Courtesy of the College Baseball Foundation
After leading his team to a historic season and the NAIA National Championship, LSU Shreveport (LSUS) Head Coach Brad Neffendorf has been named the 2025 Skip Bertman Coach of the Year by the College Baseball Foundation (CBF).
Neffendorf led the Pilots to a perfect 59-0 season, including a 47-0 regular season and an unblemished 30-0 mark in Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) play. The Pilots swept the RRAC Tournament with a pair of double-digit victories, hosted and won the Shreveport Bracket in the NAIA Opening Round, and captured the 2025 NAIA Baseball National Championship at the Avista NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho. In the process LSUS set a new record for the longest winning streak in college baseball history, regardless of division.
First presented in 2013, the Skip Bertman Coach of the Year Award annually honors the nation’s top coach from any level of college baseball. The award is named after legendary Louisiana State head coach and College Baseball Hall of Famer Skip Bertman, who won five NCAA Division I Men’s College World Series titles during his 17-year tenure at LSU.
The award winner is selected by a distinguished committee that includes former coaches, administrators and others intimately involved with college baseball. The selection committee is chaired by Lori J. Bertman, daughter of Coach Skip Bertman, and also includes Ezra Pate, a player at Bates College and grandson of Coach Bertman.
“The Skip Bertman Coach of the Year Award is truly special to our family and I can’t think of a more deserving recipient than this year’s winner, Coach Brad Neffendorf of LSU Shreveport,”
CBF Trustee and Selection Committee Chair Lori J. Bertman said. “In the same state where my father forged his remarkable legacy, Coach Neffendorf rewrote the record books in leading his team to a NAIA National Championship and an historic perfect season. Beyond the record-breaking winning streak and the many other individual and team accomplishments, Coach Neffendorf has, most importantly, made a meaningful investment in the lives of his players. That is a lasting legacy that will extend well beyond this magical season, positively impacting his players for a lifetime.”
In addition to being named the Skip Bertman Coach of the Year, Neffendorf was named the 2025 Perfect Game National Coach of the Year and the 2025 RRAC Coach of the Year. He is also a finalist for the Louisiana Collegiate Coach of the Year, presented by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
“I am incredibly honored and humbled to receive an award of this magnitude, especially one associated with Skip Bertman, one of the all-time greats in collegiate baseball,” Coach Neffendorf said. “Coach Bertman embodied everything a great leader and coach should represent. This award is a testament to the commitment, hard work, and success of our players, coaching staff, and support system throughout the year. I’m extremely proud of everyone involved in our program and truly thrilled to accept this recognition on their behalf.”
The Pilots led or ranked among the nation’s elite in nearly every statistical category while setting multiple school and national records. Offensively, LSUS ranked third in the nation with a .376 batting average, second in the nation with a .493 on-base percentage and fifth in the nation with a .601 slugging percentage. The Pilots scored 664 runs, earned 614 RBIs and drew 388 walks, all were school records.
On the mound, the Pilots sported a nation leading and school record 2.38 ERA and ranked third in the nation averaging 10.55 strikeouts per nine innings. LSUS hurlers held opponents to a nation’s best and school record .192 batting average. The stellar play extended into the field, where the Pilots tallied a .982 fielding percentage, to lead the nation and establish yet another a new school record.
“What Coach Neffendorf and our team accomplished this season is nothing short of historic. Going 59-0 and leading our program to a national championship is a feat that may never be matched, and it’s only fitting that he’s recognized with the Skip Bertman Coach of the Year Award,” LSU Shreveport Director of Athletics Lucas Morgan said. “His relentless commitment to excellence, leadership, and the belief he instills in his players have elevated LSUS Baseball to legendary status. I am so proud to have him leading our program. Congratulations Brad!”
The Pilots entered the fall preseason poll at No. 4 before ascending to No. 1 in the spring preseason poll. They officially took over the top spot in the first regular season poll on March 5 and held that ranking through the remainder of the 2025 season. LSUS was unanimously voted No. 1 in the final NAIA Baseball GoRout Coaches’ Top 25 Postseason Poll, receiving all 16 first-place votes.
Their unanimous No. 1 postseason ranking capped a dominant season that also saw 11 Pilots named to the RRAC All-Conference First Team and three to the Second Team. Six players earned Gold Glove honors, and LSUS swept the RRAC’s top individual awards with the Player, Pitcher, and Newcomer of the Year. Nationally, Josh Gibson, Draven Zeigler, and Isaac Rohde were named First Team NAIA All-Americans, while Cobe Reeves and Vantrel Reed received second team recognition. Gibson is also a finalist for the James J. Corbett Award, which honors the state’s top amateur male athlete.
Other winners of the 2025 College Baseball Foundation awards include Roch Cholowksy, UCLA (Brooks Wallace Award); Jake Knapp, North Carolina (National Pitcher of the Year); and Evan Dempsey, Florida Gulf Coast (John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year). The 2025 College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees will also be honored at the Night of Champions on Thursday, February 12, 2026 in Overland Park, Kan.
For more information on the Skip Bertman Coach of the Year Award, visit the College Baseball Foundation website at www.collegebaseballhall.org.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
