Into the Hall

A lot can happen in a career over the span of four-plus decades.

For Lea Selvey, he found no shortage of success with countless stories of milestones, wins, losses, great times and uncomfortable situations.

But for him it was always about staying connected to the sport of baseball and cultivating relationships throughout his community and beyond.

Now the baseball community is paying its respects to him.

Selvey, the former Jay County High School baseball coach of 34 years, is being inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2026 on Friday.

“It’s really humbling to tell you the truth,” Selvey said. “I know several guys that I looked up to as a young coach and I thought, ‘Man, how do you ever get there?’

“I wasn’t sure I was ever going to get there, to be honest with you, but it truly is an honor. It’s humbling and I’m very grateful.”

Selvey got started with baseball at a young age, often playing with dad’s gear after practice. He then played for his dad, Don Selvey, at Redkey High School before getting the chance to play college ball at University of Evansville.

He became an assistant coach under Ted Habegger at Jay County in 1983.

Selvey took over for Habegger in 1988 and led the Patriots for 34 seasons with no shortage of success. During his tenure, he went 526-351 (59.9%) to be the all-time wins leader at JCHS, led the Patriots to three regional championships and seven sectional championships and earned six conference titles. Five of the conference titles came in the Olympic Conference, which also named him the coach of the year three times, and the final was as a part of the Allen County Athletic Conference.

He retired from Jay County in 2022 but came back to coaching for Delta High School, originally under Devin Wilburn and now assisting Jacob Van Pelt. In his time with the Eagles, the team has made two semi-state appearances.

While he has been a part of enough games to last a lifetime, it’s not specific scores that he remembers, but rather the small moments from career milestones and personal relationships he’s made over the years that have mattered more.

“If you asked me the score of a game, I probably couldn’t tell you,” Selvey said. “It’s the connections you make with people, from the groundskeepers, to the officials, to your own guys.”

While Selvey won’t be able to recite the scores to you, the most memorable games from his career came during his 300th, 400th and 500th wins.

Josh, his oldest son, was a part of his 300th win, while Kyle, his younger son, threw a no-hitter to claim his 400th victory. Selvey did note that the no-hitter made it feel more special because he was bound to get the 400th win at some point, but to have his son involved in such an intrinsic way. His 500th career victory caught him off guard. After the game he was flooded with support and a bevy of signs celebrating his milestone. Both his sons were a part of his coaching staff for that game.

“Those milestones of having either one or both of (my sons) was really neat,” Selvey said.

For every story Selvey has of a game he won, he has another for how it helped him or others grow as people. It has allowed him to see players at some of their most vulnerable moments and rise up out of adversity to succeed.

One example of this that immediately stood out to Selvey was a former player of his who was struggling with the health of his father. Right as the Patriots were getting on the bus, Selvey got to witness the kid share the news that his father didn’t have cancer and in turn hit a pair of home runs off of Delta to win the game.

It’s this personal side of baseball that has stuck with Selvey the most.

“My kids always joke about, ‘We can’t go anywhere without you knowing somebody,’” Selvey said. “I have been blessed to meet a lot of people and make these contacts that have lasted a lifetime.”

While success is no accident, Selvey credited the Portland and Jay County community for the success he has had over his career.

“But another thing that really stuck out for me was the community support,” Selvey said. “Me getting to the Hall of Fame is a reflection of this community. I couldn’t have done it without all the people of the community.

“I get the honor, I get the plaque, but when I get up there and take that plaque, it’s everybody here. Everybody who’s been a part of the program is a part of this honor.”

While Selvey will continue to help assist at Delta, he will now go down in history for the sport he loved.