CSN hires Gorman’s Sheff as baseball coach

Chris Sheff didn’t sleep much Thursday night. But that’s a good thing.

“Usually when things are going well for me, I don’t sleep well,” Sheff said. “It’s when things aren’t going well that I tank out and sleep for 12 hours.”

Sheff, who coached Bishop Gorman to five straight Class 4A state baseball championships from 2006 to 2010, might not get a good night’s sleep for a while after the College of Southern Nevada announced him as its new baseball coach Friday.

Sheff, 39, replaces Tim Chambers, who left CSN in June to become UNLV’s coach after taking the Coyotes to the Junior College World Series for the second time.

Sheff was also named CSN’s athletic director. His hiring was approved by school president Michael Richards and is effective immediately.

“We want to continue what (Chambers) has done. Tim’s done a great job in developing this program,” said Sheff, a former outfielder in the Florida Marlins’ organization who never reached the major leagues.

Sheff said he isn’t too worried about handling the baseball side of things at CSN, but his new role as AD will also require him to oversee the Coyotes’ softball program.

“It’s not quite as in-depth as a major university where you have a tremendous amount of sports, but any time you’re running a program, it’s going to be a little bit of a step to take on,” Sheff said.

Under Sheff, Gorman finished ranked No. 2 nationally with a 35-4 record this year.

Sheff, who coached at Gorman for seven years, hopes to use his local prep ties to aid recruiting. The Coyotes’ 2010 recruiting class features eight signees from Southern Nevada, including Gaels pitcher and infielder Cory Welch.

“UNLV has been extremely active in the community, too, and there’s no reason why both these programs can’t be successful and lean on the talent we have in Nevada,” Sheff said. “There’s a good base of talent here for multiple clubs, and we’ll ... keep drawing on the talent in Nevada.”