NORMAL, Ill. – Illinois State head baseball coach Bo Durkac and the Redbird baseball team opened fall baseball practices on Monday as they prepare for the 2015 season. The team will practice in small groups before coming together for team practices Sept. 8.
"It's an exciting time of year for coaches, especially when you have new coaches," said Durkac, who was named head coach June 19 after serving as an assistant at ISU for the past five seasons. "Both the new coaches and I want to see what our new guys look like. Especially after having recruited them, you want to see what they look like on Duffy Bass Field."
Durkac welcomed back 17 returning players from the 2014 team that posted a 33-22 overall record and advanced to the title game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. Durkac also welcomes in 17 players new to the program, as well as an all-new coaching staff.
Mike Stalowy returns as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator after a successful playing career at Illinois State and a recent stint as an assistant at Valparaiso, while Michael Kellar joins the staff as pitching coach from Siena. Ryan Copeland and Clint Stroud will serve as student assistants.
Durkac stressed that what his team does in the fall directly impacts its performance in the spring.
"This is the best way to evaluate our guys and project them for the spring," he said. "We keep stats – and that's no guarantee that the players with the best stats will play – but we want to see the pitchers pitch and the hitters hit."
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