Through eight seasons, the Central Michigan baseball program has enjoyed a great deal of success under head coach Steve Jaksa.

The Chippewas have won two Mid-American Conference championships (2004, 2010) and three West Division titles (2006) during his tenure, as well as a pair of 20-win conference seasons and five 30-win campaigns.

He owns 263 wins as a Chippewa, the third-most in CMU history, and a .577 winning percentage (263-193-1) in the Maroon and Gold.

CMU is 128-77 in Mid-American Conference play under Jaksa's guidance, finishing first or second in the West Division in five of the past seven seasons. In addition to the division and overall titles, CMU has advanced to a pair of MAC Tournament championship games (2005, 2010).

During Jaksa's tenure, he has mentored 26 All-MAC selections, including 11 first-team honorees, six all-region choices, three All-Americans, three Freshman All-Americans, five Academic All-District IV selections, three Academic All-Americans and 15 Academic All-MAC honorees.

Chippewas Advance to Majors Under Jaksa's Tutulage
The former CMU letterwinner has mentored 17 players who have been drafted or been signed by Major League Baseball clubs in his time at CMU, including Dale Cornstubble and Jesse Hernandez following the 2010 season.

Three hurlers from Jaksa’s tenure as CMU's pitching coach (1999-02) were drafted or signed — Mike Fawcett (Cinicinnati), Chad Pleiness (Toronto) and Mike Steele (Detroit). Two more, Pete Nemeth and Lee Naplin, signed with independent teams, and T.J. Johnson (Cincinnati), J.D. Wheeler (Milwaukee), Jeff Garner (Milwaukee) and Phil Roberts (Cleveland) signed as Major League Baseball free agents.

Pleiness led the nation in strikeouts per nine innings for Division I hurlers in 2002 with 13.2 whiffs and was selected in the fifth round of the Major League Baseball Draft.

Jaksa also worked with catcher Scott Pickens, who signed with an independent team before joining the Detroit Tigers as the team's bullpen catcher.

Success Leads Jaksa Back to Alma Mater
The 1979 CMU graduate was an assistant coach for four seasons in charge of pitching and catching before being named to replace Judd Folske on Sept. 30, 2002, on an interim basis. He was named the head coach on May 14, 2003.

During his time as the Chippewas’ pitching coach, Jaksa guided three pitching staffs to ERAs of less than 5.00. The 1999 (4.55), 2000 (4.14), and 2002 (4.86) staffs were all among the MAC leaders. The 2000 and 2002 staffs finished second in the conference in ERA while the 1999 staff led the MAC and was 17th-best in the country among Division I schools.

Jaksa spent the 1998 season as the head coach at Northwood University before joining the CMU staff. He guided Northwood to a 28-25 record, including a program-best 16-13 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. While coaching at Northwood, Jaksa continued in his role as the athletics director at Saginaw Nouvel Catholic Central High School—a position he had held since 1988.

He had served 11 seasons as baseball coach at Nouvel Catholic prior to taking the head post at Northwood. His teams were a combined 353-106, reaching the state semis five times and winning state crowns in 1990 and 1997.

Jaksa was inducted into the Michigan High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2000. His 1974 national champion Connie Mack team was inducted into the Greater Flint Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

A two-year letterwinner on the mound, Jaksa was 12-4 with four saves in his collegiate career (1977-79) at CMU. He led the team with seven wins as a senior in 1979 and boasted a career ERA of 2.76.

A graduate of Central Michigan, Jaksa earned a bachelor's degree of science in 1979. He continued his education during his time as an assistant coach at Miami University and earned a master's of education in 1986.

Jaksa has served the past four season as one of 31 Division I coaches to vote in the USA Today/ESPN top 25 poll. He and his wife, Patti, are the parents of four children: Stacey (23), Rachel (20), Marc (18), and Kelly (16).