower than 7th in the country. Willis is the winningest active coach in collegiate baseball and LSUE's winning percentage under Willis makes them the second winningest college baseball program in the history of the sport, regardless of affiliation or classification.
LSU Eunice has won eight NJCAA National Championships, made 11 World Series appearances, captured 13 Region Championships and won 11 District Championships. The eight NJCAA National Championships are second most in the sport in NJCAA history from one school. Their most recent title game was in 2024, as Willis guided LSU Eunice to the NJCAA National Championship with a 58-6 record, logging the school's 12th 50-plus win season under Willis and fifth in the last seven campaigns.
The 2024 campaign marked a new beginning for LSU Eunice under Willis with its first season in NJCAA Division I. The Bengals ascended to being named the top-ranked team in the nation in their inaugural season in Division I, topping the poll for four consecutive weeks. LSUE has been ranked number one in the NJCAA polls for at least a week in 18 of the 23 seasons under the direction of Willis.
Willis cemented his place among the top coaches in the history of the National Junior College Athletic Association as he was enshrined into the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2023.
He was also announced as an inductee to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame, Class of 2024. He is the first Louisiana junior college coach and just the 8th Bayou State skipper to join the illustrious group, joining the likes of Skip Bertman, Paul Mainieri, Roger Cador and Tony Robichaux.
The JUCO Baseball Blog (The JBB) named LSU Eunice the "Team Of the Decade" for 2010-2019, encompassing all junior college programs in the nation.
Coach Willis has been the recipient of eleven ABCA Diamond Regional Coach of the Year Awards, 12 NJCAA Region 23 Coach of the Year Awards, ten NJCAA District Coach of the Year Awards, a Louisville Slugger Coach of the Year Award, and seven NJCAA National Coach of the Year Awards.
The Bengals' head coach has also been named the Skip Bertman National Coach of the Year twice, in 2018 and 2024, named in honor of the legendary LSU head coach. The honor, given to the nation's top coach regardless of association or classification, has also been awarded to LSU's Paul Mainieri and Florida's Kevin O'Sullivan. Willis is the only two-time winner in the award's history.
Coach Willis has sent more than 240 student-athletes to four-year institutions in his time in Eunice. The Bengals have also had 60 players and/or signees that have been drafted by Major League Baseball. During the same period, he has coached 63 all-region players, 30 All-Americans, five National Defensive Players of the Year, and three National Players of the Year.
LSUE's first two players to get the call-up to Major League Baseball, Stuart Turner and Ben Braymer, were coached by Jeff Willis.
Several of the players coached under Willis have gone one to star at the NCAA Division I level. That group includes 2012 NCAA 1st Team All-American and SEC Player of the Year, Raph Rhymes. Rhymes led NCAA Division I baseball in hitting while also setting the season batting average record for the LSU Tigers baseball program.
Another Bengal great under Willis is Stuart Turner. The Eunice native was named a 2013 NCAA 1st Team All-American and 1st Team All-SEC as a member of the Ole Miss baseball team. Turner also won the most coveted award for a catcher in College Baseball as he was named the Johnny Bench Award winner, given to the nation’s best collegiate catcher. Turner was a third round draft pick by the Minnesota Twins and made his MLB debut in 2017 with the Cincinnati Reds.
In addition to coaching LSUE, Willis has been honored to serve as the head coach of the 2010 NJCAA National Team, finishing fourth in the 25th Anniversary of the Honkbal Tournament in Haarlem, Netherlands. Willis served as an assistant on the NJCAA National Team in 2008 which included games against the Chinese Taipei National Team.
As an administrator, Willis has served as the Assistant Regional Director for NJCAA Region XXIII, the chairman of the NJCAA All-American Committee, on the Executive Committee for the NJCAA Coaches Association and a member of the NJCAA Division II Baseball and NJCAA Division I Men's Soccer committees. He is currently the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association President.
Willis played two years as an infielder for the Division I, University of Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans after playing junior college baseball. During his two years at Little Rock, the Trojans qualified for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament both years and saw the team set a school record for victories in a season.
Willis states, “I set high standards for student athletes on and off the field and expect them to do their best in their academics and in their citizenship as members of the campus and community. I expect our student athletes to have an attitude that they should win in everything that they do.”
Willis attended Dumas High School in Dumas, TX, where he was a Mizuno High School All-American baseball player, All-State Wrestler, and All-District Football player. The Bengal coach along with wife, Lindsey, and daughters Ali and Jaycie reside in Eunice.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock and a master’s degree in Health and Kinesiology from Texas A&M University at Kingsville .
| About Jeff Willis |
Full Name
John Jeffrey Willis |
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Hometown
Dumas, TX |
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Education
University of Arkansas at Little Rock, B.S. Health Sciences
Texas A&M University at Kingsville, M.S. Health & Kinesiology |
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| Coaching Experience |
2000-2002 Assistant Coach, Texas A&M University at Kingsville
2002-present Head Coach, Louisiana State University at Eunice |
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| Administrative Experience |
| 2004-present Athletic Director, Louisiana State University at Eunice |
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| Coaching Record |
Year W L Pct. Highest Ranking
2003 39 14 .735 ranked #3 in nation
2004 51 13 .797 ranked #3 in nation
2005 37 16 .698 ranked #7 in nation
2006 52 11 .825 ranked #1 in nation
2007 44 14 .759 ranked #1 in nation
2008 52 12 .813 ranked #1 in nation
2009 51 12 .809 ranked #1 in nation
2010 52 13 .800 ranked #1 in nation
2011 45 15 .750 ranked #1 in nation
2012 57 5 .919 ranked #1 in nation
2013 52 10 .839 ranked #1 in nation
2014 42 13 .764 ranked #2 in nation
2015 49 10 .830 ranked #1 in nation
2016 51 6 .894 ranked #1 in nation
2017 46 11 .807 ranked #2 in nation
2018 59 6 .908 ranked #1 in nation
2019 51 8 ,864 ranked #1 in nation
2020 21 0 1.000 ranked #1 in nation (season cut short)
2021 51 7 .879 ranked #1 in nation
2022 40 17 .702 ranked #1 in nation
2023 53 5 .914 ranked #1 in nation
2024 56 8 .875 ranked #1 in nation
2025 53 5 .914 ranked #1 in nation
Totals 1,104 231 .826 |
Coaching Honors
- 2018 and 2024 College Baseball Hall of Fame Skip Bertman National Coach of the Year
- ABCA/Diamond Regional Coach of the Year (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2024)
- ABCA/Diamond National Coach of the Year (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2024)
- NJCAA Region 23 Coach of the Year (2003, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2024, 2025)
- NJCAA District Coach of the Year (2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2024)
- NJCAA National Coach of the Year (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2021, 2024)
- 2004 Louisville Slugger Coach of the Year, Central District
- 2007 NJCAA All-Star Team Assistant Coach
- 2008 NJCAA National Team Assistant Coach
- 2010 NJCAA National Team Head Coach
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| Coach Jeff Willis of the 2012 NJCAA National Champion LSU Eunice Bengals and Coach Andy Lopez of the 2012 NCAA Division I champion Arizona Wildcats at the 2012 Salute to Champions Awards Dinner. |
Coach Jeff Willis with Zach Kirksey (left) and Raph Rhymes playing with Team USA Junior College Team in Honkbal Tournament in The Netherlands. Both currently play in the Detroit Tigers organization after Rhymes played at LSU and Kirksey played at Ole Miss. Both were teammates on the LSU Eunice 2010 National Championship Team. |
