Ed Servais (born c. 1958) is a retired American

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

coach who was most recently the head coach at

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

, a member of the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

. He held the position from July 2003 until June 2025, and led the Bluejays to four appearances in the NCAA tournament.

Coaching career

Division III and NAIA

Servais' first college coaching position was with Saint Mary's in

Winona, Minnesota Winona ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Winona County, Minnesota, United States. Located in bluff country on the Mississippi River, its most noticeable physical landmark is Sugar Loaf (Winona, Minnesota), Sugar Loaf. The population was 2 ...

, an

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

program where he was an assistant from 1984 to 1986. Following the 1986 season, he was hired by NAIA member

Viterbo Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...

to start the school's baseball program. The team went in 1988, its first season. Following one season at Viterbo, Servais was rehired by Saint Mary's as head coach. He held the position for seven seasons and had an overall record of . Saint Mary's qualified for the 1993 Division III tournament, and were runner-up in the Midwest Regional. In both 1990 and 1993, Servais was named the

Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC ) is an List of NCAA conferences, intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division III, Division III. All 13 of the mem ...

Coach of the Year.

Division I assistant

Prior to the start of the 1996 season, Servais was hired as an assistant coach at Iowa State of the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

, his first Division I coaching position. He served as an assistant to head coach Lyle Smith for two seasons From 1998–2003, Servais was an assistant and infield coach at Creighton under head coach Jack Dahm. While he was an assistant, Creighton appeared in two NCAA tournaments (

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

and

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

Creighton

Missouri Valley Conference

After a 20–37 season in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, Dahm resigned as Creighton's head coach in late June. Servais was named interim head coach and later hired as the program's head coach on July 29. In Servais' first season in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, Creighton went and finished second in the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

(MVC), after finishing fifth the previous season. Servais was named the MVC Coach of the Year and became the first first-year coach to receive the award. In

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, the team went 48–17 and won the MVC regular season championship. After losing the MVC Tournament championship game to

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 ...

, Creighton received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. In the tournament, the team went 2–2 and lost in the Lincoln Regional final to

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. Servais was again named MVC Coach of the Year. Creighton finished fourth in the MVC in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, but qualified for a second NCAA tournament under Servais in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. It received the MVC's automatic bid to the tournament by defeating Wichita State in the MVC championship game, 10–9 in 12 innings. As the second seed in the Fayetteville Regional, it went 1–2. Servais was named the MVC Coach of the Year. The program's win totals declined from 2007–2010. After finishing second in the MVC in 2007, it finished third in

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, fourth in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, and sixth in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. In

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, however, Creighton appeared in consecutive NCAA tournaments. In 2011, the team won both the MVC regular season and tournament titles and was named the second seed in the Corvallis Regional. It defeated

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, 2–1, in its opening game, but lost consecutive games to Oregon State and Georgia and was eliminated. For the season, Servais received his fourth MVC Coach of the Year award. In 2012, the Bluejays finished last in the MVC, but won the conference tournament to qualify for the NCAA tournament. As the fourth seed in the Los Angeles Regional, Creighton lost to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

in the regional final. In

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, Creighton's final season in the MVC, the team finished third in the conference.

Big East Conference

Creighton joined the new

ahead of the

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

season. The Bluejays won the inaugural regular season title, then lost to Xavier in the tournament championship game. Servais was named the Big East Coach of the Year. In May 2024, Servais announced that 2025 would be his final season as coach of the Bluejays; in June 2024, former

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

baseball coach

Mark Kingston Mark Kingston (18 April 1934 – 9 October 2011) was an English actor who made many television and stage appearances over his 50-year career. Biography Kingston's father was a blacksmith and he attended Greenwich Central School and train ...

was hired as associate head coach/head coach in waiting.

Personal life

Servais is the uncle of former

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

manager Scott Servais (b.1967), a former major league

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

who played at Creighton in the late 1980s.

Head coaching record

The following is a table of Servais' yearly records as an NAIA and NCAA head baseball coach.

Notes

References

External links

Creighton profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Servais, Ed Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Creighton Bluejays baseball coaches High school baseball coaches in the United States Iowa State Cyclones baseball coaches Saint Mary's Cardinals baseball coaches Viterbo Hawks baseball coaches Wisconsin–La Crosse Eagles baseball players Baseball players from La Crosse, Wisconsin Aquinas High School (La Crosse, Wisconsin) alumni