Justin Barton

ABCA Hall of Fame Class of 2024 Inductee Jeff Willis @LSUEBengalsBSB The 2024 season will mark Jeff Willis’ 22nd season as head baseball coach at LSU Eunice, where his teams have posted a combined 995-218 (.820) record while capturing seven NJCAA Div. II National Championships, tied for the most in NJCAA history from one school. The program’s .820 winning percentage under Willis makes them the second winningest college baseball program in the history of the sport, regardless of affiliation or classification. Named “Team of the Decade” for 2010-2019 by the JUCO Baseball Blog, the Bengals have made 10 NJCAA Div. II World Series appearances under Willis while claiming 11 regional championships and 10 district championships. Willis is a seven-time ABCA National Coach of the Year in addition to being named an ABCA and NJCAA Region 23 Coach of the Year 11 times. In 2018, he was honored with the Skip Bertman National Coach of the Year Award by the National College Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2010, Willis was honored to serve as the head coach of the NJCAA National Team, finishing fourth in the 25th Anniversary of the Honkbal Tournament in Haarlem, Netherlands. He served as an assistant on the NJCAA National Team in 2008 which included games against the Chinese Taipei National Team. This fall, Willis will also begin his 20th year as the LSUE Athletic Director. In his administrator role, Willis serves 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. Willis currently serves on the ABCA Board of Directors and Executive Committee as Chair of the Junior College Division.