Illinois’ Dan Hartleb named D1Baseball’s Big Ten Coach of the Decade

Illinois Baseball head coach Dan Hartleb picked up some pretty notable hardware Tuesday when he was named D1Baseball’s Big Ten Coach of the Decade.

Former Illini player Bren Spillane, Kevin Duchene and Tyler Jay were also named to the Big Ten’s All-Decade Team.

It was a pretty successful decade for Hartleb and Illinois Baseball, highlighted by the 50-win 2015 season and the lengthy winning streak. The Illini returned to the NCAA Tournament last season in 2019, and also won a Big Ten title in 2011 and made the regionals in 2013.

Those four regional appearances are more than any other team in the conference during the decade.

But the most incredible part of Hartleb’s tenure at Illinois has been his ability to produce MLB Draft picks out of the Big Ten. Over the decade, the Illini had 30 MLB Draft picks, seven All-Americans and the first National Player of the Year in program history (Spillane).

Illinois opens its 2020 season next month on Feb. 14.