5 men’s NCAA baseball tournament players to watch
The Mongomery Advertiser’s Adam Cole and The Tennesseean’s Aria Gerson break down the top players to watch in the men’s NCAA baseball tournament.
Perhaps nothing underscores the parity in college baseball in 2025 than Murray State’s Cinderella run in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
The Racers are just the fourth No. 4 seed ever to reach the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, and have become a darling for the nation in the process. They defeated No. 10 Ole Miss in the Oxford Regional before defeating Duke in the Durham Super Regional.
Led by head coach Dan Skirka, Murray State has put together its best season ever with a 44-15 record and its first appearance in the CWS. The Racers will face No. 15 UCLA on June 14 at 7 p.m. ET to open the CWS.
How has Murray State made such an improbable run with a school with an enrollment of just 8,111 as of the fall of 2023? It starts with their coach, Skirka. Here’s what you need to know about the man leading the Racers:
Who is Dan Skirka?
Skirka is in his seventh year as the Racers’ head coach. Outside of a losing record in his first season, Skirka has led Murray State to a winning season each year. Under Skirka, the program won its first regular-season championship since 1991 and its first conference tournament championship since 2003.
The Racers are making their fourth-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and made their first Super Regional and won it. Murray State is the first team from the Missouri Valley Conference to reach the CWS since Missouri State in 2003.
Before getting into his coaching career, Skirka played college baseball for Kellogg Community College (Battle Creek, Michigan) and Grand Valley State (Allendale, Michigan). As a junior with Kellogg, he hit .322 with six doubles, 28 RBIs and 56 runs scored.
Before his senior season, he transferred to Grand Valley State. He hit .400 with 14 doubles, five triples, seven home runs and 43 RBIs to earn Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association All-Region First-Team honors.
Dan Skirka age
Skirka was born on May 20, 1985, in Coldwater, Michigan. That makes the Racers’ coach 40 years old. He took over the Murray State baseball coach position on July 2, 2018, at the age of 33.
Dan Skirka coaching career
Skirka’s first coaching position was with Grand Rapids Community College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 2008, with the team advancing to the NJCAA World Series. In 2009, he was hired by Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, as an assistant coach. Then, in 2010, Murray State brought him on as an assistant coach under Rob McDonald. He initially coached first base before moving on to work with the outfielders and hitters as the third base coach.
He left the program to become the recruiting coordinator for Walters State Community College in Morristown, Tennessee, in 2015. Walters reached the NJCAA World Series championship game in 2018 and finished with a record of 60-8.
After Murray State fired Kevin Moulder following four straight losing seasons, the program hired Skirka on July 2, 2018.
- 2019: 24-30, 16-14 OVC
- 2020: 10-7, 2-1 OVC (Season canceled due to COVID-19)
- 2021: 33-25, 18-12 OVC
- 2022: 30-25, 11-13 OVC
- 2023: 31-28, 14-13 MVC
- 2024: 37-20, 17-10 MVC
- 2025: 44-15, 17-8 MVC
- Career: 206-149
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