Coaches

Jay Miller

Originally from Chillicothe, Ohio, Miller enters his fifth season at the helm of the Lakehawks after starting in August of 2015.


In four seasons with the Lakehawks, Miller's teams and players have broken 30 of 45 marks in the programs all-time records book. He has amassed over 90 wins and in his third season became the all-time winningest softball coach in program history. Miller has initiated several camps and showcases on campus resulting in over 20 participants eventually becoming student-athletes at LSSC. At the end of the 2016 season, he was voted in as the Mid-Florida Conference Softball Chair. In four years at Lake-Sumter, all of his teams have reached NJCAA All-Academic status while producing 10 NJCAA All-Academic softball players.


Last year, Coach Miller’s crew went 26-30. The fourth most wins in a single season in program history. Several members of the team reached milestones throughout the season. Abbey Primavera and fellow pitcher, Allie Geier became the first pitching duo to both reach the 10 win mark in the same season for the Lakehawks. Both were named All-Conference. A pair of freshman, Casey Allen and Jennifer Bryant, were also selected All-Conference in 2019. Off the field, the team also added three members to the NJCAA All-Academic team; Emily Murphy, Taylor Turner and Bryant.


The 2018 season was one for the ages. Coach Miller became the winningest coach in program history while the team posted their first winning record (32-28) since 1999. A third place finish in the Mid-Florida Conference was the best finish since the conference moved to seven teams. The teams 32 victories were the most in a single season since the program started in 1998. Rachel Phelps became a two-time Academic All-America & two-time All-Conference selection while becoming the first LSSC softball player to earn the Jean Williams Scholar-Athlete award. As a whole, the team made their third consecutive season as an NJCAA All-Academic team with a 3.00 or higher team GPA.


In 2017, Coach Miller helped lead his squad to the programs fourth 20+ win season in school history. During which his team ended the season top 10 in the country in stolen bases. LSSC climbed two spots after finishing seventh in the Mid-Florida Conference in 2016, to fifth last season. Five players were named All-Conference with one player, Bri Bennett earning NFCA All-Region honors. The Lakehawks boasted a 3.15 team GPA and had three Academic All-America selections.


LSSC won 13 games during Miller's rookie season, doubling the teams wins inside the conference from the previous season with six. The Lakehawks had one first team All-Mid Florida Conference selection, one NFCA second team All-Region selection and two Academic All-America honorees. The program also boasted the third LSSC athlete to ever receive the college's most prestigious honor when Madison Mihok was named the recipient of the President's Award.


Miller’s softball coaching career started in Citrus County where he was the head coach for the Citrus Chaos travel ball team. He got his start at the collegiate level while at Oklahoma Panhandle State University as the recruiting coordinator for the Aggie softball program.


Miller attended NCAA DII affiliate Northwest Missouri State University where he was the Assistant Softball Coach and the Graduate Assistant to the Sports Information Director. During his time at Northwest, the Bearcat softball program made back-to-back MIAA conference tournament appearances. The team also boasted a team batting average over .300 and the 2014 MIAA Freshman of the Year.


Before working with the NWMSU, Miller was a collegiate baseball player at the University of Rio Grande in Ohio and Oklahoma Panhandle State. As a pitcher, Miller earned Academic All-Conference honors for both schools he played at, finishing his career at OPSU as a catcher, hitting over .300.


He completed his undergraduate degree at Oklahoma Panhandle State in Exercise Science in 2012 before finishing his Master’s in Applied Health and Sports Sciences at Northwest Missouri State in 2014.


After settling down at LSSC, Miller bought a house and currently resides in Inverness, Fla. with his wife, Candace. Candace is a former All-Conference college outfielder who started her career at Hillsborough CC. The couple has two boys, Beckett, who is four, and a newborn named Maddux.