Coach Sheff is the owner, manager and head coach of Southern Nevada Baseball.
Sheff has a distinguished background which includes the following:
Four years of varsity basketball and baseball at Laguna Hills High School where many of his records still stand today. In 1989, Sheff led his team to the No. 1 ranking in Orange County, earning All-CIF (Southern Section) first team honors. He set the all-time OC record for hits in a season at that time.
After high school graduation, Sheff played in the Olympic Festival in Oklahoma, where he was selected to play on the U.S.A. 18-and-under team. Sheff was named all-tournament, helping the U.S. defeat Cuba in the gold medal game in Trois Rivieres, Canada.
Heavily-recruited in both baseball and basketball, Sheff accepted a scholarship to Pepperdine University, where he was the starting center fielder for three years. In 1992 he was the MVP at the Tucson regional and was a key factor in Pepperdine winning the NCAA Championship.
Drafted in the 10th round by the Florida Marlins after his junior year, Sheff signed and played 10 years of pro ball, six in Triple-A. He played six years in the Marlins system, two years with the Oakland A’s and a year each with the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds, retiring after the 2001 season. During his pro career, Sheff was errorless in two full International League (Triple-A) seasons. He also had a success rate of over 80% in stolen bases in his career.
In 2004, Sheff was hired by Bishop Gorman High School as its head coach and two years later he guided the Gaels to their first Nevada state baseball championship in 52 years. He also won the next four state titles and was named the National Coach of the Year in 2009 when Gorman was selected the No. 1 team in the nation. His 2008 American Legion team from Bishop Gorman won the World Series, finishing the season with a 75-7-1 record.
As Gorman’s head coach for seven years, Sheff had a 228-45-2 record, a winning mark of 84 percent. In his last four years, his teams were 187-24 (89% winning average).
11 of his former players at Bishop Gorman are currently playing pro ball and three have reached the major leagues, with more to follow. Overall, Sheff has coached now over 30 players in pro ball and hundreds in college ball.
He has also played with/or for 12 big league managers.
Sheff is also one of the top hitting instructors on the West Coast, having been tutored by his friend, Yankees hitting coach Jeff Pentland.