Shimek returns as Yellow Jackets’ softball coach
Waynesburg University has looked into its past to find a coach to lead its women’s softball program into the future.
Brett Shimek, who coached the Yellow Jackets to two Presidents’ Athletic Conference championships and a pair of NCAA Division III tournament appearances, was hired as Waynesburg’s head coach, the school announced Thursday.
Shimek replaces Chris Brunson, who was recently hired as the head coach at West Liberty. Brunson had a 49-32 record in two years at Waynesburg.
Shimek coached the Yellow Jackets from 2019 to 2024 and left with a 100-95 record. Waynesburg was without a winning season since 1994 before Shimek arrived. In 2022, he had guided the Yellow Jackets to a 27-11 record and the school’s first PAC championship in 29 years. Waynesburg had a program-best 29-10 record in 2023 and won its second consecutive conference title.
Waynesburg and Shimek parted ways after the 2024 season, when Waynesburg went 23-18. The Yellow Jackets had its quest for a PAC three-peat fall short that year, losing the conference championship game, 1-0.
“Brett expressed interest in coming back to be our softball coach and it was a no-brainer,” Waynesburg athletic director Tim Fusina said in a release. “When you have a coach who was as successful as he was here wanting to come back, you make that move every time.”
Shimek was twice named the PAC Coach of the Year.
“I think more than anything, we were able to create a culture where the players genuinely cared about one another and believed in what we were trying to accomplish together,” Shimek said. “Obviously, you want to win games and compete for championships, but we always believed that if we built the right culture first, then success on the field would follow.”
Shimek was an assistant high school coach at Waynesburg before moving up to the college level. As a baseball player, Shimek played two years at Penn State Beaver and two more at California, where he was an all-PSAC selection.
“Mostly, I’m just grateful for the opportunity,” Shimek said. “I don’t take for granted the chance to come back to a place and a program that means so much to me. … I feel rejuvenated and genuinely excited to get back to work
“I’m coming back with a different perspective than I had the first time. Having two years away gave me an opportunity to reflect and appreciate coaching, the relationships with the players and the experience of being part of a college program in a different way. There are obviously expectations because of what this program has accomplished, but I don’t want our focus to simply be on recreating the past. I want us to honor what has been built while continuing to move the program forward.”