Dominican University (IL) Men's Baseball

Hardman became the ninth head coach in Dominican University baseball history.  During his tenure as the Stars head coach, Hardman has guided the Stars to a pair of appearances in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Tournament and shattered a number of program records including wins when the Northern Illinois alum guided the Stars to 24 wins in 2014 and posted a program-best 3.79 earned run average.   In 2012, Hardmans first as a collegiate head coach, he led Dominican to a 21-22 overall record and an 11-11 mark in the NACC to claim the programs first trip to the NACC Tournament since the conference was founded in 2006.  The Hardman-led Stars went on to top Edgewood 6-5 to earn the programs first NACC Tournament victory.  Two years later, Hardman had the Stars within one win of the NACC Tournament final, winning back-to-back tournament games as the fifth seed.   In addition to the on-field success under Hardman, the Stars have had a similar success in the classroom.  Under Hardman, the Stars have raised their team GPA from a 2.8 in 2012 to a 3.1 in 2015 with a total of 34 scholar-athletes over a four-year period.  Hardmans players have received internships with Northwest Mutual, Morgan Stanley, WGIN and the Republican National Committee. Prior to coming to Dominican, Hardman spent the five seasons with the North Park University Vikings, serving as the associate head baseball coach. During his time with the Vikings, Hardman helped head coach Luke Johnson rebuild the North Park baseball program, climbing from 14 wins in Hardmans first season to 30 wins and a share of the 2011 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) regular season championship. With the Vikings, Hardman has worked with 26 All-CCIW athletes including 13 All-Region selections as well as a conference pitcher of the year. In addition to the athletic success the Vikings experienced since Hardmans arrival, the program grew the roster from 28 in 2007 to 40 in 2011 with Hardman serving as the departments athletic admission recruiter. While growing the roster, the baseball team grade point average climbed from 2.3 to 3.1. Prior to his stint at North Park, Hardman cut his teeth at North Central College, where he spent four seasons with the Cardinals baseball program as an assistant coach. Additionally, Hardman spent three summers as the head coach of the Glen Ellyn Jam of the Chicago-Metro Collegiate Summer League. In 2006, the Jam finished as the runner-up in the AAABC tournament in Johnstown, Penn., under Hardman. As a collegiate player, Hardman played at nearly every level, beginning his career at Division III Loras College where he went 8-1 as a starting pitcher for the Duhawks and was named the team's . Hardman then transferred to Illinois Valley Community College where he garnered Rawlings/ABCA All-America honors in 1999. Hardman then finished his collegiate career at Division I Northern Illinois University where he was a two-year letterwinner for the Huskies. After college, Hardman pitched professionally for three seasons with three teams in the Frontier League, the Cook County Cheetahs, the Rockford River Hawks and the Kenosha Mammoths.   Hardman currently resides in Park Ridge with his wife, Sarah and twins Colton (5) and Tessa (5). In July of 2011, Steve Hardman became the ninth head coach in Dominican University baseball history.  During his tenure as the Stars head coach, Hardman has guided the Stars to a pair of appearances in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Tournament and shattered a number of program records including wins when the Northern Illinois alum guided the Stars to 24 wins in 2014 and posted a program-best 3.79 earned run average.   In 2012, Hardmans first as a collegiate head coach, he led Dominican to a 21-22 overall record and an 11-11 mark in the NACC to claim the programs first trip to the NACC Tournament since the conference was founded in 2006.  The Hardman-led Stars went on to top Edgewood 6-5 to earn the programs first NACC Tournament victory.  Two years later, Hardman had the Stars within one win of the NACC Tournament final, winning back-to-back tournament games as the fifth seed.   In addition to the on-field success under Hardman, the Stars have had a similar success in the classroom.  Under Hardman, the Stars have raised their team GPA from a 2.8 in 2012 to a 3.1 in 2015 with a total of 34 scholar-athletes over a four-year period.  Hardmans players have received internships with Northwest Mutual, Morgan Stanley, WGIN and the Republican National Committee. Prior to coming to Dominican, Hardman spent the five seasons with the North Park University Vikings, serving as the associate head baseball coach. During his time with the Vikings, Hardman helped head coach Luke Johnson rebuild the North Park baseball program, climbing from 14 wins in Hardmans first season to 30 wins and a share of the 2011 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) regular season championship. With the Vikings, Hardman has worked with 26 All-CCIW athletes including 13 All-Region selections as well as a conference pitcher of the year. In addition to the athletic success the Vikings experienced since Hardmans arrival, the program grew the roster from 28 in 2007 to 40 in 2011 with Hardman serving as the departments athletic admission recruiter. While growing the roster, the baseball team grade point average climbed from 2.3 to 3.1. Prior to his stint at North Park, Hardman cut his teeth at North Central College, where he spent four seasons with the Cardinals baseball program as an assistant coach. Additionally, Hardman spent three summers as the head coach of the Glen Ellyn Jam of the Chicago-Metro Collegiate Summer League. In 2006, the Jam finished as the runner-up in the AAABC tournament in Johnstown, Penn., under Hardman. As a collegiate player, Hardman played at nearly every level, beginning his career at Division III Loras College where he went 8-1 as a starting pitcher for the Duhawks and was named the team's . Hardman then transferred to Illinois Valley Community College where he garnered Rawlings/ABCA All-America honors in 1999. Hardman then finished his collegiate career at Division I Northern Illinois University where he was a two-year letterwinner for the Huskies. After college, Hardman pitched professionally for three seasons with three teams in the Frontier League, the Cook County Cheetahs, the Rockford River Hawks and the Kenosha Mammoths.   Hardman currently resides in Park Ridge with his wife, Sarah and twins Colton (5) and Tessa (5).

Bryce Skelton joined the Stars coaching staff prior to the 2018 season as a part-time assistant coach before being elevated to full-time in July of 2020. Skelton comes to Dominican University after a successful playing career at fellow NACC institution Lakeland University. Since joining the staff, Skelton has mentored a pair of All-Conference and All-Region hitters as the Star's hitting coach. Skelton was a four-year starting catcher for the Muskies, leading the team in home runs and runs scored during his junior and senior seasons. The Wisconsin native also paced the team in doubles and slugging percentage during his junior campaign before leading Lakeland in triples and on-base percentage during his senior year.                                                           Following his playing career at Lakeland, Skelton spent a season with the Roswell Invaders, a professional independent league baseball team in the Pecos League.   In addition to his playing background, Skelton had served as Director of Operations for the Illinois Travel Baseball Club and a catching/hitting instructor at Playball USA