Little Rock baseball head coach Chris Curry announced the hiring of Mike Silva in the summer of 2016. Silva works primarily with the Trojan’s pitching staff and as the recruiting coordinator.
In 2017, Silva coached his pitching staff to a program-record 463 strikeouts.
Little Rock's pitchers recorded 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings — ranking third in the Sun Belt and 47th nationally. They also allowed the third-fewest hits in the league at 8.83 per nine innings. The Trojans' ERA also dropped from 6.20 in 2016 to 4.76 in 2017.
“Mike Silva is a winner,” Curry said. “He’s been successful at every level. He’s a former head coach who has revived struggling programs, and he’s a veteran of the Sun Belt Conference. As a former professional scout, he has evaluated players and talent at the highest level. I love his character, and he’s a family man. I’m looking forward to Mike working with our pitchers and connecting with them. He’ll be an outstanding leader on our staff.”
Silva was an area scout for the San Diego Padres in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Kansas Nebraska, South Dakota and North Dakota. Before becoming a scout, Silva was an assistant coach at Texas State during the 2013-15 seasons and worked primarily with the team’s position players. In his time at Texas State, the Bobcats reached the conference tournament all three seasons and had six players selected in the MLB Draft.
“Mike is a tireless worker on and off the field,” Texas State assistant coach Jeremy Fikac said. “I think he’s a great recruiter and works his butt off at it. He’s a great observer and evaluator of talent. I know the guys at Little Rock will love playing for Mike, and they’ll work hard for him. He has an unbelievable ability to build relationships with people, and it shows up every day. I think Chris Curry hit one out of the park hiring Mike Silva.”
Prior to joining the Bobcats, Silva was the head coach at Galveston College where he led the team to its first regional tournament in five years and first season above .500 in the past 13 years. His team ranked as high as 11th in the nation during the campaign.
“I’ve known Mike since he was the head coach at Galveston College, and he brings out the best in his players,” Sam Houston State head coach Matt Deggs said. “It’s a big time hire for Little Rock. I know Chris Curry is going to take that program to new heights, and Mike will be a real big part of that. He demands a lot out of his players to get everything out of them. If God gave them a talent, Mike is going to help get it out of them. His teams play hard, they like to compete and they’re very disciplined. Those three things are a tough combination anytime you go up against a group of guys like that.”
Before Galveston, Silva was the head coach at Clarendon College for three seasons. During his three-year stint at Clarendon, Silva’s teams earned 111 victories, making him the winningest coach in program history. In 2010, the team picked up the second-highest ranking in program history at No. 15 while Silva also formed the school’s second All-American and conference player of the year.
Prior to becoming head coach at Clarendon, Silva served two stints there as an assistant coach. In 2008, the team earned 40 wins and proceeded to the regional championship during his second time with the program. Silva initially joined the team as an assistant from 2003-05.
Between stints at Clarendon, Silva spent the 2006 season as an assistant at Bethany College where the team won 40 games and attained a No. 18 ranking in the NAIA national poll.
Prior to coaching, Silva played at Northwestern Oklahoma State University. He helped lead the team to three consecutive regional tournaments, a 49-win season in 2001 and the highest national ranking in program history at No. 11. Silva hit .426 in 2001, finishing 19th in the nation. Before making the move to coaching, Silva played two season of independent baseball.
Silva, a native of Hull, Mass., earned his bachelor’s degree in leadership at Bellevue University in Bellevue, Neb., before receiving his master’s degree in education at East Central University in Ada, Okla. He is married to the former Reagan Page.
