Head Coach Dan Hartleb Associate Head Coach Eric Snider Assistant Coach Ken Westray Volunteer Assistant Coach Drew Dickinson..

Transcription

1 Head Coach Dan Hartleb Associate Head Coach Eric Snider Ken Westray Volunteer Drew Dickinson.. 54 Manager Michael Schroeder Manager Tom Kirby Support Staff

2 Dan Hartleb Head Coach // Fourth Year Dan Hartleb enters his fourth season as head coach at and 19th season on the Illini coaching staff. Hartleb coached under Hall of Fame coach Richard Itch Jones for 17 years, two at Southern and 15 at. The Hartleb File Born Feb. 15, 1966 Hometown Hamilton, Ohio Family Wife, Gina; Children, Zak and Haley Education John A. Logan CC, 1986, A.S. Southern, 1989 B.S., Advertising Southern, 1996 M.S., Higher Educational Administration Coaching Experience Southern Graduate Assistant After spending the first 10 years of his tenure at as the pitching coach, Hartleb earned the additional title of associate head coach in 2001, coordinating many administrative duties associated with the Illini baseball program. Following the 2005 Big Ten Championship season, Jones retired and Hartleb was hired as the 10th coach in 130 years of Baseball. Hartleb has guided the Illini to the Big Ten Tournament in all three of his seasons at the helm, giving the Orange and Blue four consecutive postseason appearances and 10 in the last 13 years. During his time with the Illini, Hartleb has been instrumental in recruiting and developing 44 players who have signed minor league contracts, including two in 2008, four in 2007 and seven in 2005, with seven former Illini reaching the major leagues. In addition, 24 former players have earned All-America honors on 42 different teams and seven Illini freshmen have been named to Freshmen All-America teams. Three of Hartleb s pitchers have been named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and has produced four Big Ten Players of the Year, along with 26 first-team All-Big Ten selections. The Illini also have achieved a great deal of success in the classroom in Hartleb s three years as head coach, earning the NCAA s Public Recognition Award for the secondstraight season in 2008, an honor bestowed on the highestachieving schools in the NCAA s Academic Progress Rate (APR). also has ranked in the 90th percentile of all baseball programs in the last four seasons and posted a 3.13 team grade-point average in the Fall 2008 semester, with 27 of 35 players boasting a GPA of 3.0 or better. Hartleb at a Glance At v 44 professional players v 24 All-Americans v Recognition on 42 All-America teams v 7 Freshman All-Americans v 4 Big Ten Players of the Year v 3 Big Ten Pitchers of the Year v 2 Big Ten Medal of Honor winners v 26 first team All-Big Ten selections Associate Head Coach 2006-Present Head Coach As the pitching coach at from , Hartleb produced an All-American pitcher in five consecutive seasons from and three of the four Big Ten Pitchers of the Year from Brett Weber started the run when he earned All-America status and won Pitcher of the Year honors in 1998 and closer Jimmy Journell followed suit with All-America honors of his own in Jason Anderson picked up the streak in 2000, taking home both All-America and Pitcher of the Year honors after posting a 14-3 record that season. Andy Dickinson kept it alive with All-America honors in 2001 and 02 and Pitcher of the Year accolades in 01. But Hartleb has not simply been a pitching coach. He also has helped recruit and develop many top Illini players, including infielder Chris Basak, catchers Chris Robinson v 84 All-Big Ten honorees v 122 Academic All-Big Ten performers Career v 56 professional players v 25 All-Americans v 89 All-Conference selections and Lars Davis, and infielder Bubba Smith. After three years under Hartleb s tutelage, Robinson became the highest-drafted position player in history when he was selected in the third round of the 2005 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Detroit Tigers. Davis nearly matched Robinson in the 2007 draft when he was taken in the third round by the Colorado Rockies, but 12 picks later overall. 50 // 2009 Baseball

3 Hartleb has sent a number of former Illini hurlers to the professional ranks following their collegiate careers. Weber, Anderson and Jimmy Conroy all entered the New York Yankees farm system, and Anderson has spent time in the big leagues with the Yankees, New York Mets and Cleveland Indians after spending only three years in the minors. Jimmy Journell earned his first Major League appearance with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2003, less than three months after Anderson s big-league debut. Journell was the Cardinals 2001 Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Mitch Walk, who was the Pitcher of the Year for the class-a San Jose Giants in 2001, pitched for from and advanced to Double-A Norwich in Matt Vorwald was drafted in the seventh round by the Minnesota Twins in June of Andy Dickinson was drafted by the Oakland A s in June of 2002 and advanced to the A s Double-A Midland RockHounds in Dave Mazurek and Justin Olson added their names to the list in 2003, as the former All-Big Ten closer signed a free agent deal with the Texas Rangers and Olson joined the Minnesota Twins organization. Mazurek played for the high class-a Lynchburg Hillcats, a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate, in 2005, and Olson played for the Minnesota Twins Double-A affiliate in Conroy was drafted in the 19th round by the New York Yankees in 2005 and won a New York- Penn League title with the class-a Staten Island Yankees that fall. Other pros who have pitched under Hartleb at include 1999 Chicago Cubs draft pick Tim Lavery, 1998 Anaheim Angels signee Cody Salter, 1997 Houston Astros pick Brian Hecht, 1993 St. Louis Cardinals draftee Matt Arrandale, Mark Dressen and Jake Toohey. Hartleb, a former catcher himself, also has been instrumental in creating a catcher tradition at. In addition to the recent high selections of Robinson and Davis, catchers Patrick Arlis and Aaron Nieckula had their names called during the two-day draft. Arlis was selected in the 11th round of the 2002 draft by the Florida Marlins and, four years earlier, the A s took Nieckula in the 22nd round of the 1998 draft. Following a five-year minor league career, Nieckula became the manager of the Kane County Cougars in 2006 and led the A s class-a affiliate to the Midwest League championship series. In addition to developing batteries throughout the years, Hartleb also has helped bring some of the top recruiting classes in the nation to Champaign in recent years. Anderson turned down a sixth-round offer from the Kansas City Royals in 1997 to attend after being recruited by Hartleb, and James Morris, a 23rd-round draft pick by the Cincinnati Reds in 2005, turned down a draft offer from the Anaheim Angels in 2001 to do the same. Hartleb s 1994 recruiting class, which included the core of the 1998 Big Ten championship team, also will go in the books as one of the finest classes ever recruited to. Hartleb began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at Southern University in A two-year letterwinner at SIU, Hartleb finished his playing career with a.305 batting average. As a senior, Hartleb appeared in 56 contests as a catcher. Hartleb transferred to Southern from John A. Logan Community College, where he was a junior college all-star catcher. At Hamilton High School in Hamilton, Ohio, Hartleb was a standout athlete in both baseball and football. He was inducted into Hamilton High School s Hall of Fame in February Hartleb s Career Coaching Record Year School Overall Conf. NCAA Postseason 1989 So th-MVC 1990 So st-MVC NCAA Regionals (2-2) th-Big Ten rd-Big Ten th-Big Ten th-Big Ten th-Big Ten nd-Big Ten rd-Big Ten st-Big Ten NCAA Regionals (3-2) rd-Big Ten rd-Big Ten NCAA Regionals (1-2) th-Big Ten th-Big Ten th-Big Ten th-Big Ten st-Big Ten Head Coach Year School Overall Conf. NCAA Postseason th-Big Ten th-Big Ten th-Big Ten Head Coaching Record: (3 years) (.529) ing Record: (17 years) (.563) Total Division I Coaching Record: (20 years) (.558) Akron Baylor Blackburn Bradley Central Conn. St Cornell Dartmouth Eastern Eastern Kentucky Greenville Chicago State Indiana Indiana State Iowa Jacksonville State Judson Kansas Lamar Louisiana-Lafayette UMBC Massachusetts Miami (OH) Michigan Michigan State Minnesota Missouri Northern Iowa Northwestern Notre Dame Ohio State Penn State Purdue Robert Morris Saint Louis St. Xavier Sam Houston State Stephen F. Austin Stetson South Florida Southern Texas-Arlington Texas-Pan American Texas-San Antonio Texas A&M Texas State Vermont Western Carolina Western Western Michigan Yale Bold indicates 2009 opponent A 1989 graduate of SIU with a B.S. in advertising, Hartleb received his M.S. in higher educational administration from SIU in May He and his wife, Gina, were married in December 1993 and reside in Champaign with their children, Zakary David and Haley Noel Baseball // 51

4 Eric Snider // 11th Year The Snider File Born May 24, 1964 Hometown Waterloo, Iowa Family Wife, Holly; Children, Jacob, Noa and Jenna Education Kirkwood Community College, 1984, A.S. Northern Iowa, 1987 B.S., P.E. and Coaching Austin Peay State, 1993 M.S., Health and P.E. Coaching Experience University of Iowa Graduate Assistant Champaign County Colts Manager Austin Peay State Waterloo Bucks GM/Head Coach Eric Snider was named Associate Head Coach on Oct. 13, 2008, in recognition of his 10 years of excellence on the Fighting Illini staff. The promotion comes on the heels of the 2008 season, during which he helped lead the Illini to one of the finest offensive seasons in school history. Snider handles hitting instruction, third-base coaching duties and works with the Illini infielders and outfielders. He also directs the off-season conditioning program for the entire squad, is instrumental in recruiting for the Fighting Illini and is in charge of placing the Illini in summer leagues across the country. Snider has led the Illini offense to batting averages of better than.300 in eight of his 10 seasons, including a.335 mark in He also has coached the defense to fielding percentages of better than.960 in nine of his 10 years and marks over.965 in six campaigns. In addition, the Illini s 2008 offense broke school records for hits, runs, RBIs, doubles and walks in a Big Ten season, and fell just three stolen bases short of breaking that record in a conference season. Snider has been instrumental in aggressive offensive approach that includes a large number of stolen bases. The 2007 squad posted the most steals in a season in 25 years and thirdmost in school history, swiping 109-of-143 bags, and the Illini stole 101 bases in The school stolen bases record has been broken or tied in consecutive seasons, with Shawn Roof breaking it in 2007 by stealing 40-of-48 and Kyle Hudson tying Roof s mark in 2008 with 40-of-49 steals. For their careers, Hudson and Roof rank 2-3 in steals in school history with 66 and 65 steals, respectively. Overall during his tenure, Snider has guided four Illini to basestealing seasons that rank in the school s top-10: Hudson s 40 in 2008, Roof s 40 in 2007, Ryan Rogowski s 31 in 2005 and Roof s 25 in Four of the top six career steals totals by Illini in Big Ten action have been set under Snider, and he has overseen eight of the top 11 single-season efforts in conference play. Snider began his Illini tenure by recruiting three Freshman All- Americans in four years in Andy Schutzenhofer (2000), Drew Davidson (2002) and Eric Eymann (2003). Schutzenhofer was a four-time All-Big Ten honoree, finished in the career top-10 in 11 offensive categories, won the 2003 Big Ten Medal of Honor and signed a free agent contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. Davidson was the 2005 Big Ten Player of the year, ranks third on the career homers and sixth on the career total bases lists and was drafted by the San Diego Padres. Eymann hit.359 with a team-high 15 doubles and 71 hits en route to Freshman All- America and All-Big Ten second team honors in In 2008, Snider brought in Casey McMurray, who hit.331 on the way to becoming most recent Freshman All-American. Another member of the 2003 class who Snider recruited was not as heralded initially, but catcher Chris Robinson, a native of London, Ontario, Canada, became the highest-drafted position player in history when he was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the third round in He has since gone on to play for Canada in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and the 2008 Olympics. and being selected as the Big Ten Player of the Year. He then followed in Robinson s footsteps, being drafted in the third round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Colorado Rockies. In total, 18 position players have made the jump to professional baseball since Snider joined the staff. That list includes Jon Anderson, Chris Basak, Dan O Neill, Craig Marquie and D.J. Svihlik. Patrick Arlis joined that group after being drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 11th round of the 2002 draft. Three Illini position players signed as free agents in 2003, as center fielder Brandon Cashman inked a deal with Texas, Sean Patrick signed with Baltimore and Schutzenhofer joined the Cardinals. However, 2005 was the most fruitful for Illini in the draft during Snider s tenure as five position players were either drafted or signed free agent contracts. Robinson, Davidson and shortstop Toby Gardenhire had their names called in the 2005 draft, while first baseman Dusty Bensko and left fielder Ryan Rogowski inked free agent deals later in the summer. In 2007, two Fighting Illini position players were drafted and one more Illini signed a professional deal. Davis and Roof were selected during the two-day draft, while Mike Rohde signed a free agent contract. Hudson made the jump in 2008 as he was drafted in the fourth round by the Baltimore Orioles. Prior to joining the Illini, Snider was the head coach and general manager of the Waterloo Bucks, a summer collegiate league team that competes in the Northwoods League, from He compiled a record of (.644) over the four years and was twice named Northwoods League Manager of the Year. Snider was honored in 2004 for his contribution to the NWL by being named to the NWL All-Decade team. A two-year letterwinner at Northern Iowa, Snider finished his playing career with a.411 career batting average and 69 stolen bases in 72 attempts on the way to being a two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference selection. Snider transferred to Northern Iowa from Kirkwood Community College where he was a junior college All-American shortstop Present Associate Head Coach Snider struck gold once again with a catcher from north of the border when he brought in Alberta native Lars Davis to replace Robinson behind the dish. Davis exploded in the 2007 season, hitting.400, earning All-America honors by three organizations Snider and his wife, Holly, reside in Savoy with their sons, Jacob and Noa, and daughter, Jenna. 52 // 2009 Baseball

5 Ken Westray // Fourth Year Ken Westray begins his fourth season with the Illini as pitching coach. He oversees the development of the pitching staff and is instrumental in recruiting. He has coached All-Big Ten hurlers in each of the past two seasons and has helped bring some of the top pitchers in the state to Champaign. The Westray File Born May 7, 1959 Hometown Clinton, Ill. Education Eastern, 1983 B.S., Special Education Indiana State, 1987 M.S., Physical Education Coaching Experience 1984 Elgin (Ill.) Comm. College 1985 Graduate Assistant Indiana State Indiana State Player Development Philadelphia Phillies 2005-Present It is in that recruiting capacity where Westray has already proved his value to the Illini. In just his first full year of recruiting, he brought in righthander Nick Chmielewski, who was ranked 85th in the country in Baseball America s Class of This past season, he signed righthander Bryan Roberts, the No. 19 recruit in the state. Westray s efforts as pitching coach also have been fruitful recently, as he groomed a pair of All-Big Ten performers in the past two seasons. Tanner Roark was a secondteam All-Big Ten selection in 2007 after going 8-2 in 83 innings, and Kevin Manson earned third-team honors as well as All-Big Ten Tournament laurels after going 8-2 in 74 2/3 innings. Manson also tossed a complete-game in 3-2 win over Ohio State in the squad s Big Ten Tournament opener. Westray is a 10-year veteran of the Philadelphia Phillies organization, working in the club s player development system. He assisted with the development, both personally and athletically, of Phillies minor league players from Canada, Japan, Korea, Latin America and the United States. He also coached in the Florida Instructional League on three assignments. His connections within the majors also will be of benefit to the Illini, as Westray is in constant communication with professional colleagues employed in the scouting, development and major league levels of multiple professional organizations. Westray also assisted in the management of over 700 professional games and coordinated individual player development plans for athletes each year. While he was in player development with the Phillies, Westray coached many current Major League pitchers, including Seattle Mariners starter Carlos Silva, Houston Astros starter Ezequiel Astacio, Phillies starters Brett Myers, Randy Wolf and Robinson Tejeda and Phillies relievers Ryan Madson and Eude Brito. Westray also worked a full season with first-round draft picks Gavin Floyd, a right-hander, and Cole Hamels, a left-hander, who were both selected out of high school. Westray also has valuable college coaching experience from his stint as an assistant coach at Indiana State from During that time, he helped guide the Sycamores to the 1986 College World Series, three NCAA regional appearances and two Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championships. A graduate of Eastern University in 1983, Westray holds a B.S. in special education and earned an M.S. in physical education from Indiana State in He grew up in nearby Clinton, Ill. Following his career at Eastern, Westray was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 22nd round and played in that organization from , reaching AA in Memphis, Tenn. He also has coached baseball at Elgin (Ill.) Community College, Scottsdale (Ariz.) Community College and Mesa (Ariz.) Community College in his career Baseball // 53

6 Drew Dickinson Volunteer // First Year Michael Schroeder Manager // Fourth Year Drew Dickinson joins the Fighting Illini as a volunteer assistant for the 2009 season. Dickinson has played professionally for the past six years but returns to this season to assist the coaching staff and finish his degree. Dickinson is one of the best pitchers in history, earning third-team All-American honors by Collegiate Baseball and Big Ten Pitcher of the Year honors in 2001, and preseason All-American laurels in He shares the records for career wins and wins in a Big Ten season, and holds the record for innings pitched in a Big Ten season. In addition, he ranks third in career innings pitched and career strikeouts, and his 53 strikeouts in Big Ten play in both 2001 and 2002 are tied for the school record. Dickinson also holds the record for innings pitched in a Big Ten season with 63 in 2002, and his 148 Big Ten innings rank second in school history. He pitched 115 1/3 innings in 2001 third-most in school history and 114 2/3 in 2002 fourth-most in school history. He was a two-time first-team All-Big Ten selection and a 28th-round draft pick by the Oakland A s in He reached the double-a level with the A s, playing in their farm system until 2006, before playing for the Schaumburg Flyers and Gary SouthShore Railcats in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Tom Kirby Manager // First Year Tom Kirby is in his first season as a team manager for the Fighting Illini in A sophomore in finance, Kirby is responsible for filming the pitchers during practice. He also assists with setting up practice drills and stations, and with filming and charting pitches during games. Kirby, a Lemont, Ill., native, worked as a public relations intern for the Windy City Thunderbolts of the Frontier League during the 2006 season. He was in charge of organizing ingame promotional activities. Baseball Support Staff Kathy Hug Assistant Athletics Director Michael Schroeder begins his fourth season as the Fighting Illini team manager. Schroeder serves as the primary videographer for the squad, traveling with the team throughout the season. Schroeder, a senior in broadcast journalism, has worked with the team throughout his tenure at the university. He is in charge of filming every pitch of every game for use with the team s digital scouting system. He also oversees usage of the team s PalmScout software during games, which charts the type, location and velocity of every pitch that is thrown. The program then generates reports that are used to evaluate the Fighting Illini pitching staff. In addition, Schroeder is invaluable to the coaching staff in practice preparation, as he sets up the necessary drills and stations the team will be using that day. A native of Bloomington, Ill., Schroeder worked as a public relations intern for the Bloomington Extreme of the United Indoor Football League during the summer of He was the public relations intern for the Madison Mallards of the Northwoods League during the summer of 2008, where he wrote game recaps, prepared pregame notes and assisted with player contracts. Schroeder also writes a regular blog for FightingIllini.com, the official website of athletics, during both the spring season and fall practice. James Morton Asst. Athletics Director Event Management Brian Amentt Assistant Ticket Manager John Birdsell Equipment Manager Shari Clapp Academic Advisor Matt Fitterer Athletic Trainer Mary Gallagher Office Manager Ryan Marker Strength and Conditioning Kelly O Neill Asst. Marketing Director 54 // 2009 Baseball