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05/17/2013
Illini Clinch Big Ten Tournament Berth, Top Gophers, 4-3
Illinois Wins Fifth Straight Following Two-Hour Rain Delay to Move into Fourth in the Big Ten
05/16/2013
Duchene Ties School Record in 6-2 Win over Minnesota
Duchene Improves to 8-1, Equals Most Wins Ever by an Illini Freshman
05/14/2013
Illinois to Play Final Big Ten Series at Minnesota
Illini Look to Qualify for Big Ten Tournament to Remain in Minneapolis
05/12/2013
Illini Complete Sweep of PSU with 5-4 Comeback Win
Roper Knocks in Game-Winning RBI Single in the Eighth after Failed Pick Off
05/11/2013
Illini Score Early, Hold Off Penn State, 8-6
Illinois Reaches 30 Wins for Fifth Time under Coach Hartleb
03/29/2012
Coach Hartleb Previews the Home Opener
04/02/2013
Illinois vs. Missouri at Busch Stadium (4/2/13)
Photos of the Illini playing Mizzou at Busch Stadium in St. Louis
03/27/2013
Illinois at Houston Baptist, UT Arlington
Illinois baseball at Houston Baptist and UT Arlington. 3/1/13 - 3/3/13
05/06/2012
Honor & Serve Day - Illinois vs. Michigan State
Photos from Illinois' Honor and Serve Day and 8-6 win over Michigan State.
• Recruited and developed 65 professional players
• Recruited and coached 26 All-Americans
• Helped develop 104 All-Conference selections
• Recruited and developed 3 Big Ten Pitchers of the Year
• Recruited and developed 9 Freshman All-Americans
Dan Hartleb is in his eighth season as head coach at Illinois and 23rd season on the Illini coaching staff in 2013. In only seven years, Hartleb has joined the ranks of the winningest coaches in school history, currently tied for sixth with legend Carl Lundgren with 209 victories.
Hartleb guided the Illini to Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships in 2011, and the squad advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Fullerton Regional. After a rocky start to the season, Illinois reversed course by winning 18 of their final 24 games to clinch a share of the regular-season Big Ten title, sweep through the Big Ten Tournament with a 3-0 record and go 2-2 at the NCAA Fullerton Regional as the No. 4 seed, eliminating No. 1 Cal State Fullerton and No. 3 Kansas State along the way.
Hartleb has led the Illini to the Big Ten Tournament in five of his seven seasons at the helm, giving the Orange and Blue six postseason appearances in the last eight seasons and 12 in the last 17 years.
After spending the first 10 years of 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, ABCA Hall of Famer Richard "Itch" Jones retired and Hartleb was hired as the 10th coach in 130 years of Illinois Baseball. Hartleb coached under Jones for 17 years, two at Southern Illinois and 15 at Illinois.
During his time with the Illini, Hartleb has been instrumental in recruiting and developing 53 players who have signed minor league contracts, including two in 2012, four in 2011, three in 2009, two in 2008, four in 2007 and seven in 2005. Eight former Illini have reached the major leagues, with outfielder Kyle Hudson adding his name to that list when he was called up by the Baltimore Orioles in 2011.
In addition, 25 former players have earned All-America honors on 43 different teams and eight Illini freshmen have been named to Freshmen All-America teams. Three of Hartleb's pitchers have been named Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and Illinois has produced four Big Ten Players of the Year, along with 29 first-team All-Big Ten selections.
The Illini also have achieved a great deal of success in the classroom in Hartleb's seven years as head coach, earning three NCAA Public Recognition Awards, an honor bestowed on the highest-achieving schools in the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate (APR). Illinois also has ranked in the 90th percentile of all baseball programs in five of Hartleb's seven seasons and posted a 3.0 team grade-point average in the Spring 2012 semester.
Dan Hartleb at the 2011 NCAA Fullerton Regional. |
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. 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 also has helped recruit and develop many top Illini players, including infielder Chris Basak, catchers Chris Robinson and Lars Davis, 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. Davis nearly matched Robinson in the 2007 draft when he was taken in the third round by the Colorado Rockies, but 12 picks later overall.
Hartleb has sent a number of former Illini hurlers to the professional ranks following their collegiate careers. Weber, Anderson and Jimmy Conroy all entered the New York Yankees' farm system, and Anderson has spent time in the big leagues with the Yankees, New York Mets and Cleveland Indians after spending only three years in the minors.
Jimmy Journell earned his first Major League appearance with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2003, less than three months after Anderson's big-league debut. Journell was the Cardinals' 2001 Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Mitch Walk, who was the Pitcher of the Year for the class-A 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 seventh round by the Minnesota Twins in June of 2001.
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 played for the Minnesota Twins' Double-A affiliate in 2006. 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, Mark Dressen and Jake Toohey.
Hartleb, a former catcher himself, also has been instrumental in creating a catcher tradition at Illinois. In addition to the recent high selections of Robinson and Lars Davis, catchers Adam Davis, Patrick Arlis and Aaron Nieckula had their names called during the draft. Adam Davis was an 11th-round pick by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2011 draft, Arlis was selected in the 11th round of the 2002 draft by the Florida Marlins and the A's took Nieckula in the 22nd round of the 1998 draft.
Following a five-year minor league career, Nieckula became the manager of the Kane County Cougars in 2006 and led the A's class-A affiliate to the Midwest League championship series. He guided the Stockton Ports, Oakland's advanced-A squad, in 2009 and returned to Kane County in 2010. After the A's changed affiliates in the Midwest League, Nieckula became the manager of the Burlington Bees for 2011 and continued with the club in 2012.
In addition to developing Illinois' batteries throughout the years, Hartleb also has helped bring some of the top recruiting classes in the nation to Champaign in recent years. Anderson turned down a sixth-round 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, also will 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 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 1996. He and his wife, Gina, were married in December 1993 and reside in Champaign with their children, Zakary David and Haley Noel.
The Hartleb File
Born: Feb. 15, 1966
Hometown: Hamilton, Ohio
Hired: June 15, 2005
Family
Wife, Gina;
Children, Zak and Haley
Education
Southern Illinois, 1996
M.S., Higher Educational Administration
Southern Illinois, 1989
B.S., Advertising
John A. Logan CC, 1986, A.S.
Coaching Experience
2006-Present Head coach, University of Illinois
2001-2005 Associate Head Coach, Illinois
1991-2000 Assistant Coach, Illinois
1989-1990 Graduate Assistant, Southern Illinois
