It was announced today that Drew Dickinson was named University of Illinois baseball pitching coach.
Dickinson’s impressive credentials do him justice. While playing for the Illini, he earned two All-American awards and was conference Pitcher of the Year. After a seven year pro career (reaching as high as AA ball), he was volunteer assistant coach for the Illini in 2009 and 2011. In between during the 2010 season, he was pitching coach for the independent Northern League Schaumburg Flyers.
Coach Hartleb seems to think highly of his new staff member:
“I’m extremely happy to be able to bring Drew on our staff full time. He has a great baseball mind and is great at connecting with our players because of his infectious energy. I really believe that he will help us build on our success from this past year and become a perennial NCAA tournament contender.”
The move isn’t too surprising. With the departure of previous pitching coach Ken Westray and Dickinson waiting in the wings, the move was pretty obvious. That said, I’m happy Drew is on board. He seems to have a good rapport with the players and like Coach Hartleb says. he has a good head for baseball.
Congrats Drew!