Illinois

Back in 2013, I sat down with then future Top Coach guests, Wayne Meyer, head coach at Leroy (IL) High School, and Jim Collins, currently director of the Central Illinois chapter of the Fellowship of […]

I’ve known Jim Collins for years. Although we met through baseball, it just so happens that Jim and his three siblings grew up a couple of houses away from my wife and her three siblings […]

We veer just a bit off of our traditional path today to talk to Adam Rosales of the San Diego Padres. Adam will give us some great insight into what he learned from his coaches […]

This former Providence Catholic High School player thought he had a good gig going. Mark Smith was delivering milk in the morning and coaching with the legendary Wayne King at Joliet Junior College. That is, […]

We’re making the short drive up old Route 66 today to talk to the long time head coach at Joliet Junior College, Wayne King. The home to the Blues Brothers and Rudy, Joliet also lays […]

Continuing our NCAA D2 theme, today we are happy to welcome to Top Coach the head guy at Quincy (IL) University, Josh Rabe. He is a somewhat local guy, having grown up on a farm […]

I had such a great time talking to Bo Durkac, that I lost all track of time. Instead of having the longest episode ever, I just chopped it into two parts. You can hear part […]

After two-time Top Coach guest Mark Kingston moved on to the warmer climate of Tampa, Florida, Bo Durkac had a decision to make: Make the trip south with Coach Kingston or stay behind and throw […]

Former successful pitching coach at Heartland Community College, Josh Kauten has stepped down from his official coaching duties at Heartland to focus on his growing family. He has not given up on coaching entirely, however, […]

Road trip! Make that Mother Road trip! We took the short drive up Old Route 66 to Lexington, Illinois to visit with the general manager of the Lexington Snipes, Billy Dubois. Billy is one of […]

Jerry Rashid‘s 729 wins ranks him #7 all time in the state of Illinois. His Chillicothe Illinois Valley Central team won the state championship in 2006, with current Cleveland Indians pitcher Zach McAllister, and was […]

Given that a significant portion of our Top Coach community is made up of high school coaches, I really intended to get a high school coach on here sooner. For our first guest I didn’t […]

The Heartland Community College baseball program was nothing more than a dream just seven years ago. In 2013, the Hawks participated in the NJCAA D2 World Series for the third straight year. In six seasons, […]

Fergie Jenkins used to say that a pitcher’s best friend is a double play. I always said that a pitcher’s best friend is strike one. Our guest today appears to love strikes more than anyone […]

Normal, Illinois a go-to destination for high school baseball players looking to play at the next level? You bet! Especially when Illinois State’s Mark Kingston is doing the selling. Find out why Kingston was considered […]