Illinois State Redbirds baseball

The Illinois State Redbirds baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Illinois State University in Normal, IL. The team competes at the Division I level of the NCAA and is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Illinois State Redbirds Baseball
2024 Illinois State Redbirds baseball team
Founded1890
UniversityIllinois State University
Head coachSteve Holm (6th season)
ConferenceMissouri Valley
LocationNormal, Illinois
Home stadiumDuffy Bass Field
(Capacity: 1,000)
NicknameRedbirds
ColorsRed and white[1]
   
NCAA Tournament champions
1969 (College Division)
NCAA Tournament appearances
2019, 2010, 1994, 1976
Conference tournament champions
2010, 1994

History

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The program's first year of competition was 1890. Fifteen players that played for Illinois State have made it to the MLB level.[2]

Illinois State in the NCAA Tournament

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Year Record Pct Notes
1976 1–2 .333 Mideast Regional
1994 0–2 .000 Midwest I Regional
2010 1–2 .333 Louisville Regional
2019 2–2 .500 Louisville Regional
TOTALS
4–8 .333

Stadium

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Illinois State plays at Duffy Bass Field, a 1,000-seat (1,200, including non-seating areas) facility located in the northwest corner of the university's campus in Normal, IL. The facility is named for the school's winningest baseball coach in its history.[3]

Head coaches

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Records are through the end of the 2021 season

Year(s) Coach Seasons W-L-T Pct
1909 George Binnewies 1 9–1 .900
1911–1923 Harrison Russell 13 27–54–1 .329
1924–1932 Clifford Horton 9 43–61 .414
1933–1946 Howard Hancock 14 120–112–2 .513
1947–1963 Harold Frye 17 224–207–2 .517
1964–1988 Duffy Bass 25 713–457–18 .600
1989–2002 Jeff Stewart 14 380–403–1 .485
2003–2009 Jim Brownlee 7 157–208 .430
2010–2014 Mark Kingston 5 173–102 .629
2015–2018 Bo Durkac 4 82-134 .380
2019–present Steve Holm 4 86–100 .462
Totals 11 coaches 114 seasons 2,007–1,830–24 .523

Redbirds in the Major Leagues

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= All-Star = Baseball Hall of Famer
Athlete Years in MLB MLB Teams
Ed Kinsella 1905, 1910 Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Browns
Buzz Capra 1971–1977 New York Mets, Atlanta Braves
Dave Bergman 1975, 1977-1992 New York Yankees, Houston Astros, San Francisco Giants, Detroit Tigers
Tom Wieghaus 1981, 1983-1984 Montreal Expos, Houston Astros
Paul Wagner 1992-1999 Pittsburgh Pirates, Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Indians
Dan Kolb 1999-2007 Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates
Matt Herges 1999-2009 Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians
Jason Karnuth 2001, 2005 St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers
Eric Eckenstahler 2002-2003 Detroit Tigers
Jason Pearson 2002-2003 San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals
Neal Cotts 2003-2009, 2013-2015 Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins
Jeremy Accardo 2005-2012 San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics
Brock Stewart 2016-Present Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins
Paul DeJong 2017–present St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox
Ryan Court 2019 Seattle Mariners

Taken from the 2020 Illinois State baseball media guide.[4]

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References

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  1. ^ Redbird Athletics Identity Manual (PDF). November 29, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2019.
  2. ^ https://goredbirds.com/documents/2020/3/2/2020_Virtual_Guide_Web.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  3. ^ Kindred, Randy. "Former ISU coaching icon dies". pantagraph.com. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
  4. ^ https://goredbirds.com/documents/2020/3/2/2020_Virtual_Guide_Web.pdf [bare URL PDF]