Team Accomplishments (Player/Coach)
2022 Southland Conference Champions
2021 Southland Conference Tournament Champion
2021 NCAA Fort Worth Regional Appearance
2019 Southland Conference Tournament Champion
2019 NCAA Nashville Regional Appearance
2017 Southland Conference Champions
2013 Western Athletic Conference Tournament Champion
2013 NCAA Corvallis Regional Appearance
2009 Southland Conference Tournament Champion
2009 NCAA Houston Regional Appearance
2008 Southland Conference Tournament Champion
2008 NCAA Houston Regional Appearance
2007 Southland Conference Tournament Champion
2007 NCAA Oxford Regional Appearance
The 2023 season is Nick Zaleski’s eighth season with the McNeese baseball program and his fourth as Associate Head Coach. Zaleski has helped McNeese to two NCAA Regionals appearances, two Southland Conference regular season championships, and two league tournament titles.
Zaleski has enjoyed tremendous success during his career as he has been a part of the two longest winning streaks in Southland Conference tournament play. The 2019-2022 Cowboys won 12 straight matching the 2007-09 Sam Houston teams where he was a standout for the Bearkats. He is the only person in Southland Conference history to win three consecutive championships as a player, and a coach. Zaleski has Won Eight Championships In 13 Years of College Baseball as Player/Coach.
At the forefront of the offensive charge, Zaleski has guided the Cowboys to new heights. His first seven seasons include the Cowboys leading the Southland Conference in batting average (.286), runs (2,289), hits (3,570), doubles (648), RBI (2,076), and total bases (5,352) while ranking second in home runs (304), triples (111), and steals (532).
Zaleski has been key in the development of some of the most decorated players in to have worn the blue and gold including the top two hit leaders in program history, Joe Provenzano (254) and Payton Harden (252), and all-time steals leader Reid Bourque (78).
Zaleski has coached or recruited 27 players selected in the MLB Amateur Draft, and four players who have signed Free Agent contracts. 15 of the 31 are actively playing and two have made the majors (John Borman - 2017, Justin Anderson - 2018). He adds 50 All-Conference players, 23 All-Tournament Team players, Two All-Americans, and Four Freshman All-Americans to that list.
Also under his guidance include SLC Player of the Year (Payton Harden – 2022), Two Student-Athlete of the Year (Joe Provenzano – 2018, Payton Harden - 2022), SLC Hitter Of the Year (Shane Selman - 2017), SLC Relief Pitcher Of the Year/Louisiana Pitcher Of the Year (Cameron Foster - 2022), SLC Pitcher Of Year (Will Dion - 2021, Grant Rogers - 2022), the 2017 National Stolen Bases Leader (Robbie Podorsky - 39), and Rawlings Gold Glove winner Carson Maxwell (2019 - 3B).
A vital part of the success off the field, McNeese is one of 12 Division One schools to be recognized as ABCA Academic Excellence Award Winners (2016-2021). In his career, he’s coached 33 Academic All-Conference players, as well as Four Academic All Americans.
Zaleski came to Lake Charles after spending three seasons as a volunteer assistant for the UTSA Roadrunners. Assisting with the offense and infielders, he helped produce some of the top offensive numbers in both the Western Athletic Conference and Conference-USA.
A member of the UTSA coaching staff from 2013 - 2015, Zaleski mentored one of the top-10 offenses in school history. UTSA registered its most successful season since 2008 in 2013 when the team posted a 35-25 overall record and advanced to the program’s third NCAA Regional after winning the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Tournament Championship. That season, the Birds paced the WAC with a .299 batting average and 629 hits.
In 2014, UTSA made the transition to Conference USA and, in its first year, finished in the top five in most major offensive statistical categories. The Roadrunners finished second in home runs (27) and third in hits (564), RBIs (276) and total bases (770).
Zaleski joined the coaching ranks after a successful playing career at Sam Houston State (2006-09) under then head coach Mark Johnson and Justin Hill, who served as an assistant for the Bearkats. He was an integral part of the Bearkat’s success guiding them to three Southland Conference Tournament Championships (2007-09) and an appearance in the 2007 NCAA Division I Oxford Regional Championship Game.
The Sugar Land native still holds the Sam Houston State single-season batting average record after hitting at a .419 clip in 2009. He also was named the Bearkats’ Most Valuable Player and a Ping! Baseball honorable mention All-American following his senior campaign.
Following his playing career in Huntsville, Zaleski signed a free agent contract with the Toronto Blue Jays. He spent one season in the Minor Leagues before retiring.
Zaleski earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing from Sam Houston State in 2009 and his master’s degree in human performance with emphasis in sport management from Alabama two years later.
Zaleski is married to the former Amy Brown.
The Zaleski File:
McNeese - Associate Head Coach/Assistant Coach (2016- Present)
UTSA - Assistant Coach (2013 - 2015)
Toronto Blue Jays Organization (2009 - 2010) Sam Houston State - Player (2006 - 2009)
