Jay Artigues' Lions Baseball Camps at Southeastern Louisiana University Coaching Staff  Justin HillAssistant Baseball Coach Justin Hill enters his second season as Southeastern baseball's pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. In his first season with the Lions, Hill led the Southeastern pitching staff to the 2008 Southland Conference team ERA title and helped develop Lion lefthander Wade Miley into the 43rd overall selection of the 2008 MLB First Year Player Draft. Hill, a Monroe native and former LSU pitcher, returned to Louisiana after spending a season at Sam Houston State where he served as an assistant for head coach Mark Johnson's Bearkats. Hill helped oversee a team that went 40-24, advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the first time in school history, posted the most wins by the program in 20 years and produced nine All-Southland Conference selections and two first team All-Americans in Luke Prihoda and Bobby Verbick . As the Bearkats' pitching coach, Hill worked with 2007 National Stopper and SLC Pitcher of the Year Luke Prihoda. With Hill's help Prihoda led the nation with 18 saves, was named a first team All-American and was selected in the 24th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Meanwhile, Hill also helped Bearkat hurler Tim Gray earn a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Prior to joining Sam Houston State, Hill spent the 2006 season as an assistant coach at LSU. The Tigers finished 35-24 in Hill's lone season in Baton Rouge, producing three Major League draft picks and a freshman All-American. Hill spent the 2004 and 2005 seasons at Northwestern State, where he earned his Masters while serving as assistant coach. After a 33-23 finish in 2004, Hill helped the Demons to a 41-20 record, a Southland Conference Championship and a place in the 2006 NCAA Regionals. With Hill's help, the 2006 Demons produced two freshmen All-Americans and two Major League draft picks. Hill began his coaching career in 2003 as an assistant at his high school alma mater, West Monroe High School, helping the Rebels to a district title. As a player, Hill was a two-year letterwinner at LSU and was part of the legendary coach Skip Bertman's final team (2001) and was a member of the Tigers' 2001 and 2002 NCAA Regional Champioship teams. Hill appeared in 19 games in his final season at LSU, throwing 19 innings while compiling a 1-1 record with two saves and 27 strikeouts before a shoulder injury cut short his year. Hill began his playing career at Mississippi Delta Community College before transferring to Bossier Parish Community College, where he played for Jay Artigues. At BPCC, Hill recorded a 7-2 mark and a 3.74 ERA with 102 strikeouts in 77 innings, while limiting opponents to a .199 batting average. He was an All-Region 23 and All-conference performer and was also a member of the Dean's List. Hill is married to the former Melissa Rawls of West Monroe, La. ____________________________________________________________  Matt RiserAssistant Baseball Coach Matt Riser enters his second season on Jay Artigues' staff and his first as a full-time assistant coach. Riser, a Picayune, Miss. native, began his coaching career after completing his collegiate career at Tulane, where he played in 2005-06. Prior to his time in New Orleans, Riser played under Jay Artigues for two seasons at Pearl River Community College. Riser played in 108 games in two years with the Green Wave. As a senior, he played in all 64 games and made 57 starts, finishing the season with a .262 batting average, three home runs, 37 RBI and 16 doubles, helping Tulane to a NCAA Regional Appearance. At Pearl River Community College, Riser earned All-Region XXII honors and Region XXII Defensive Player of the Year honors as a sophomore, helping PRCC to the state title. He batted .376 as a sophomore and .347 as a freshman, while compiling 110 hits, 30 doubles and 109 runs scored in his two-year juco career. Riser prepped at Picayune Memorial High and was an All-State pick as a senior. ____________________________________________________________  Justin CryerVolunteer Assistant Baseball Coach Justin Cryer, a two-year letterwinner at Ole Miss and the brother of current Lion Josh Cryer, begins his first season as a volunteer assistant baseball coach for Southeastern. Cryer, a 29th-round selection by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2008 Major League Draft, spent a season in the New York Penn League, pitching for the Auburn Doubledays. In Cryer’s four seasons in Oxford he helped the Rebels to four NCAA Regional appearances and three of those NCAA Super Regionals. Cryer posted a 2-4 record with a 1.35 ERA and two saves in 2008, striking out 27 batters in 33.1 innings. He threw 5.2 innings giving up only 1 earned run while striking out 4 against No.1 Miami in the 2008 NCAA Regionals. Cryer made his debut in 2007, posting a 1-0 record with one save and a 4.55 earned run average. Cryer made 15 appearances on the mound for Ole Miss, striking out 32 batters in 27.2 innings pitched. He fanned 10 batters in 5.2 innings of work against No. 4-ranked South Carolina and earned his first collegiate victory in a relief appearance against No. 25 Alabama. He made his only appearance in the 2007 NCAA Regionals a memorable one hurling three scoreless innings to earn the save against Sam Houston State. A four-time All-District pick and a 2004 All-State selection at Leesville High School, Cryer posted a four-year record of 26-13 with a 2.97 ERA and five saves. Cryer struck out351 batters in his career with the Wampus Cats with 79 walks in 226 innings pitched. He went 8-2 with a 0.94 ERA as a senior with 108 strikeouts in 70 innings on the mound and played in the Louisiana Baseball Coaches Association All-Star Game. Cryer began his career at Rosepine High School, earning All-District honors as an eighth-grader before transferring to LHS. |
