Story by Gage Johnson, Senior Writer
Director of Athletics Allen Ward officially announced Dan Skirka as the ninth head baseball coach in Racer history during a press conference on Monday, July 2.
Skirka’s signing comes after the dismissal of former Head Coach Kevin Moulder in May. Moulder owned a record of 99-128 while holding a conference record of 54-65 in his four seasons at Murray State.
Skirka has been heavily involved in the game of baseball at the collegiate level, dating back to his first job as an assistant coach at Grand Rapids Community College in 2007-2008. He would then venture to Ouachita Baptist for a season before joining the Racers as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for five seasons (2009-2014).
“Of course it helped that we knew him,” Ward said. “But it was a wide open search. We had a top 10 or fifteen that was hard to whittle down.”
After the 2014 season, Skirka would go on to have four successful seasons as Walters State Community College’s recruiting coordinator. In those four seasons the Senators held a record of 208-48, while boasting a 60-8 record to reach the NJCAA World Series in his final season.
“After the interview he just blew us away,” Ward said. “What really impressed me is everyone I talked to talked about his knowledge of baseball and his eye for talent. Sometimes you might have a coach that did all the recruiting and someone else took care of the on field stuff. His references were just off the charts.”
If his references didn’t, his resume spoke for itself. Along with the success of the programs he was involved in, Skirka has excelled at helping players reach the highest level. Skirka has played a role in sending 36 players to Division I schools while helping eight players reach their dream of playing baseball professionally.
This will be Skirka’s first head coaching job, and it’s an opportunity he doesn’t take lightly.
“I want to thank Allen Ward and President Davies for believing in me and my vision for the Racer baseball program,” Skirka said. I am looking forward to working with our student-athletes and helping them be successful on the field and off it.”
The Racers finished last season at 27-29 overall, while owning a 13-16 record in OVC play. This was their second straight trip to the conference tournament, but were ousted by SEMO and EKU in the opening round. Skirka said he believes he’s qualified to lead Racer baseball to their first winning season since 2008.
“If you check all the boxes or all that hats that a coach has to wear, I’ve done that,” Skirka said. “It doesn’t affect me or bother me. I’ve done everything a head coach should do, it’s just a different chair I’m sitting in now.”
With the recent struggles Racer baseball has endured, Ward is confident Skirka is the man for the job and is looking forward to the future ahead.
“He’s someone with impeccable character and a knowledge of the game that’s undeniable,” Ward said. “It didn’t take me long to become sold on what his plan is for Racer Baseball.”