Artigues inducted into Sports Hall of Fame

POPLARVILLE – Former Pearl River Community College baseball star and coach Jay Artigues was inducted into the Mississippi Community and Junior College Sports Hall of Fame during ceremonies on April 25 in Jackson.
            Artigues’ accomplishments in either capacity were outstanding.
During his playing time (1988-89), he copped All-MACJC and All-Region XXIII first-team honors his sophomore season. He batted .414 and .416 his freshman and sophomore seasons, respectively, which are two of the highest batting averages in school history.
He went on to play two seasons at Belhaven College, where he graduated in 1992 with a business administration degree.
As PRCC’s head coach (2002-05), his record was 168-51. In his first season, Artigues led the Wildcats to a then school-record 42 wins and a berth in the 2002 JuCo World Series in Millington, Tenn.
In his final season, he led the Wildcats, who began the season ranked No. 7 in Division II, to a 46-12 record and a No. 1 ranking in the final JuCo National regular-season poll.
Artigues began his coaching career at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., and also worked at St. Louis High School in Lake Charles, La., St. Thomas Aquinas High in Hammond, La., and the University of New Orleans as an assistant.
Artigues, a native of Bay St. Louis, then served as head coach at Bossier Parish Community College (107-57) before returning to PRCC in 2001.
Following his time at PRCC, Artigues chalked up a successful stint as head baseball coach at Southeastern Louisiana.
He joined the Southeastern athletics staff in 2005, serving eight seasons as the university’s 15th head baseball coach, compiling a 276-188 win-loss record, and earning the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Co-Coach of the Year Award in 2010.
            During his tenure, the Lions excelled on and off the field. In addition to leading the Lions to consecutive Southland Conference Tournament championship games, Artigues has overseen a program that has consistently posted team grade point averages over 3.0.
            In October 2013, he was named the school’s Director of Athletics, a position he holds today.
Jay and his wife Rachel are the parents of two sons, Christopher and Casey.