By Kevin Farr
Following the retirement of long-time head coach Billy Jack Bowen, Silo wasted little time in securing its next baseball coach with the official hiring of Bryan County native Eddie Jeffcoat on Friday.
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Jeffcoat has been the head coach at Class 2A powerhouse Dale since 2018, winning two state championships (both times over Silo) as well as claiming one state runner-up award. His other head coaching stops in a 24-year coaching career have been at Prague, Tushka, Cashion and Mulhall-Orlando after also serving as assistant at Washington, Putnam North, Yukon and Dale.
“You wouldn’t leave a place like Dale very often, so it tells you something about Silo,” Jeffcoat said. “It wasn’t an easy decision, but I have strong ties with my family in that area and Silo is a great program and great school. It is very humbling they considered me to take over for the best high school baseball coach ever.
“I am very excited to get back down that way. I’m excited to be at Silo and can’t wait to get going.”
As a player at Bokchito High School, Jeffcoat helped Bowen to his first two of 24 state championships in the spring of 1988 and 1990. He was a standout shortstop and pitcher for the Roughriders while garnering All-State honors. He played at Southeastern and Murray State College before finishing his playing career as a two-year star at the University of Central Oklahoma.
With the Bronchos he was a key cog in breathing new life into a Broncho program that had been struggling, garnering first team All Lone Star Conference honors twice. Jeffcoat helped catapult UCO to its first-ever NCAA Division II playoff appearance in 1994 and also set what was then the school record with 15 home runs in 1995.
Jeffcoat was a Bryan County Hall of Fame inductee in 2018. He has a head coaching record of 474-212 (.691 winning percentage).
“Coach Jeffcoat has had a tremendous history of head coaching success and is from this area,” Silo superintendent Kate McDonald commented. “We felt like he is the guy to continue leading our highly successful baseball program that Coach Bowen has built. We can’t wait to see what the future holds.”