NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball program is set to travel to Murray, Ky., for the 2026 Missouri Valley Conference Championship at Johnny Reagan Field at Taylor Family Park.
The Redbirds enter their sixth tournament appearance under head coach Steve Holm as the No. 6 seed and are set to take on No. 3 Murray State in the opening round on Wednesday, May 20. First pitch is slated for 3:00 p.m. and will be available to stream on ESPN+. In Illinois State's last five tournament opening contests, the Redbirds have posted a 3-2 record, including a 14-4 win in eight innings over Indiana State in last season's tournament at Duffy Bass Field.
Illinois State travels to the Bluegrass State following a series defeat to Michigan State to close out the regular season on Saturday, May 16. The Redbirds fell in the series finale with the Spartans 18-8 in eight innings Saturday afternoon at Jeff Ishbia Field in East Lansing, Mich.
In the defeat, Redshirt Sophomore Brayden Bakes broke the single-season hit record set by former Redbirds Owen Miller and Joe Aeilts after the Algonquin, Ill. native matched a career-best with four hits. Bakes became the first student-athlete in program history to surpass 90 hits in a single season with his performance on Saturday.
Bakes was one of nine Redbirds recognized by the MVC league office for All-MVC honors announced on Tuesday morning. He was joined by Junior Graham Mastros, Graduate Camden Karczewski, Junior Michael Addari, and Graduate Reece Clapp in earning All-MVC First Team accolades. Junior Luke Stulga received All-MVC Second Team honors, while Junior Ryan Bakes, Junior Michael Carrano Jr., and Redshirt Sophomore Carson Cormier were awarded All-MVC Honorable Mention honors.
The Racers return home to host the conference championship after clinching the No. 3 seed with a series victory over Evansville on Saturday, May 16. All-MVC Second Team pitcher Nic Schutte is expected to start for Murray State. The Louisville, Ky. native leads the Racers with a 4.28 ERA and 75 strikeouts across 75.2 innings pitched in 2026. Senior first baseman and All-MVC First Team honoree Luke Mistone headlines the Murray State offense with a .318 average with 76 hits and 56 RBIs this season.
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