Shaun Neitzel
Baseball/Coach (1991-1993)
Chiefs’ single-season and career record holder for saves and appearances
Coached Aurora University to 11 conference championships, 10 regional berths and four national tournament appearances
Over 21 seasons as a coach and player, on winning side 623 times, a 70 percent success rate
Shaun Neitzel has worn many hats over the years. He’s been an insurance salesman, an admissions counselor, an intramurals director, a coordinator of athletic marketing and promotions, an assistant coach, a life-skills coordinator, a facilities and events director, an Athletic Director, a head coach, and even a Public Address Announcer. And since 2013 he has been the Dean of Student Life and Title IX Coordinator at Aurora University.
That versatility began quite some time ago. In 1991 Neitzel was a standout three-sport athlete at Oswego High School. He was All-Area on the gridiron as the Panthers’ quarterback, All-Area on the basketball court averaging 20 points a game, and was an All-Conference pitcher on the baseball field. Neitzel then excelled on the mound for a pair of nationally-ranked Waubonsee teams, twice finishing as the national co-leader for saves in a season. He still holds the Chiefs’ single-season mark for saves with eight, career saves with 13, and career appearances with 46. Neitzel then went on to pitch for William Penn University’s nationally-ranked program in Iowa. In 1996 he began his coaching career as an assistant coach for the Statesman, while earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Administration, Sales and Marketing.
Neitzel returned to the area two years later as an assistant coach at Aurora University, serving as the Spartans’ pitching coach, first base coach, recruiting coordinator, and director of their Junior Varsity program. Over five seasons the Spartans won 79 percent of their games, compiling a 167-45 overall record. They won five conference championships, while making four NCAA regionals and two national tournament appearances, placing third in 1998 and seventh nationally in 1999.
Neitzel then became the head coach at Aurora in 2002, leading one of the most successful college baseball programs in the country for a decade. During his tenure the Spartans won 287 games, including tying a school-record with 38 wins in his final season. Neitzel’s teams won six conference titles, made six NCAA Regional appearances, and earned two NCAA Division III World Series berths, finishing third nationally in 2004 and seventh in 2006. Neitzel was twice named Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference Baseball Coach of the Year and the American Baseball Coaches Association Central Region Coach of the Year.
Neitzel earned a Master's of Science degree in Recreation Administration, as well as a Master's in Business Administration and Leadership from Aurora University in 2010. He was inducted into the Oswego High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017. And just last year he became Dr. Neitzel, earning a Doctor of Education in Interdisciplinary Leadership from Creighton University. He and his wife, Michelle, have two daughters, Allison and Lily, and currently reside in Montgomery.
