Fiala, Davis, Burleson and Little headed to Hall of Fame

The NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association announced its 2016 Hall of Fame class Tuesday. This year's inductees include former St. Louis (Mo.) player and current Southwestern Illinois head coach Neil Fiala, former coaches Barry Davis from Rowan Gloucester (N.J.) and Steve Burleson of Kansas City Kansas, along with current Potomac State (W. Va.) coach Doug Little.


Neil Fiala
Player/Coach – St. Louis (MO) / Southwestern Illinois

Few individuals in the history of the NJCAA have proven to be as big a winner both as a player and coach as Neil Fiala. From being named MVP of the 1975 NJCAA Baseball World Series to assembling an 817-445 record as a head coach, Fiala has solidified his place in the annals of two-year college athletics.

Named a high school All-American and St. Louis High School Player of the Year in 1974, Fiala was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals but opted not to sign and joined defending NJCAA champion Meramec which has since merged with several institutions into St. Louis. The local product quickly established himself as a team leader and was named MVP of the 1975 NJCAA World Series after spurring the Magic on to a runner-up finish.

Following a successful NCAA DI playing career at Southern Illinois where he was named MVP of the 1977 NCAA Midwest Regional, Fiala was once again drafted by the Cardinals in the 32^nd round of the MLB Draft. He'd spend six seasons in the Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds' systems, making appearances in five major league games. After his playing career concluded, Fiala began his coaching career as an assistant at Vianney High School from 1983-86 before returning to Meramec as an assistant in 1987. His last two stops as an assistant included stints with the New York Yankees organization and the Illinois Fighting Illini before he landed his first head coaching job at Southwestern Illinois in 1993.

Now in his 23^rd season with the Blue Storm, Fiala's accomplishments at Southwestern Illinois are numerous. His teams have combined for five NJCAA Region 24 championships with 11 players earning NJCAA All-America honors. Fiala's former student-athletes have established a valuable reputation with 44 signing professional contracts and 188 playing baseball at the four-year collegiate level.

Fiala's achievements have been recognized by a number of groups with his induction into the Southwest Kiwanis of St. Louis Hall of Fame in 1991, the Vianney High School Hall of Fame in 1997, the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007 and the St. Louis Mon-Clair Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014.


Barry Davis
Coach – Rowan Gloucester (NJ)

Claiming four national championships in an 11-year span at Rowan Gloucester – formerly Gloucester County – few coaches have experienced as great of success in such a short span as former Roadrunners head coach Barry Davis. Departing from the NJCAA after the 2000 season, Davis put together a 434-109 record at the two-year college level.

With his arrival in Sewell, New Jersey, in 1990, the Rowan Gloucester program immediately began to experience success. By the time the NJCAA established the DIII level of baseball in 1992, Davis already had the Roadrunners on track to win the program's first national title. Rowan Gloucester won the inaugural NJCAA DIII Baseball World Series that year and came back to win its second consecutive championship in 1993. Davis' Roadrunners would win back-to-back national championships again in 1999 and 2000.

Applying his coaching abilities beyond the Garden State, Davis led the NJCAA national team as an assistant in 1997 and head coach in 1999 when the squad defeated Team Canada.

Following his fourth national championship campaign at Rowan Gloucester, Davis moved on to coach then NAIA program Georgia Southwestern State. He compiled a 137-87 record in four seasons with the Canes, claiming the Georgia-Alabama-Carolinas Conference regular season crown and ranking fifth in the final NAIA poll in 2002.

In 2005, Davis made the step up to the NCAA DI level to take over the reins at Rider. Now in his 12^th season with the Broncs, Davis has accumulated 291 wins – including a program-best 36 victories during the 2011 campaign. Rider won Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season titles in 2013 and 2015 and claimed postseason tournament crowns in 2008 and 2010 for berths in the NCAA Baseball Tournament.

Davis currently serves as chairman of the MAAC Head Coaches Committee and member of the MAAC Baseball Championship Committee. He also has been a voter in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Top 25 Poll since 2012.

Prior to his professional career, Davis played shortstop for four seasons at Bridgewater College – an NCAA DIII program in Virginia. As a junior in 1986, he was named team MVP and received first team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference accolades.


Steve Burleson
Coach – Kansas City Kansas

In an illustrious 36-year career as head coach at Kansas City Kansas, Steve Burleson established himself as one of the top coaches in the history of two-year college athletics. Compiling a record of 1,102-672 with the Blue Devils, Burleson ended his career ranking 13^th all-time in victories in the NJCAA.

Taking over the helm in 1980, Burleson became the program's fourth head coach since its establishment in 1975. During his tenure, the Blue Devils posted a .614 winning percentage and averaged over 30 wins per season. Kansas City Kansas won seven Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) regular season titles, including a stretch of three consecutive championships from 1985-87.

Under Burleson's guidance, numerous student-athletes have gone on to enjoy great success both professionally and academically. Over the course of his career, Burleson saw 88 percent of his players receive scholarships to continue their education at four-year colleges. Former players David Segui and Kevin Young combined for 27 years playing in MLB. Segui enjoyed a 15-year career with the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Montreal Expos and Seattle Mariners, while Young spent 12 years with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Kansas City Royals.

Outside of his success at Kansas City Kansas, Burleson's service to NJCAA baseball was invaluable. He spent time as vice president of the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association and chairman of the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. In 1991, he managed the NJCAA national team that placed fourth in the Tournament of Americas held in Cuba.

Back in the Sunflower State, Burleson was instrumental in the writing of the KJCCC constitution. In 2012, he became the first active coach in Blue Devils history to be inducted into Kansas City Kansas Sports Hall of Fame. Burleson retired following the 2015 season.


Doug Little
Coach – Potomac State (WV)

In two stints as head coach of Potomac State, Doug Little has proven to be an invaluable asset to the Catamounts program. Boasting a 615-257 record entering his 19^th season in Keyser, Little is seeking his seventh national tournament appearance.

Upon his arrival in 1993, Potomac State immediately began to experience success under the direction of Little. The Catamounts posted a 30-13 record in his first season and made the program's first postseason appearance with a spot in the NJCAA DII Baseball World Series. Little guided the Catamounts back to the national tournament in 1994 where they placed second, finishing with a 30-6 overall record.

Moving to the NCAA in 1995, Little accepted an assistant position at West Virginia where he would spend the next five seasons. The Mountaineers benefited greatly from Little's coaching and recruiting talents, posting three consecutive 30-win seasons and claiming back-to-back Big East Conference divisional crowns in 1996 and 1997.

Little returning to Potomac State in 2000 to be reinstated as head baseball coach with the additional responsibility as athletic director – a position he stepped away from in 2004. Despite a move to the NJCAA DI level, the Catamounts picked up right where they left off under Little's tutelage. They recorded four straight 30-win seasons before earning the program's first trip to the NJCAA DI Baseball World Series in 2004 – the first of three consecutive appearances at the national tournament. Potomac State qualified for its fourth NJCAA DI World Series in 2011.

Coaching a number of student-athletes recognized on the national level, Little's products have proven to be among the best in the country. The success of Little's players culminated in 2015 when Catamounts sophomore Evan Mitchell was named the Spalding® NJCAA DI Pitcher of the Year.

Following his high school graduation in 1984, Little played outfield at Alderson Broaddus – a former NAIA program – where he'd earn All-West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors in two seasons. Little would go on to earn his bachelor's degree from Alderson Broaddus and master's degrees from Eastern Kentucky University and West Virginia Wesleyan University.


Photos courtesy of Linda Gass-Burgess/SWIC Photo, Rider Athletics, Kansas City Kansas Athletics and Potomac State Athletics.