Meyer joins Kristy Knight (softball), Porter Reddish (cross country), Dana Swenson (boys volleyball) and Adam Hickman (boys lacrosse) as part of a June hiring spree. Meyer replaces Derrick Thomas after two seasons, including an 8-17 finish following the state playoffs in May.

It’s quite a homecoming for Meyer, too. Originally born in South Africa, Meyer and his family moved to Syracuse before starting high school at Northridge, where Meyer starred as an All-State outfielder, as well as a linebacker for longtime coach Fred Fernandes, who’d win three state championships with the Knights from 2000 to 2002.

In addition to his playing career, Meyer has 10 years-plus experience as a sports performance instructor and 5,000-plus hours as a professor. Meyer holds a doctorate in sports management and a master’s in sports and health science.

Meyer first picked up a baseball at the age of 13 and such symbolism couldn’t better capture the role ahead of him as the Titans’ next coach. Meyer will serve as the team’s coach in conjunction with his role as a management analyst at Hill Field Air Force Base.

“Davis County, people just tend to find their way back here,” Meyer said. ” In ’02, (Syracuse) still felt like a small town. There were onion fields everywhere. … Just working with the youth is what I love the most. Having been a sports performance coach, I’ve worked youth detention for a couple years way back when — it’s the most important age in a human being’s life.”

Upon graduating, Meyer was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 2002 MLB Draft upon beginning his junior college career at Dixie State, now known as Utah Tech since 2022. It’ll be the first head coaching gig for Meyer, who’s patiently waited for such circumstances to sync up.

The departure of Thomas, who’s set to join Rob Reisbeck’s staff at Layton (Thomas’ brother, Trevor Thomas, serves as head football coach at Layton), opened a window for Meyer to step back into a community he holds close to heart.

“When this job opened up, that was the icing on the cake,” Meyer said. “When I saw that (opening), I threw my hat in the ring immediately because Syracuse means a lot to me. I love the people here, love the community here. We never thought we’d be lucky enough to buy home in this location and call Syracuse our permanent stomping ground.”

Meyer met with Derrick Thomas — a former teammate during their prep days — on Tuesday for the first time since either was still sporting a letterman’s jacket.

The chance to carry on a program at Syracuse, where Meyer has a mutual friendship in Troy Brown, the school’s athletic director, was enough for Meyer to put his name in the pool.

“This is a great platform to do that,” Meyer said. “This is another opportunity, here in my favorite community I’ve lived in, to have an impact on those young men.”

Syracuse met a swift exit against Davis in the super regional portion of the 6A state playoffs earlier in May. Syracuse seniors Easton Hamblin, Dominic Johnatakis, Caleb Wilson and Bronx Manning all participated in the Utah High School Baseball All-Star Games last week in Ogden.

A “meet-the-coach” event is tentatively scheduled for Monday, June 16, at Syracuse High School.

Hickman tabbed for boys lax

In addition to Meyer, Syracuse promoted Adam Hickman to head boys lacrosse coach on Tuesday following Jonah Warnick’s departure from the program.

After two seasons as an assistant to former coach Jonah Warnick, Hickman steps into the lead role following a 5-15 finish in Warnick’s final season as head coach. Hickman’s served as a key member of the Syracuse Youth Lacrosse board for five years.

Hickman carries 10-plus years of lacrosse coaching experience from the East Coast to St. George, as well as playing credits at Utah Valley, where Hickman earned the D-II National Tournament MVP Award. Academically, Hickman earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering at BYU and a doctorate in aerospace and mechanical engineering at Notre Dame.

Other Northern Utah coach openings

Bonneville High School is searching for head coaches in baseball, boys wrestling and girls wrestling.

Roy High School is hiring head coaches for boys soccer and girls wrestling.

Bear River is searching for a head track and field coach.

Connect with sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.