Illinois baseball is starting out the year right. D1baseball.com has named Coach Dan Hartleb the Big Ten Coach of the Decade!
According to D1Baseball.com’s All Decade award-laden post:
There’s plenty of competition for this honor. Former Indiana coach Tracy Smith has a good argument but only coached half the decade in the Big Ten. Minnesota’s John Anderson led his program to three regionals, three Big Ten titles and one super regional, while Erik Bakich took Michigan to three regionals and one memorable trip to the CWS Finals, but no conference titles. Our vote goes to Hartleb, who guided the Illini to four regionals, two Big Ten titles and one super regional. Illinois’ 2015 season was one of the best in Big Ten history, as Hartleb’s club went 21-1 in the conference, 50-10-1 overall, earned a national seed and advanced to super regionals, where they were beaten by eventual national champion Vanderbilt. Entering the decade, Illinois hadn’t been to a regional since 2000, but Hartleb turned the program into a regular contender in the teens.
By my count, Coach Hartleb is 319-219-1 in regular season for the years 2010-2019. He suffered only one losing season (in 2017). Overall though, his performance improved as the decade continued with the obvious 2017 exception.
Coach Hartleb’s 2015 season was his biggest highlight. The team went 50-10-1 with an incredible 27 game win streak. Illinois was ranked as high as #2 nationally (but #1 in our hearts!). In the photo above, Coach Hartleb celebrates his 2015 Regional win against Wright State with Adam Walton (left) and David Kerian.
It doesn’t end there. Bren Spillane (2016-2018) was honored as the Designated Hitter of the Decade.
Why? Illinois fans will remember seeing a lot of these homerun balls go out of the park.
I remember thinking it was almost comical how Bren would come to the plate and “yep, there goes another one.” For the 2018 season, Bren Spillane hit 23 homeruns with a total of 60 rbis.
Then there was Tyler Jay (2013-2015). The highly touted relief pitcher was one of two Big Ten Relief Pitchers of the Decade. D1Baseball called Jay ” One of the most electric lefthanders in Big Ten history”.
Indeed, looking at the stats, no one can argue that. In three seasons, he collected 143 strikeouts in 128 2/3 innings with a 1.68 ERA. Jay was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year as a junior with a minuscule 1.08 mark.
Finally, Kevin Duchene (2013-2015) was named one of five Big Ten Starting Pitching Pitcher of the Decade. In that photo above, rain-soaked Kevin is clinching the 2015 Big Ten Championship against Nebraska.
Duchene had some pretty unreal numbers for a Big Ten pitcher. For his entire Illinois career, he was 24-4 with a 2.12 ERA.
Both Jay and Duchene contributed to the success of the 2015 Illinois baseball team which won the Big Ten Championship and got as far as the Super Regionals.
And that brings us back to Coach Dan Hartleb.
Yes, being a coach is about making a right moves on field. However, it is also about motivating your players and bringing a winning attitude both on and off the field.
Coach Dan Hartleb has done that consistently throughout this decade and I want to personally congratulate him.