The Meade File

Personal Information
Birthday	September 10
Hometown	Louisville, Ky.
Education	Louisville, 2007 (Bachelor's) Eastern Illinois, 2009 (Master's)
Playing Career	Louisville, 2003-07
Wife	Jesse
Children	Kasen and Mikah

Coaching History
2022-Present	Troy - Head Coach
2018-21	South Carolina - Assistant Coach
2015-17	Michigan State - Assistant Coach
2013-14	Middle Tennessee State - Assistant Coach
2009-2012	Eastern Illinois - Assistant Coach
2008	Eastern Illinois - Graduate Assistant

Skylar Meade enters his fifth season as Troy's head coach in 2026, following a 2025 campaign that saw the Trojans achieve a No. 14 national ranking, the highest in program history.

The Trojans have accumulated 148 wins during Meade’s tenure, the most wins in the first four seasons by a head coach in program history. Troy is coming off three consecutive 37-plus win seasons for the first time since 1996-98.

Meade took over Troy’s head coaching role in 2022 following four seasons as the pitching coach at South Carolina.

2025

Meade’s fourth season began with a No. 25 national ranking, marking the first time the program had received a preseason ranking. With a 39-21 record, Troy was ranked each week from the preseason through Week 14, the longest stretch in the program’s Division-I history that the Trojans have been ranked. Additionally, Troy was the only team in college baseball to win each of its first 13 weekend series. The Trojans defeated national runner-up Coastal Carolina in a three-game set and added a marquee win on the road at No. 15 Mississippi State.

Troy finished third in the Sun Belt Conference with an 18-12 record, boasting one of the league's most potent offenses. The Trojans ranked second in the Sun Belt in on-base percentage (.403) and walks (323) and fourth in runs per game (7.0) and OPS (.837). Additionally, the Trojans set a school record for hit-by-pitch (122) and were the only team in college baseball to finish the regular season in the top 20 nationally for both walks and hit-by-pitch.

Individually, Troy placed three players on the Sun Belt All-Conference teams, with first baseman Blake Cavill leading the way on the first team and catcher Brooks Bryan and starting pitcher Garrett Gainous landing on the second team.

Cavill made an impression on the Troy record book, ranking third nationally in walks (65), which tied Jorge Soto in 1999 for the most in program history. Cavill’s .516 on-base percentage was 13th nationally and the second-best by a Trojan in the program’s Division-I era. Additionally, Steven Meier drew a Troy record 29 hit-by-pitches.

On the mound, Garrett Gainous and Grayson Stewart became the newest members of the 250-strikeout club. Gainous finished his playing career ranked third in Troy history for strikeouts (262) with Stewart finishing his career ranked fifth (251). Reliever Jay Dill led the team with 70 strikeouts and posted a Sun Belt-best 12.86 strikeouts per nine innings.

Under Meade's leadership, Troy saw five players earn opportunities in professional baseball, its most since 2007. Brooks Bryan (8th round - Kansas City Royals), Noah Edders (15th round - Chicago Cubs) and Jay Dill (18th round - Athletics) were each selected in the MLB Draft, while Adam Falinski (Minnesota Twins) and Coby Frieda (New York Mets) struck free agent deals.

2024
Meade’s third season saw the Troy program reach new heights with a No. 21 national ranking, its highest since 2013. With a 37-22 record in 2024, Meade's 109 career wins are the most-ever in the first three seasons by a Troy head coach. In addition, the Trojans won 77 games across the 2023 and 2024 seasons, which were Troy's most in a two-year span since 2006-07.

The Trojans were one of the most prolific offenses in the Sun Belt Conference in 2024, drawing a school record 382 walks to rank third nationally while leading the conference and ranking eighth in the country with a .424 on-base percentage. Additionally, the Trojans scored 516 runs on the season, which were the second most in the Sun Belt and 14th in the nation.

The 2024 season saw the Trojans rack up numerous key wins, winning nine games against teams that made the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans earned series victories at Indiana and against No. 18 Louisiana while sweeping No. 13 Coastal Carolina on the road to go along with wins at Southern Miss and against James Madison. Troy finished the regular season as the No. 3 seed in the SBC Tournament.

Under Meade’s leadership, Brooks Bryan rewrote the Troy record books with a school-record 85 RBIs. Bryan was a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist, Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist, All-Sun Belt First Team and ABCA All-Region First Team while being selected to compete on the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team.

Troy's six selections on the Sun Belt All-Conference teams were the most in the league. Bryan was named to the First Team while Luke Lyon, Will Butcher, Ethan Kavanagh, Kole Myers and Kyle Mock were all named to the Second Team.

Myers heard his name called by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the ninth round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers, while Clete Hartzog signed a free agent deal with the Chicago White Sox.

Following the 2024 season, Meade was selected to serve as the pitching coach for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Friendship Series, where he helped lead Team USA to a five-game sweep of Chinese Taipei.

2023
Skylar Meade’s second season saw the Trojans skyrocket beyond expectations as he led the program to its first 40-win seasons since 2018 and fifth in the last 20 years. He also led the Trojans to an at-large berth in the NCAA Tuscaloosa Regional, where they defeated Boston College, 11-10, in the Regional opener.

Meade and the Trojans dominated on the mound leading the Sun Belt Conference and ranking 11th in the country in strikeouts per nine innings at 10.6 – the second straight season where the Trojans set a program record. On the offensive side, Troy recorded 19 triples to lead the league and rank 20th in the nation. Additionally, Troy ranked in the top three in walks (third – 306), double plays (second – 51), double plays per game (third – 0.82), home runs (second – 108), home runs per game (third – 1.74), runs (second – 476), triples per game (second – 0.31).

The 2023 season saw key victories by Meade and the Trojans, including his first win over an SEC opponent at Auburn, in addition to series sweeps over Marshall, ULM, USC-Upstate, Stony Brook and Evansville. Under the guidance of Meade, the Trojans entered the SBC Tournament as the No. 3 seed.

Meade's leadership also propelled two players, Zach Fruit (Baltimore Orioles) and William Sullivan (St. Louis Cardinals), to be selected in the MLB Draft, while Caleb Bartolero and Ben Thompson signed with the Los Angeles Angels.

Shane Lewis earned Sun Belt Player and Newcomer of the Year honors after hitting a program record 27 home runs. Lewis was a Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist, All-Sun Belt First Team, Collegiate Baseball All-American Third Team and ABCA / Rawlings All-American Third Team. Troy raked in the accolades with three All-Sun Belt First Team selections (Lewis, Caleb Bartolero, Grayson Stewart) and one second team (Noah Manning).

2022
In his first season at the helm of the Trojans, Meade led Troy to a 32-win season and an appearance in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. The 32 wins in 2022 were the most by a Trojan team since 2019. Under the pitching expertise of Meade, the Trojans led the Sun Belt Conference in strikeouts, totaling 520. In addition, they led the conference in strikeouts per nine innings at 9.5, which was the most in program history, as Meade has now been a part of a strikeout record at every program he's coached at. Meade became the fourth coach in program history to win at least 30 games in his first season.

Meade earned his first win as head coach of the Trojans on Feb. 18, 2022, in a 2-1 win over Holy Cross. More history was made when Meade led the Trojans to their first-ever sweep over Louisiana and swept Big Ten program, Indiana. The Trojans saw a nine-game win streak during the 2022 season, which was the fourth-longest in the country at the time and the longest in program history since 2006.

Rigsby Mosley earned Sun Belt all-conference recognition for the first time in his storied career as a pitcher under the direction of Meade after five years having only played outfield.

Prior to Troy

A 14-year coaching veteran, Meade has previous stops at South Carolina, Michigan State, Middle Tennessee and Eastern Illinois following a standout playing career at Louisville, where he pitched in the College World Series. Meade has seen 35 players selected in the MLB Draft during his time as a pitching coach and as a head coach, with 14 of those players taken within the first 10 rounds.

Meade’s final season with South Carolina in 2021 saw six Gamecock pitchers selected in the MLB Draft, which was tied with Arkansas for the most pitchers selected from any one school. Brett Kerry earned D1 Baseball and NCBWA All-America honors while Will Sanders was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team, was a Freshman All-American selection by two organizations and was selected as a member of USA Baseball Collegiate National Team. Additionally, Jack Mahoney earned Freshman All-America honors from Perfect Game.

The Gamecocks posted the fourth-best ERA in the Southeastern Conference in 2021, while South Carolina's staff totaled 624 strikeouts in just 507 innings pitched. South Carolina hosted an NCAA Regional and picked up an in-season sweep of No. 5 Florida.

Meade joined the South Carolina staff before the 2018 season and during his four seasons 14 Gamecock pitchers were selected in the MLB Draft. Seven of those picks came in the top 10 rounds, including Carmen Mlodzinski, who was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the 31st overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft.

He made an immediate impact in his first season with the Gamecocks as they held opponents to a .243 batting average and posted 542 strikeouts in 553.1 innings of work. In the shortened 2020 season, South Carolina pitchers combined for a 2.81 ERA with 184 strikeouts in just 144 innings pitched. In 2019, Kerry began his rise up the national pitching ranks under Meade's guidance as he was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team and a Freshman All-American by three different organizations.

Meade joined the South Carolina staff following three seasons as the pitching coach at Michigan State. Under his watch, a Spartan pitcher led the Big Ten in ERA in each of his last two seasons on staff (Walter Borkovich in 2017; Dakota Mekkes in 2016). Additionally, the Spartans posted their top three strikeout totals in school history his final three seasons with 409 strikeouts in 2015, 466 in 2016 and 420 in 2017.

Michigan State led the Big Ten in ERA (2.75), opponent's batting average (.234) and runs allowed (199) in 2016. That ERA also was third in the nation and fifth lowest in school history. Meade helped Mekkes earn NCBWA All-America honors after finishing the season with the best strikeout per nine innings (15.16) and hits per nine innings (4.11) ratios in the nation. In his first season, Meade helped Joe Mockbee to a 1.78 ERA, the lowest by a Spartan since 1974.

Prior to his stint at Michigan State, Meade spent two years as the pitching coach at Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raider pitching staff lowered its team ERA in each of his two seasons including posting the program's lowest mark in 13 years during his final year on staff.

Meade also mentored Zac Curtis, who was selected in the sixth round of the MLB Draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and Daniel Palo, a Colorado Rockies draftee.

Prior to joining the staff at Middle Tennessee, Meade spent five seasons at Eastern Illinois, first as a graduate assistant before being elevated to an assistant coach in 2009. EIU posted one of the Ohio Valley Conference's best rotations during his time at the school. The Panthers sported the best team ERA in the OVC in four of his five years - 2008, 2010, 2011 and 2012 - while finishing second in 2009.

Meade helped lead the Panthers to the 2009 OVC regular season championship and the 2008 OVC Tournament title; the berth in the 2008 NCAA Tournament was just the second in school history.

During his tenure at EIU, Meade saw a number of his pitchers rack up All-OVC accolades in addition to being selected in the MLB Draft. In 2010, Josh Mueller was drafted in the 13th round of the MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies. Tyler Kehrer, who led the OVC in strikeouts and opponent batting average in 2009, became the highest-drafted EIU player since 1988, as he was taken 48th overall by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Compensation Round A.

Meade joined the coaching staff at EIU following his playing career at Louisville. Meade anchored a pitching staff that helped lead Louisville to an appearance in the 2007 College World Series. The southpaw recorded nine wins and limited opposing batters to a .247 average during the Cardinals' run to the College World Series, and was on the hill for the final out of the Cardinals’ victory over Mississippi State in Omaha.

A native of Louisville, Ky., Meade earned his bachelor's degree in sports administration from Louisville in 2007 and completed a master's degree in kinesiology and sports studies (sports management) in the summer of 2009 from EIU.

Meade and his wife, Jesse, have two children, Kasen and Mikah.

Year	School	Record	Conf. Record	Conf. Finish	Postseason
2025	Troy	39-21	18-12	3rd	SBC Tournament - Semifinals
2024	Troy	37-22	18-12	3rd	SBC Tournament - Second Round
2023	Troy	40-22	18-12	3rd	NCAA Tournament - Tuscaloosa Regional / SBC Tournament - Second Round
2022	Troy	32-24	15-15	6th	SBC Tournament - Semifinals
Troy Totals		148-89 (.624)	69-51 (.575)
Career Totals		148-89 (.624)	69-51 (.575)