"LANE TECH, A CITY BASEBALL POWERHOUSE FOR DECADES"
- FOX News, June 12, 2006

Jeffrey Szukala ~ Head Varsity Baseball Coach

Baseball and success seem to be synonymous with the name Szukala (pronounced ZOO-KA-LA).   Jeffrey Szukala, the Head Varsity Baseball Coach at Lane Tech College Prep High School, is the son of Jerry Szukala.   The elder Szukala, now retired since 1995, was the winningest baseball coach in Chicago Public Schools history with over 600 wins.   The younger Szukala, affectionately known as “Zukes”, begins his eighth year at the helm of the Indians’ program and boasts a 176-77 win/loss record, which includes outright City Championships during the 2001, 2005, and 2006 campaigns.

 

Coach Szukala lettered in football, basketball and baseball during his prep days at Maine East High School in Park Ridge, Illinois.   His baseball career continued on at Oakton Community College and then later at Missouri Southern State University.   Upon completion of his Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education (K-12), Zukes served as the top assistant coach for the Lane Tech baseball team before taking the reigns as head coach in the 2001 season.

The Lane Tech baseball program made history during the 2005 season as they won the first IHSA Regional Championship in the school’s almost 100 year history.   The magical season ended with a Sectional Championship loss to the always powerful Oak Park River Forest High School.

Coach Szukala continues to teach Physical and Driver Education at Lane Tech and will begin a Master’s program in School Leadership this spring.   He and his wife Shannon, are the proud parents of  three children: Griffin, Sydney, and Logan .

2007-2008 Outlook:

Although last season’s team graduated six starters, including four in the pitching rotation, the Indians will look to get off to a “fast” start as Coach Szukala feels this is one of the fastest teams Lane has ever assembled.   Speed and overall team defense are the main strengths the 2008 Indians possess.   The biggest question mark will be the overall pitching depth.

Expectations:

The expectations for Lane Tech Baseball are as high as ever.   Having won the Super Conference the last seven years in a row, the Indians expect to be the leader of the conference again.   With a heartbreaking loss in the City Championship last Spring, the Indians hope to regain the title this season.   The Indians also have higher expectations in terms of the IHSA State play-offs.  

 
 

Scott Bischoff ~ Varsity Hitting and Infield Instructor

Scott Bischoff joined the Lane Tech staff during the 1996 season. Prior to Lane Tech. Previously, he coached at St. Benedict's and Taft High School. He also coached basketball at St. Benedict's, St. Patrick’s and Ridgewood High School in Norridge..

Coach Bischoff has been fortunate enough to have won three straight city championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998 as the head coach of the sophomore team.  He has been honored twice, in 1996 and 1998, by the Chicago Public School System as the Sophomore Coach of the Year.  His last season with Lane Tech was to be in 1999.  At the time, he had friendships with the head baseball and basketball coaches at Lane and he was always willing to come back to Lane to lend them a hand. These friendships kept him coming back to Lane; among those associates that he did not hestitate to assist was Head Coach Jeff Szukala.

Coach Bischoff has been a huge part of the success of Lane Tech’s baseball program and Lane Tech is grateful to have such a dedicated coach on staff.
 

Justin Stringer ~ Varsity Pitching Coach

Justin Stringer is the varsity pitching coach. He was born and raised in Chicago where he learned to play baseball at such programs as Warren and Horner Park.  He attended Lane Tech High School, and in 1994, led his baseball team to its first City Title since 1972.  He continued on to Northern Illinois University and was a member of the 1996 MCC Championship Team.  He pitched for NIU from 1996-2000.

Justin has served as the pitching coach for Lane Tech since 2001. The program has sent over 35 players to play at college programs around the area. Justin is also the Health and Physical Education teacher at Scammon Elementary in Chicago, where he serves as the head basketball coach and athletic director. Justin currently lives in Chicago with his wife Nancy and son Justin Thomas.
 

Brian Telles ~ Varsity Hitting and Infield Instructor

Baseball and Lane Tech are two institutions that sit close to Brian Telles’ heart. Having played Lane Tech baseball from 1988-1991 under the venerable Jerry Szukala, Coach Telles answered the Indian war cry and returned to Lane in 1998 as an assistant freshmen coach and for 10 years has served the Lane Tech Baseball Program in many capacities.

At Lane, Coach Telles lettered in baseball and won All City honors as a second basemen his senior year. After graduating he played 2 more years at the collegiate level at Oakton Community College. In 2002, upon completion of his Bachelor’s Degree in English and Secondary Education at Northeastern Illinois University, he returned to Lane as a teacher of English where he serves as the editor of Lane’s literary magazine and the coach of the poetry slam team.

 Coach Telles served as both assistant and head coach for the Lane sophomore and freshmen baseball teams as well as a year as a little league coach at Hamlin Park. In 2005, Coach Telles played a small role as the varsity hitting coach during the historic run as the first IHSA Regional Champion in the school’s almost 100 year history. He has also coached volleyball at both the college and high school levels.

Coach Telles continues to teach Creative Writing and Alpha English at Lane Tech and will once again coach on the varsity level as the hitting and infield instructor in 2008. In addition, he will begin a Master’s program in English this spring.  He and his lovely wife Sandy are the proud parents of four beautiful children: Elia, Alec, Arianna and Roman.
 
 

Art Harris ~ Sophomore Head Coach

Coach Art Harris has been with Lane Tech for two years and was appointed Head Coach of the Sophomore Team for the 2008 season.  Coach Harris has added to the Lane Tech winning tradition baseball program by taking the 2007 Freshmen to their 7th straight City Championship.

Coach Harris comes to Lane from just over the river, Gordon Tech High School, where he coached for two years.  He brings to Lane Tech nineteen years of coaching experience from the Elite Travel Team Champions to coaching High School programs. Coach Harris has coached players that have gone to play at the college level and beyond.  He’s been named Head Coach of the Year, having a near perfect season (48-2).   Coach Harris is currently a member of the ABBC and Certified with the Illinois Coaches Association.
 

Matt Meyers, Head Freshman Coach

Coach Meyers is in his second year coaching at Lane Tech and first year as the head freshman coach.  Previously, Meyers was the head sophomore coach at Mather High School for 4 years.  His last year at Mather, he led the sophomore team to the final four of the city playoffs before losing to eventual champ Whitney Young.  Last year, Meyers was an assistant coach with the freshman as the team took its seventh straight city championship with a win over Morgan Park.

Meyers graduated from Vermillion High School in Vermillion, SD where he played legion ball as a catcher, winning a state championship his senior year.  He got his undergraduate degree in English Education from South Dakota State University in 1999 and earned his Master’s degree in School Counseling from New York University in 2001.  He is a guidance counselor at Lane Tech High School.
 

Ben Fraga, Assistant Freshman Coach

Coach Fraga is a Guidance Counselor at Lane Tech and is in his fifth year on the Lane baseball staff. Fraga is originally from Iowa City, where he graduated from the University of Iowa.  He received Master’s degrees from Arizona State University and Northeastern Illinois University.
 
Number
Last
First
Year
Position
Bats/Throws
           
2
Nunez
Anthony
2009
OF
R/R
3
McElhaney
Brendan
2009
UTL
R/R
4
Gonzalez
Mario
2008
2B
R/L
5
Rodriguez
Rafael
2008
UTL
R/R
6
Munoz
Damaso
2008
RHP
R/R
7
Lopez
Abel
2009
OF
R/R
8
Glaesser
James
2008
OF/RHP
R/R
9
Barrett
Donatello
2008
OF
R/R
11
Calderone
Antonio
2008
RHP
R/R
13
Botello
David
2008
SS
R/R
14
Rossi
Nick
2009
1B
L/L
15
Rohlfs
Jensen
2010
LHP/OF
L/L
16
Abbey
Esteban
2009
2B
R/R
18
Lozada
Steven
2009
OF
L/L
21
Babilonia
Dominic
2009
RHP
R/R
22
Alvarado
Nathan
2010
RHP
R/R
23
Acevedo
Jonathon
2010
RHP
R/R
24
Bruce
Kristopher
2009
C/UTL
R/R
25
Gora
Robert
2009
RHP
R/R
26
DeJesus
Hiram
2008
OF
R/R
27
Feliciano
William
2010
3B
R/R
29
Cortez
Edgar
2009
RHP
R/R
30
Huber
Kyle
2010
1B/LHP
L/L
33
Pagan
Noel
2009
C
R/R
35
Montalvo
Jose
2009
C
R/R
45
Quiles
Nick
2009
RHP
R/R
49
Moran
William
2009
RHP
R/R
 
The Lane Tech Baseball Booster Club (a non-profit organization, 501(c)3) is a group of people - fans, friends, parents, and coaches - whose single purpose is to support the Lane Tech baseball teams every way we can. One of the primary ways we can do this is to make sure that the baseball program is as well-funded as possible. Join us!
As a team, we can do amazing things.