Eastern Illinois University Men's Baseball

Follow on Twitter - @pitchn09 & EIU_Baseball Eastern Illinois * Hired as 13th head baseball coach at Eastern Illinois on June 24, 2015 * Begins 11th season as head coach in 2026, 13th season as a coach at EIU * Won first career game as a head coach on March 5, 2016 with 10-8 (12 inning win) over No. 12 Arkansas * Won 100th career game as head coach on March 7, 2021 with 14-7 win over Kansas State giving EIU series win over Big 12 Conference team * Won 200th career game as head coach on April 13, 2024 with 13-4 win over SIUE * Won 100th OVC game as head coach on March 21, 2025 with 5-4 (11 inning win) over Lindenwood * Named Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 2025, team won 31 games and won OVC regular season title  * Coached team to 2025 OVC Regular Season Title (17-7) * Coached team to school record 38 wins during 2023 season winning OVC Tournament * Team played in third NCAA Regional as a Division I program in 2023 appearing at the Nashville (Vanderbilt Regional) * Has coached 12 first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference performers (Jimmy Govern 2017 & 2019), Christian Pena (2019), Trey Sweeney (2021), Ryan Ignoffo (2022 & 2023), Hayden Birdsong (2022), Zane Robbins (2023), Ky Hampton (2023), Lucas Loos (2024), Mike O'Conor (2025) and Tyler Kapraun (2025) * Coached OVC Player of the Year Trey Sweeney in 2021 * Coached All-American Trey Sweeney in 2021, third EIU NCAA Division I All-American selection (first, first-team selection at D1) * Coached All-American Jimmy Govern in 2019, second EIU NCAA Division I All-American selection * Coached Trey Sweeney, 2021 1st round MLB Draft Selection by New York Yankees (20th pick overall - EIU's 3rd highest draft selection in history) (MLB Debut in 2024) * Coached Will Klein, 2020 5th round MLB Draft Selection by Kansas City Royals (MLB Debut in 2024) * Coached Hayden Birdsong, 2022 6th round MLB Draft Selection by San Francisco Giants (MLB Debut in 2024) * Coached Ryan Ignoffo, 2023 20th round MLB Draft selection by the Miami Marlins * Had two players selected in 2019 MLB Draft (Michael YaSenka 17th round / Jimmy Govern 30th round) * Coached Academic All-American Lucas Loos (2024) * Has coached ten second-team All-OVC selections * Has coached eight All-OVC Freshman team selections * Coached OVC Freshman of the Year Chris Worcester (2022) * Coached Freshman All-American outfielder Grant Emme (2019) * Coached six ABCA All-Region selections, five on first team  * Has coached eight players who have been drafted or signed free agent contracts with major league clubs * Has coached ten players who signed professional contracts with independent league teams * Team posted 33 wins in 2022 season, most by EIU team since the 2001 season * Coached team to third straight winning season in 2022, first time by EIU baseball program since 1987-89 * Coached team to fourth straight winning season in 2023, first back-to-back 30-win seasons in program history * Team ranked fourth in NCAA in home runs in 2017 with 83  * Team ranked in top 50 in scoring offense in 2017 and 62nd in 2021 * Team ranked in the top 35 in NCAA in doubles in 2016 * Team ranked 41st in NCAA in strike outs per nine innings in 2019 * Team ranked 21st in batting average in the NCAA in 2019 * Team ranked in the top 50 for offense in scoring, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in 2019 * Team has posted top three fielding percentages in school history in 2021, 2022 and 2023 * Team ranked in EIU career top ten in 2023 for runs scored (418 - 4th), hits (592 - 3rd), doubles (109 - 7th), RBI (366 - 4th), walks drawn (286 - 1st), stolen bases (97 - 1st), innings pitched (518.0 - 1st), strike outs (418 - 4th), saves (14 - 4th) and shutouts (7 - 2nd) * Team led NCAA in sacrifice bunts during 2025 season with 72, ranked 17th in NCAA in triples  * Coached team to OVC Tournament appearances in 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 winning 2023 OVC Championship * Coached team to 8-6 record in shortened 2020 season, RPI of 60 (highest in OVC) * Coached team to 25-23 record in 2021 season giving EIU back-to-back winning seasons * Head coaching record at Eastern Illinois (240-258, 10 years ... 116-136 in OVC games) * Served as pitching coach for EIU team from 2013-16, had two pitchers selected in MLB Draft (Joe Greenfield / Matt Borens) Prior to Eastern Illinois * Assistant coach at Danville Community College 2010 * Assistant coach at University of Illinois, 2011-12 Personal * Pitched at University of Illinois from 1998-2000 * Big Ten Pitcher of the Year in 2000 * First Team All-American in 2000 * 10th round MLB Draft selection of New York Yankees in 2000 * Academic All-American honors in 1999 * Made Major League Debut in 2003 with the New York Yankees * Played in the Majors until 2010 seeing time with the Yankees, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres * Played the 2011 season with the Somerset Patriots * Bachelor's Degree from Illinois in 2012 * He and wife Brittany, have three children * Native of Danville, Ill. . School Year Overall Conference Other Eastern Illinois 2016 15-39 8-22 Eastern Illinois 2017 21-35 12-18 Eastern Illinois 2018 23-31 12-18 Eastern Illinois 2019 26-30 13-17 Eastern Illinois 2020 8-6 2-1 Season halted due to COVID-19 Eastern Illinois 2021 25-23 14-16 Eastern Illinois 2022 33-20 12-12 Eastern Illinois 2023 38-19 13-11 OVC Tournament Champions / NCAA Tournament  Eastern Illinois 2024 20-33 13-14 Eastern Illinois 2025 31-22 17-7 OVC Regular Season Champions EIU Record 10 Years 240-258 116-136 1 NCAA Tournament   

Follow on Twitter @CoachPugs and @EIU_Baseball Eastern Illinois * Begins fifth season on EIU baseball staff for 2026 season * Responsible for outfielders, assisting the offense, coaching first base and camp coordination * Helped coach team to third NCAA Tournament appearance in Division I program history (playing at Vanderbilt Regional in 2023) * Helped coach team to school record 38 wins and OVC Tournament Championship in 2023 * Helped coach team to OVC regular season title in 2025 (team posted 31 wins with 17-7 OVC record) * Team led the NCAA in sacrifice bunts during the 2025 season while ranking 17th in the NCAA in triples * Team led the OVC in batting average (.289), doubles, triples and runs scored during 2025 season * Coached three first team All-OVC players in Ryan Ignoffo (UTIL), Lucas Loos (SS), Mike O'Conor (3B) * Coached two team All-Region players Ryan Ignoffo and Lucas Loos (SS) * Coached Ryan Ignoffo, 20th round selection in 2023 MLB Draft by Miami Marlins * Coached second team All-OVC catcher Grant Lashure * Coached two All-OVC Newcomer selections * Coached Lucas Loos who set school single season home run record in 2024 * Team has posted top three fielding percentages in school history in 2021, 2022 and 2023 * Team ranked in EIU career top ten in 2023 for runs scored (418 - 4th), hits (592 - 3rd), doubles (109 - 7th), RBI (366 - 4th), walks drawn (286 - 1st), stolen bases (97 - 1st) Prior to Eastern Illinois * General Manager/Director of Player Development for the Illinois Travel Baseball Club (2014-2021)*  * Assistant Coach at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, IL (2020-2021) Personal * Native of Naperville, Illinois * Played baseball at Carthage College (2011-14)  

Eastern Illinois *Joined Eastern Illinois Baseball Staff in January 2026 *Responsible for catchers, assisting with the pitching staff, bullpen/dugout manager   Prior to Eastern Illinois *Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance at Rosemont College (2025) *Assistant Coach at Rosemont College (2024-25) *Served as Pitching Coach and Head Junior Varsity Coach *Assisted in Recruiting Pitchers and Junior Varsity players   Personal *Began collegiate career at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights, Illinois (2019-21)  *Finished college baseball career at Rosemont College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania (2022-24) *Three Time Academic All-Conference *Single Season Pitching Appearance Record of 21 at Rosemont College (2023) *Master's of Business Administration Degree from Rosemont College in 2024 *Pitched in Prague Baseball Week 2022 in Czech Republic *Pitched in Finkstonball Tournament 2025 in Austria *Native of Country Club Hills, Illinois