Coach Dan Skirka and the Racers have won a record 44 games and play this weekend in the College World Series
Murray State’s Dan Skirka was named to the Mike Martin Award by the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) signifying the association’s pick for National Coach of the Year as announced at the Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Skirka’s Racers have taken a record-breaking 2025 season all the way to the MCWS after winning 44 games this season, tops in 86 seasons of the program, and the Racers were Missouri Valley Conference regular season co-champions, MVC tournament champions, NCAA Oxford Regional and the Durham Super Regional champions.
“I am humbled by this award, but it doesn’t happen without great people in my life,” said Skirka, who was the MVC Coach of the Year. “I owe so much to the people that have guided me both as a player and a coach and this award is shared by all of them. Many thanks to my coaching staff and our players, because they are the ones that made this amazing season happen. Many thanks to the NCBWA and their membership for this honor, but it’s not only for myself, but also for the Murray State Baseball program.”
Additionally, Skirka celebrated his 200th victory in the 2025 season when the Racers defeated Missouri State on their way to securing the program’s fifth-straight 30-win season.
Skirka was named the Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year heading into the MVC Tournament which the Racers won with victories over Belmont, Southern Illinois, UIC and Missouri State. MSU kept their postseason momentum going by winning the NCAA Oxford Regional with a pair of wins over Ole Miss and one against Georgia Tech. Last week, the Racers were playing and winning their first NCAA Super Regional as they won the third and deciding game of their series with Duke.
The Racers get their first MCWS experience going Saturday when they take on the UCLA Bruins at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha in a 1 p.m. CT first pitch on ESPN.
The NCBWA’s Coach of the Year Award was started in 2008 and was named after Mike Martin in 2020 in honorof former Florida State coach who racked up more than 2,000 wins for the Seminoles from 1980-2019 to become the all-time winningest coach in NCAA DI history.
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