Waynesburg University Athletics

Brett Shimek, a Waynesburg native, took over the lead spot on the Waynesburg University bench prior to the 2019 season. He brought with him a wealth of bench experience in both the high school game and the travel ball circuit to the Yellow Jackets.
 
Shimek and his staff have raised the profile of the Yellow Jackets program by securing back-to-back NCAA Division III national championship tournament berths thanks to winning consecutive Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC) tournament championships for the first time in program history. The 2022 Yellow Jackets set a then-school record for wins (27) in a season, as the program claimed its first PAC tournament championship since 1993. The single-season wins record stood for just one season as the 2023 Jackets posted a 29-win campaign in route to another PAC Championship.
 
Over the past two seasons, Shimek became the first coach in 13 years to collect consecutive PAC Coach of the Year award honors, and star southpaw Sydney Wilson repeated as the PAC Pitcher of the Year, a feat not accomplished since 2003. The Jackets also became the first program to boast back-to-back PAC Newcomer of the Year award winners (Wilson, 2022 and Grace Higgins, 2023). The Yellow Jackets placed nine of their own on all-PAC teams in each of the last two championship seasons.

Shimek was an assistant coach at nearby Waynesburg Central High School from 2015 to 2018 and also served as head coach of the Margaret Bell Miller Middle School team in 2013 and 2014. In each of his four years with the Raiders, they qualified for the WPIAL playoffs, including a trip to the quarterfinal round this past spring.
 
Prior to his coaching work in the Central Greene School District, Shimek began his time with the local travel teams in 2010 as the president and head coach of the Waynesburg Dirt Dawgs. In 2012, he took a position as the assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Power. The following year (2013) he moved up to head coach of the Power, before becoming an assistant coach with the PA Lady Knights in 2014, a position he continues to hold today.
 
The Lady Knights were crowned National Softball Association champions in 2015, following a runner-up performance in 2014. Since 2014, the Knights have built up an impressive 223-15 record while working predominantly with players from Washington and Greene counties. During that same stretch, Shimek and the rest of the program's administration have grown the program from one team to five.
 
Shimek's softball administrative experience stretches back even further to the first decade of the millennium. From 2007 to 2010 he spent time as both the president and vice-president of the Waynesburg Girls Softball Association. During his two years as president (2009-2010), Shimek helped raise $20,000 for the organization, all while also serving as president of the Mason-Dixon Girls Softball Association.
 
Shimek's playing resume is equally as impressive as his coaching/administrative background. After lettering four years on the Waynesburg Central baseball team (1989-1992), as well as gathering four letters on the golf team and two more on the wrestling squad, he competed for two years at Penn State Beaver (1993-1994). Both years at Beaver, he was named first-team Junior College All-American as a catcher.
Shimek then moved on to California University (Pa.), where he was lauded as a two-time All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) honoree. After wrapping up his collegiate playing days, the Waynesburg native graduated with a degree in Parks and Recreation Management.
 
When he isn't on the ball field, Shimek is employed by Baily Insurance in Waynesburg as its Director of Operations. He resides in Waynesburg with his wife Taraha and the two have a daughter, Bailee.