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@JayArtigues
After a successful eight-season stint as the baseball head coach at Southeastern, Jay Artigues was appointed Director of Athletics on Oct. 14, 2013. Named one of the rising head coaches in the college game prior to the 2013 season, Artigues built a foundation of success for the baseball program and now is doing the same for the entire athletic department.
In his first year on the job, he presided over arguably the greatest athletic year in Southeastern history. The Lions and Lady Lions brought home five conference championships, the most the school has ever won in a single year.
The Lion football program ran through the Southland Conference with an undefeated record, advanced to the FCS playoffs for the first time, picked up the first playoff win in school history and finished the season with an 11-3 overall record.
Soccer won the Southland Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history. Men’s track & field won both the indoor and outdoor conference titles, marking the first time in school history the Lions had swept through the Southland.
Lion Baseball continued its run of success, rallying under the leadership of Artigues’ protégé ,Matt Riser, to win the Southland Tournament and advance to an NCAA Regional for the first time in 20 years.
That success has continued throughout his tenure, aided by several key hires. Jay Ladner coached men’s basketball to the 2017-18 Southland title while Rick Fremin engineered the winningest season in the history of the softball program and his teams have led the nation in stolen bases three of the last four seasons.
Track & Field student-athlete Alex Young claimed the school’s first Division I national title at the 2016 NCAA Indoor Championships. Baseball added a regular season title in 2015 and returned to NCAA Regional play in 2016, earning the first at-large bid in program history. Football repeated as conference champs in 2014 and Soccer claimed another tournament title in 2015. Both advanced to the NCAA playoffs once again.
Southeastern’s athletic facilities have also gained substantial upgrades. Video boards have been installed at Strawberry Stadium (football, soccer) as well as Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field (baseball). Baseball has also gained additional box seats, artificial turf and LED lighting. The University Center (basketball, volleyball) has a new court as well as scoreboard system with integrated hustle board, basketball goals, courtside tables with integrated videoboards and energy-efficient LED lighting.
The track complex has added a press box and scoreboard with an integrated timing system. Softball’s indoor facility has undergone extensive renovations while North Oak Park gained artificial turf, seating upgrades and LED lighting. The latest addition is the new beach volleyball complex at North Oak Park as Southeastern adds its 16th NCAA sport.
Under Artigues, Lion baseball established itself as a growing force in the region by producing three All-Americans, four Freshman All-Americans, a Capital One Academic All-American, the NCBWA National Stopper of the Year, the Southland Conference’s Player, Hitter, Relief Pitcher and Freshman of the Year, numerous All-Conference and Southland All-Academic players, as well as Southeastern single-season and career record holders.
In 2012, Southeastern racked up several national, regional and conference awards. Advancing to the championship game of the Southland Conference Tournament, the Lions posted a 39-21 record and equaled their best conference finish (20-13, second overall). Leading the way were conference player and hitter of the year Brock Hebert, relief pitcher of the year Stefan Lopez and freshman of the year Andro Cutura.
Lopez was named the 2012 National Stopper of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association after establishing both Southeastern and the Southland’s single-season and career saves records, while he and Hebert each earned four All-America honors. Cutura, who won his final six decisions, was also named a Freshman All-American.
Former Lion Wade Miley, a 2009 first-round pick of Arizona, represented the Diamondbacks in the 2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and was a finalist for the National League Rookie of the Year Award. He was honored by the Sporting News as their Rookie of the Year for the National League.
In 2011, the Lions garnered national attention as they took two of three games from Florida International to open the season and ended Garrett Wittels attempt to break the Division I consecutive-game hit-streak record. The next weekend Southeastern earned wins over SEC-power Alabama, Central Florida and South Alabama.
Artigues was named the LSWA Co-Coach of the Year in 2010 as the Lions set another school first after being nationally ranked at the Division I level. The Lions were nationally ranked for eight straight weeks, reaching as high as No. 17.
Prior to becoming the 18th head baseball coach in Southeastern’s history, Artigues spent four seasons at Pearl River Community College where he posted a 168-51 record. The Wildcats won three conference championships and advanced to the JUCO World Series during his tenure. In his final season at PRCC, Artigues led the Wildcats to a school-record 46-12 mark and a No. 1 ranking in the final JUCO national regular-season poll.
In his first season at PRCC, Artigues led the Wildcats to 42 wins and a berth in the JUCO World Series in Millington, Tenn. PRCC finished the year as the South Division Conference Champions, Region XXIII Champions and Central District Champions with Artigues earning Region XXIII and Central District Coach of the Year honors.
Before returning to Pearl River in 2001, where he was a two-year letter winner and was a first team All-State and All-Region selection, Artigues spent three seasons at Bossier Parish Community College and posted a 107-57 record. In his final season at BPCC, Artigues led the Cavaliers to a school-record 46 wins and a No. 8 ranking in the final NJCAA poll.
Artigues began his coaching career in 1992-93 as an assistant at Spring Hill College, where he worked with the team’s hitters and infielders. He served as Dean of Students and head baseball coach at St. Louis Catholic High School in Lake Charles, La., where he led the Saints to the Class 2A state quarterfinals in 1996.
Artigues moved to Hammond in 1996 and served as athletic director and head baseball coach at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, leading the Falcons to the 1997 state playoffs. He then moved on to the college ranks accepting a job at UNO, where he was a volunteer assistant coach in 1998 under Tom Schwaner.
As a player, Artigues spent two seasons at PRCC where he was an All-State and All-Region selection. He then went on to play two seasons at Belhaven College, where he was an All-Conference selection as a second baseman. A native of Bay St. Louis, Miss., he holds the highest single-season on-base percentage (.538) and ninth-highest career batting average (.375) in Belhaven history.
During the spring of 2017, Artigues was inducted into the Mississippi Community College Sports Hall of Fame. He was previously inducted into the Pearl River Community College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009 and the St. Stanislaus Great Wall of Rocks in 2007.
A 1992 graduate of Belhaven, where he earned a B.S. in business administration, Artigues also holds a master’s degree in sport coaching from the United States Sports Academy (1993).
Artigues and his wife, Rachel, are the parents of two sons, Christopher “Champ” and Casey.
