June 15, 2009
NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State head baseball coach Mark Kingston completed his coaching staff Monday by adding Bo Durkac and Billy Mohl, and retaining current Redbird assistant coach Mike Current. Along with Kingston, the first-year head coach who was officially named the Redbirds' skipper last week, the staff has a combined 933 wins and remarkable .600 winning percentage as assistants.
Durkac will serve as the Redbirds' hitting coach and recruiting coordinator, Mohl will mentor the Redbirds' pitching staff and Current will assist with hitting instruction and the fielders.
"This is an important day for Redbird baseball," Kingston said. "You cannot have a top-notch program without a first-rate staff. This staff has all the qualities that a head coach could want. These guys work extremely hard, are very intelligent, and truly care about the development of the student-athlete. Our players will love working with these coaches every day."
Durkac brings a wealth of knowledge to the batter's box after seven seasons of coaching the hitters at Charlotte and years of professional experience spanning the globe. Durkac's experience helped Charlotte to steady offensive increases each season, including a school-record .333 batting average in 2008.
Durkac's responsibilities included hitting instructor, infield/outfield defensive instructor and recruiting with the Niners. Charlotte produced a top-50 batting average in the nation in 2009 by hitting .322, a year after the school's record mark was 11th-best in the country. While at Charlotte, Durkac coached or recruited 36 all-conference selections, three All-Americans and three freshman All-America selections and helped the team to a 235-150-1 (.608) overall record.
Durkac played professionally for seven years with stops in Taiwan and Australia after starring collegiately at Virginia Tech. Durkac spent his freshman season at North Carolina where he was teammates with Kingston.
"Having Bo join our staff is an important step in elevating our program," Kingston said. "He is an extremely intelligent and talented coach. He takes tremendous pride in developing student-athletes and has had great success as both a player and coach. His work with the position players at Charlotte led to NCAA appearances and numerous professional draft picks. Our players will benefit greatly as a result of his addition."
Mohl attacked the strike zone as a pitcher and, as a result, won a lot of games. In three years as an assistant coach, he's helped his pitching staffs do the same. Mohl struck out 224 batters and walked just 57 while compiling a 25-7 overall record in four years at Tulane. In three years assisting at his alma mater, the Green Wave averaged 454 strikeouts and 187 walks per season and won more than 35 games per year.
The 2009 Green Wave staff issued 2.62 walks per nine innings, the eighth-stingiest mark in the nation, while Tulane starter Conrad Flynn posted the third-lowest mark with 0.72 walks per nine innings.
For the past two seasons, Mohl was responsible for assisting with the pitchers, hitters and outfielders, coaching first base and serving as the camp director for the Rick Jones Tulane Baseball Camp. A four-year letterman for Tulane from 2003-06, he was the team's student assistant during the 2007 season after turning down a professional contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, who drafted him in the 25th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft.
"I've known Billy since he was one of the top prospects in the country coming out of high school," Kingston, who recruited Mohl to Tulane, said. "He has a great passion for pitching and relates very well to student-athletes. He studies pitching and enjoys teaching it about as much as any coach I have been around. Our pitchers will definitely reach their potential as a result of working with him every day."
Current's hard work and persistent effort have led to steady gains for the Illinois State baseball program in the past four years. Since the Bloomington, Ill., native joined the Redbirds' coaching staff in 2006, Illinois State has seen its winning percentage increase in each consecutive season. That includes the team's first winning season and trip to the postseason in eight years during the 2009 campaign.
Current was promoted to assistant coach in September 2007, after spending two seasons as a volunteer assistant coach. As then-head coach Jim Brownlee's only full-time assistant in 2008, Redbird hitters improved in nearly every category from the 2007 season. The Redbirds continued an upward trend in 2009 as the team's batting average climbed.
"After working with Mike throughout the past year, it became a priority to keep him on staff," Kingston said. "He is very knowledgeable, and a tireless worker. He has a great future in this game and we are lucky to have him on this coaching staff."
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