Head Baseball Coach Sylacauga (AL) High School
Jeff Bell enters his sixth season at Sylacauga High School and 12th overall as a head coach and with a career record of 170-144, including a 48-22 record in area play and a 27-22 postseason record. In Bell’s previous 11 seasons, eight of his teams have reached the postseason (no postseason in 2020 due to covid). Four of those teams reached the quarterfinal round and the 2019 squad advanced to the semifinals. In five seasons at Sylacauga, Bell has been named Talladega County Coach of the Year three times (2018, 2019, 2021) and captured four county championships and one area championship. Since his arrival, Sylacauga is 78-48 overall, 19-7 in area play, and 12-10 in the playoffs. Prior to coming to Sylacauga, Bell was the head coach at Brookwood High School (2012-2017), winning one area championship (2014) and finishing runner-up 3 times. He led the Panthers to back-to-back quarterfinal playoff appearances in 2013 and 2014, the deepest the team had advanced since 1992. During his career, Bell has coached 11 All-State players, 54 players who have gone on to make college rosters, two who have been selected in the Major League Baseball draft, and five who have played professionally. Bell is a native of Pinson, Alabama. He played at Pinson Valley High School where he was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 1993 Major League Baseball draft. After spending one season as a shortstop at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville (AL), Bell transferred to UAB. He went on to start 170 of 171 games at UAB, primarily as an infielder. Bell was named to the All-Conference team in 1997 after hitting .317 and leading the Blazers in home runs (15), doubles (16), triples (3), total bases (143), and RBI’s (64). Bell played one season at shortstop for the independent minor league Tennessee Tomahawks in Winchester, Tennessee (1998).
