Mike Sirianni explains why he accepted Nebraska job offer

The Nebraska Cornhuskers head baseball coach, Will Bolt, made a few changes to his coaching staff, adding Rob Childress and Mike Sirianni into the fold. Childress has been the Cornhuskers’ director of player development since 2021. In contrast, Sirianni comes in after spending four seasons with the Wichita State Shockers. Recently Sirianni took some time to explain why he accepted Bolt’s offer to join his Nebraska coaching staff.

“Nebraska’s always been a special place to me. My brother played here and stayed a little bit,” said Sirianni during his introductory press conference. “And you know Iowa just right across the way a little bit. The tradition and the history of this place is unbelievable. But the coaching staff here was a huge piece of interest for me. Will Bolt and I played against each other and have recruited against each other; been at numerous events for 10-plus years.”

Sirianni’s best asset, which made him a prime candidate for Nebraska, is his ability to recruit. At Wichita State, he helped bring in two of the best recruiting classes in the program’s history. And it doesn’t hurt that he shares a connection with the program since his brother, Jay, played at Nebraska for four seasons, 1996-1999.

Still, his connection via his brother and his ability to recruit were not the only things that brought him to Nebraska. Sirianni is also enamored with the idea of working with Bolt and his talented coaching staff.

“You talk about Will Bolt, Lance Harvel, and Rob Childress — the staff is unbelievable, as you guys know. Very similar backgrounds, very similar personalities, recruiting philosophies, and coaching philosophies. So it’s a no-brainer for my family and I. I’m super excited about the opportunity to work with such great people, and that’s the biggest priority for me and my family. And this kind of came about just (because of) our relationships of recruiting the same players year in and year out.”

Sirianni and the rest of Bolt’s coaching staff are looking to improve from their 33-23-1 record, which was good enough for fourth place in the Big Ten this season. Unfortunately, it was not sufficient enough to earn them a spot in the NCAA tournament. But with Sirianni’s expertise in recruiting and the talent Nebraska already has on the roster, the Cornhuskers’ return to prominence on the baseball diamond could come sooner than most expect.