coaching staff

COACHING STAFF
38 PROFESSIONAL PLAYERS • 22 ALL-AMERICANS
Head Coach Dan Hartleb . . . . .12-13
Assistant Coach Eric Snider . . . . . .14
Assistant Coach Ken Westray . . . . .15
Volunteer Assistant Brett Herbison 16
Support Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
2006 ILLINOIS BASEBALL
HEAD COACH DAN HARTLEB
D
Coaching Staff
an Hartleb begins his first season as
head coach at Illinois and 16th season on the Illini coaching staff.
Hartleb coached under Hall of Fame coach
Richard “Itch” Jones for 17 years, two at
Southern Illinois and 15 at Illinois.
THE HARTLEB
FILE
BORN:
FEB. 15, 1966,
IN HAMILTON, OHIO
HOMETOWN:
HAMILTON, OHIO
FAMILY:
WIFE, GINA;
CHILDREN, ZAK AND HALEY
EDUCATION:
HIGH SCHOOL: HAMILTON
HIGH SCHOOL (1984)
COLLEGE:
JOHN A. LOGAN (A.S., 1986)
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIV.
(B.S., ADVERTISING, 1989)
(M.S., HIGHER EDUCATIONAL
ADMINISTRATION, 1996)
COACHING EXPERIENCE:
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS
GRADUATE ASSISTANT
1989-90
ILLINOIS
ASSISTANT COACH
1991-2000
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH
2001-2005
HEAD COACH
2005-PRESENT
After beginning his tenure at Illinois as the
pitching coach, Hartleb earned the additional title of Associate Head Coach in 2001,
coordinating many administrative duties
associated with the Illini baseball program.
Following the 2005 Big Ten Championship
season, Jones retired and Hartleb was hired as
only the 10th coach in 127 years of Illinois
Baseball.
During his time with the Illini, Hartleb has
been instrumental in recruiting and developing 38 players who have signed minor league
contracts, including seven in 2005, with six
former Illini reaching the major leagues. In
addition, 22 former players have earned AllAmerica honors on 38 different teams and six
Illini freshmen have been named to Freshmen AllAmerica teams. Three of Hartleb’s pitchers have
been Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and Illinois has produced three Big Ten Players of the Year, along with
24 first team All-Big Ten selections.
As the pitching coach at Illinois, Hartleb produced
an All-American pitcher in five of the last eight seasons and three of the last eight Pitchers of the Year in
the Big Ten Conference. Brett Weber started the run
when he earned All-America status and won Pitcher
of the Year honors in 1998 and closer Jimmy
Journell followed suit with All-America honors of his
own in 1999.
Jason Anderson picked up the streak in 2000, taking
home both All-America and Pitcher of the Year honors after posting a 14-3 record that season, and Andy
Dickinson kept it alive with All-America honors in
2001 and ’02 and Pitcher of the Year accolades in
’01.
But Hartleb has not simply been a pitching coach.
He has also helped recruit and develop many top
Illini players, including infielder Chris Basak, catcher Chris Robinson and infielder Bubba Smith. After
three years under Hartleb’s tutelage, Robinson
became the highest-drafted position player in Illinois
history when he was selected in the third round of
the 2005 Major League Baseball First-Year Player
Draft by the Detroit Tigers.
Hartleb has sent a number of former Illini hurlers to
the professional ranks following their collegiate
careers. Weber, Anderson and Conroy all entered the
New York Yankees farm system, and Anderson has
spent the majority of the past three seasons in the big
leagues with the New York Yankees, New York Mets
and Cleveland Indians after spending only three
years in the minors.
HARTLEB
AT A
GLANCE
At Illinois:
• 38 professional players
• 22 All-Americans
• Recognition on 38 All-America teams
• 6 Freshman All-Americans
• 3 Big Ten Players of the Year
• 3 Big Ten Pitchers of the Year
• 2 Big Ten Medal of Honor winners
• 24 first team All-Big Ten selections
• 76 All-Big Ten honorees
• 94 Academic All-Big Ten performers
Career:
• 50 professional players
• 23 All-Americans
• 81 All-Conference selections
2005 BIG TEN CHAMPIONS
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2006 ILLINOIS BASEBALL
Andy Dickinson was drafted by the Oakland A’s in June of 2002 and
advanced to the A’s Double-A Midland RockHounds in 2005. Dave
Mazurek and Justin Olson added their names to the list in 2003, as
the former All-Big Ten closer signed a free agent deal with the Texas
Rangers and Olson joined the Minnesota Twins organization.
Mazurek played for the high class-A Lynchburg Hillcats, a Pittsburgh
Pirates affiliate, in 2005, and Olson pitched for the Minnesota Twins’
Double-A affiliate in 2005. Jimmy Conroy was drafted in the 19th
round by the New York Yankees in 2005 and won a New York-Penn
League title with the class-A Staten Island Yankees that fall.
Other pros who have pitched under Hartleb at Illinois include 1999
Chicago Cubs draft pick Tim Lavery, 1998 Anaheim Angels signee
Cody Salter, 1997 Houston Astros pick Brian Hecht, 1993 St. Louis
Cardinals draftee Matt Arrandale and Mark Dressen, who holds
Illinois’ career wins record.
HARTLEB’S CAREER
COACHING RECORD
Assistant Coach
Year
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
School
So. Illinois
So. Illinois
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois
Illinois
Overall
26-38
49-14
26-30
36-20
32-23
26-26
25-31
37-22
32-27
42-21
34-22
41-23
29-28
32-19
27-26
22-33
33-23-1
Conf.
6th-MVC
1st-MVC
7th-Big Ten
3rd-Big Ten
8th-Big Ten
7th-Big Ten
5th-Big Ten
2nd-Big Ten
3rd-Big Ten
1st-Big Ten
3rd-Big Ten
3rd-Big Ten
5th-Big Ten
6th-Big Ten
7th-Big Ten
9th-Big Ten
1st-Big Ten
Assistant Coaching Record (17 years)
In NCAA Postseason (3 years)
At Illinois (15 years)
At SIU (2 years)
NCAA Postseason
NCAA Regionals (2-2)
NCAA Regionals (3-2)
NCAA Regionals (1-2)
549-426-1 (.563)
6-6 (.500)
474-374-1 (.559)
75-52 (.591)
Hartleb, a former catcher himself, has also been instrumental in creating a catcher tradition at Illinois. In addition to Robinson’s recent
record-setting draft pick, catchers Patrick Arlis and Aaron Nieckula
also had their names called during the two-day draft. Arlis was selected in the 11th round of the 2002 draft by the Florida Marlins, whose
farm system he still plays in. Four years earlier, the Oakland A’s took
Nieckula in the 22nd round of the 1998 draft.
In addition to developing Illinois’ batteries throughout the years,
Hartleb has helped bring some of the top recruiting classes in the
nation to Champaign in recent years. Anderson turned down a sixthround offer from the Kansas City Royals in 1997 to attend Illinois
after being recruited by Hartleb, and James Morris, a 23rd-round
draft pick by the Cincinnati Reds in 2005, turned down a draft offer
from the Anaheim Angels in 2001 to do the same. Hartleb’s 1994
recruiting class, which included the core of the 1998 Big Ten championship team, will also go in the books as one of the finest classes
ever recruited to Illinois.
Hartleb began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at
Southern Illinois University in 1989-90. A two-year letterwinner at
SIU, Hartleb finished his playing career with a .305 batting average.
As a senior, Hartleb appeared in 56 contests as a catcher. Hartleb
transferred to Southern Illinois from John A. Logan Community
College where he was a junior college all-star catcher. At Hamilton
High School in Hamilton, Ohio, Hartleb was a standout athlete in
both baseball and football. He was inducted into Hamilton High
School’s Hall of Fame in February of 2002.
A 1989 graduate of SIU with a B.S. in advertising, Hartleb received
his M.S. in higher educational administration from SIU in May of
1996. He and his wife, Gina, were married in December, 1993, and
reside in Champaign with their children, Zakary David and Haley
Noel.
2005 BIG TEN CHAMPIONS
13
Coaching Staff
Jimmy Journell earned his first Major League appearance with the St.
Louis Cardinals in 2003, less than three months after Anderson’s bigleague debut. Journell was the Cardinals’ 2001 Minor League Pitcher
of the Year. Mitch Walk, who was the Pitcher of the Year for the classA San Jose Giants in 2001, pitched for Illinois from 1998-2000 and
advanced to Double-A Norwich in 2005. Matt Vorwald was drafted
in the 7th round by the Minnesota Twins in June of 2001.
2006 ILLINOIS BASEBALL
ASSISTANT COACH ERIC SNIDER
E
Coaching Staff
ric Snider is in his eighth year on the Illinois baseball
staff following four seasons as the manager of the
Waterloo (Iowa) Bucks. He handles hitting instruction
and works with the Illini infielders and outfielders while directing the off-season conditioning program for the entire squad.
Snider is also instrumental in recruiting for the Fighting Illini
and is in charge of placing the Illini in summer leagues across
the country.
THE SNIDER
FILE
BORN:
MAY 24, 1964,
IN WATERLOO, IOWA
HOMETOWN:
WATERLOO, IOWA
FAMILY:
WIFE, HOLLY;
CHILDREN, JACOB, NOA
AND JENNA
EDUCATION:
HIGH SCHOOL: WATERLOO
CENTRAL H.S. (1982)
COLLEGE:
KIRKWOOD COMMUNITY
COLLEGE (A.S., 1984)
NORTHERN IOWA (B.S.,
PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND
COACHING, 1987)
AUSTIN PEAY STATE (M.S.,
HEALTH AND PHYSICAL
EDUCATION, 1993)
COACHING EXPERIENCE:
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
GRADUATE ASSISTANT,
1990-92
CHAMPAIGN COUNTY COLTS
MANAGER, 1992-93
AUSTIN PEAY STATE
ASSISTANT COACH, 1992-95
WATERLOO BUCKS
GENERAL MANAGER/
HEAD COACH 1995-98
ILLINOIS
ASSISTANT COACH
1999-PRESENT
Snider’s impact on the Illinois program was immediate both in
recruiting and on the field. In his first recruiting season, Snider
landed Freshman All-American first baseman Andy
Schutzenhofer. Schutzenhofer went on to start every game but
one in his four years, earning All-Big Ten honors all four years
while playing his way into the career top 10 in 11 offensive categories. Schutzenhofer, who signed a free agent deal with the St.
Louis Cardinals after the draft, was also Illinois’ recipient of the
2003 Big Ten Conference Medal of Honor.
In 2002, Snider brought in Drew Davidson, who went on to
earn Freshman All-America honors of his own while leading the
team in average, hits, home runs, total bases and slugging after
turning down an offer from the St. Louis Cardinals after being
drafted in June, 2001. Davidson then led the Illini to the 2005
Big Ten Championship, winning Big Ten Player of the Year
honors along the way. Davidson finished his Illini career third
on the all-time home runs list, sixth on the total bases list and
seventh in career doubles. He was drafted by the San Diego
Padres in the 22nd round following the 2005 season.
Snider found his third Freshman All-American in four recruiting classes in 2003, when Eric Eymann burst on the scene.
Eymann hit .359 with a team-leading 15 doubles and 71 hits en
route to Freshman All-America and second-team All-Big Ten
honors. Another member of the 2003 class who Snider recruited was not as heralded initially, but catcher Chris Robinson
became the highest-drafted position player in
Illinois history when he was selected by the
Detroit Tigers in the third round of the 2005
draft.
2003, as centerfielder Brandon Cashman inked a deal with the
Texas Rangers, Sean Patrick signed with the Baltimore Orioles
and Schutzenhofer became a member of the St. Louis Cardinals
organization.
However, 2005 was the most fruitful for Illini in the draft during Snider’s tenure as five position players were either drafted or
signed free agent contracts. Robinson, Davidson and shortstop
Toby Gardenhire had their names called in the 2005 draft,
while first baseman Dusty Bensko and leftfielder Ryan
Rogowski inked free agent deals later in the summer.
Prior to joining the Illini, Snider was the head coach and general manager of the Waterloo Bucks, a summer collegiate league
team that competes in the Northwoods League, from 1995-98.
He compiled a record of 163-90 (.644) over the four years and
was twice named Northwoods League Manager of the Year.
Snider was honored in 2004 for his contribution to the NWL
by being named to the NWL All-Decade team.
A two-year letterwinner at the University of Northern Iowa,
Snider finished his playing career with a .411 career batting
average and 69 stolen bases in 72 attempts. He was a two-time
all-conference selection. Snider transferred to Northern Iowa
from Kirkwood Community College where he was a junior college All-American shortstop.
Prior to accepting the coaching and general manager position at
Waterloo, Snider held an assistant coaching position at Austin
Peay State, was the field manager of the Champaign County
Colts and was a graduate assistant coach at the University of
Iowa. He earned a master of science degree in health and physical education from Austin Peay in December of 1993.
Snider and his wife, Holly, reside in Champaign with their sons,
Jacob and Noa and a daughter, Jenna.
On the field, Illinois has consistently ranked
among the conference’s leaders in both hitting
and fielding. In fact, the starting infield has
posted fielding percentages of .960 (’99), .965
(’00), .959 (’01), .968 (’02), .957 (’03), .967
(’04) and .970 (’05) for a seven-year average of
.964, up more than 10 percentage points from
the year prior to Snider’s arrival. The Illini
have also hit over .300 as a team in five of
Snider’s seven years with the team.
In total, 14 position players have made the
jump to professional baseball since Snider
joined the Illinois staff. That list includes Jon
Anderson, Chris Basak, Dan O’Neill, Craig
Marquie and D.J. Svihlik. Patrick Arlis joined
that group in 2002 when the catcher signed
with the Florida Marlins after being drafted by
the club in the 11th round of the draft. Three
Illini position players signed as free agents in
2005 BIG TEN CHAMPIONS
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2006 ILLINOIS BASEBALL
ASSISTANT COACH KEN WESTRAY
K
en Westray begins his first season with the
Illini as pitching coach. He will handle the
Illinois pitchers and recruiting.
BORN:
MAY 7, 1959,
IN CLINTON, ILL.
HOMETOWN:
CLINTON, ILL.
EDUCATION:
HIGH SCHOOL: CLINTON
HIGH SCHOOL (1977)
COLLEGE:
EASTERN ILLINOIS
UNIVERSITY (B.S., SPECIAL
EDUCATION, 1983)
INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY
(M.S., PHYSICAL
EDUCATION, 1987)
COACHING EXPERIENCE:
ELGIN (ILL.) COMMUNITY
COLLEGE
ASSISTANT COACH
1984
INDIANA STATE
GRADUATE ASSISTANT
1985
ASSISTANT COACH
1987-1991
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
1994-2003
ILLINOIS
ASSISTANT COACH
2005-PRESENT
His connections within the majors will also be of
benefit to the Illini, as Westray is in constant communication with professional colleagues employed in
the scouting, development and major league levels of
multiple professional organizations. Westray also
assisted in the management of over 700 professional
games and coordinated individual player development plans for 12-15 athletes.
While he was in player development with the
Phillies, Westray coached such current Major League
pitchers as Minnesota Twins starter Carlos Silva,
Houston Astros starter Ezequiel Astacio, Phillies
starters Brett Myers, Randy Wolf and Robinson
Tejeda and Phillies relievers Ryan Madson and Eude
Brito. Westray also worked a full season with firstround draft picks Gavin Floyd, a right-hander, and
Cole Hamels, a left-hander, who were both selected
out of high school.
Westray also has valuable college
coaching experience from his stint as
an assistant coach at Indiana State from
1985-91. During that time, he helped
guide the Sycamores to the 1986
College World Series, three NCAA
regional appearances and Missouri
Valley Conference Tournament championships in 1986 and 1989.
A graduate of Eastern Illinois
University in 1983, Westray holds a
B.S. in special education and earned an
M.S. in physical education from
Indiana State in 1987. He grew up in
nearby Clinton, Ill.
Following his career at Eastern Illinois,
Westray was drafted by the Montreal
Expos in the 22nd round and played in
2005 BIG TEN CHAMPIONS
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Coaching Staff
THE WESTRAY
FILE
Westray is a 10-year veteran of the Philadelphia
Phillies organization, working in the club's player
development system. He assisted with the development, both personally and athletically, of Phillies'
minor league players from Canada, Japan, Korea,
Latin America and the United States. He also
coached in the Florida Instructional League on three
assignments.
that organization from 1980-83, reaching AA in
Memphis, Tenn. He has also coached baseball at
Elgin (Ill.) Community College, Scottsdale (Ariz.)
Community College and Mesa (Ariz.) Community
College in his career.
2006 ILLINOIS BASEBALL
VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT BRETT HERBISON
B
Coaching Staff
rett Herbison enters his second year with the Illini as a
volunteer assistant, working primarily with the pitching staff.
Herbison helped direct an Illinois staff that was one of the
best in the Big Ten in 2005, as Brian Blomquist led the league
with 10 wins and Jimmy Conroy was fifth in ERA with a 3.10
mark. Blomquist also finished second in the Big Ten with 102
innings pitched and Conroy’s 93 innings placed him fifth.
Illinois was the only staff to have two hurlers in the conference top five in innings pitched and wins.
THE HERBISON
FILE
BORN:
JUNE 13, 1977,
IN ELGIN, ILL.
HOMETOWN:
ELGIN, ILL.
PLAYING EXPERIENCE:
NEW YORK METS
1995-2002
COACHING EXPERIENCE:
ILLINOIS
VOLUNTEER ASSISTANT
2005-PRESENT
The Burlington, Ill., native has also helped strengthen the
Illini bullpen. Aaron Saving had Illinois’ best ERA in relief
with a 3.38 mark in 45 1/3 innings, and Jake Toohey notched
five saves and a 3.60 ERA in 35 innings.
Already, Herbison has two major league draft picks on his
résumé, as Conroy was selected in the 19th round of the 2005
Major League Baseball draft, and reliever James Morris was
taken in the 23rd round.
Before joining the Illini staff, Herbison was a starting pitcher
for eight years in the New York Mets minor league organization. He was named a top prospect in both the Mets organization and the major leagues by many baseball publications.
a Gatorade/USA Today All-American, joined the Mets after
graduating from Burlington Central High School in 1995,
where he was a three-sport athlete playing football, basketball
and baseball. In addition to his standout baseball career, he
was a two-time All-State hoopster.
Herbison was named to the Appalachian League All-Star team
in 1996, only his second year as a professional. He also finished the 1998 season with 26 consecutive scoreless innings,
leading his team to a Florida State League championship. In
all, he was a part of three minor league championships. But
Herbison’s career was cut short by two reconstructive arm surgeries and he was forced out of the game.
For his achievements, Herbison was the inaugural inductee to
the Burlington Central Athletic Hall of Fame.
Born on June 13,
1977, the Elgin,
Ill., native is currently enrolled in
the College of
Business
at
Illinois.
He
resides
in
Champaign.
In the fall of 1994, Herbison signed a National Letter of
Intent to play baseball at Illinois, but was drafted 48th overall and was the Mets’ second pick in the 1995 draft. Herbison,
ILLINOIS BASEBALL SUPPORT STAFF
DANA BRENNER
JAMES MORTON
STEVE BODE
LENNY WILLIS
SHARI CLAPP
Associate Director
of Athletics
Assistant Athletic
Director/Event Mgmt
Equipment Manager
Facility Management
Academic Advisor
BEN TAYLOR
MATT SIMEONE
MATT FITTERER
NICK RYAN
LINDA MICHAEL
Sports Information
Marketing
and Promotions
Athletic Trainer
Strength
and Conditioning
Baseball Secretary
2005 BIG TEN CHAMPIONS
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