# 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.

## History

The program's first year of competition was 1890. Fifteen players that played for Illinois State have made it to the Major League Baseball level.

## Illinois State in the NCAA Tournament

| 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

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.

## Head coaches

Records are through the end of the 2024 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 | 6 | 136–157 | .464 |
| Totals | 11 coaches | 116 seasons | 2,057–1,887–24 | .521 |

## Redbirds in the Major Leagues

| = 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, Kansas City Royals |
| Ryan Court | 2019 | Seattle Mariners |
Taken from the 2020 Illinois State baseball media guide.