THIBODAUX, La. – After composing a nationwide search throughout the offseason, Nicholls State University Director of Athletics Jonathan Terrell announced Friday morning Mike Silva as the Colonels’ new baseball head coach, pending approval from the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors.
“Following a comprehensive search over the past few weeks, I feel extremely confident in Mike Silva as our selection for the new Nicholls Baseball head coach,” Terrell said. “Coach Silva has demonstrated an incredible track record of success at each of his previous stops throughout an acclaimed career, and I am inspired by his passion for the sport and dedication to advancing the student-athlete experience both on and off the diamond.”
For the past three seasons, Silva served as the associate head coach at Louisiana Tech, guiding the Bulldog pitching staff to unbridled success on the mound. Notably, LA Tech arms composed a Conference USA-best eight shutouts — including a 2-0 victory against No. 1 Arkansas — during the 2021 campaign, pacing the program to national acclaim as the Bulldogs emerged as the No. 18 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Statistically, the Louisiana Tech staff ranked fourth in the C-USA in ERA (5.01), fourth in batters struck out (454), third in saves (15) and first in runners picked off (13) over the course of this past year; individually, Jonathan Fincher, a first-team All-Conference selection, and Jarret Whorff combined to tally three C-USA Pitcher of the Week awards under Silva’s instruction as well, and Whorff even managed National Player of the Week honors from Collegiate Baseballfollowing his shutout of the top-ranked Razorbacks.
“I have been blessed with an unbelievable opportunity to take the lead of this historic program, and I intend to reestablish the Colonels as a regional power within the sport,” Silva said. “The entire interview process progressed extremely smoothly, and I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Director of Athletics Jonathan Terrell, Deputy Athletic Director Andrew Kearney and Nicholls President Dr. Jay Clune for affording me their trust with this esteemed program. My entire family has looked forward to an opportunity like this, and we are thrilled to embrace the community and culture of Thibodaux and get to work.”
Prior to his stint with LA Tech, Silva acted as the pitching coach at Arkansas-Little Rock for two seasons, supervising the Trojan staff to the fifth-lowest ERA within the Sun Belt for the 2018 campaign. The previous year, Silva coached his pitchers to a program-record 463 strikeouts as Little Rock’s arms recorded 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings, good for third in the Sun Belt and 47th nationally.
Silva also brings experience at the professional level, as he worked as an area scout for the San Diego Padres in 2016, overseeing talent in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. Prior to his time as a scout, Silva worked as an assistant coach at Texas State from 2013-15, helping the Bobcats reach the Sun Belt Tournament in all three seasons while guiding six student-athletes into the MLB Draft.
Before joining the Bobcats, Silva served as the head coach at Galveston College where he led the program to its first regional tournament appearance in five years, navigating the Whitecaps to an above-.500 record for the first time in 13 seasons along the way. Prior to Galveston, Silva earned his first head coaching experience across a three-year stint at Clarendon College, posting 111 total victories during his tenure as he picked up the honor as the winningest coach in program history.
Prior to taking over at Clarendon, Silva served two stints as an assistant coach, initially working with the Bulldogs from 2003-05 before, in 2008, helping the program earn 40 wins and as well as a berth in the regional championship. Between stints at Clarendon, Silva spent the 2006 season as an assistant at Bethany College where the team collected 40 wins and attained as high as the No. 18 ranking in the NAIA national poll.
For his collegiate playing career, Silva served as a catcher at Northwestern Oklahoma State University from 2001-03, leading the team to three straight regional tournaments, a 49-win season in 2001 and the highest national ranking in program history at No. 11.
Silva, a native of Hull, Mass., earned his bachelor’s degree in leadership at Bellevue University in Bellevue, Neb., before receiving his master’s degree in education at East Central University in Ada, Okla. He is married to the former Reagan Page and has a son, Dylan.
