Midwest Fastpitch - keeptheboardcorrect@gmail.com

Midwest Fastpitch - keeptheboardcorrect@gmail.com
[ Midwest Fastpitch - keeptheboardcorrect@gmail.com ]

Make Illinois Great Again.

Posted by MIGA on May 4, 2026, 6:32 pm

There was some discussion about Illinois softball on here, specifically about the coach. Well, she's out.

Oskee Wow Wow

Re: Make Illinois Great Again.

Posted by @MIGA on May 7, 2026, 10:04 am, in reply to "Make Illinois Great Again."

Kristi Bredbenner Wichita State

Re: Make Illinois Great Again.

Posted by @@MIGA on May 7, 2026, 10:12 am, in reply to "Re: Make Illinois Great Again."

Chanda Bell Indiana

Re: Make Illinois Great Again.

Posted by Pat Morris on May 7, 2026, 9:37 am, in reply to "Make Illinois Great Again."

My choice would be Abby Ramirirez--if she would take it.

Re: Make Illinois Great Again.

Posted by @Mr. Morris on May 7, 2026, 9:59 am, in reply to "Re: Make Illinois Great Again."

Huge fan of hers, but there's literally no way a mid-major assistant will get a Big Ten HC job. AD isn't going to take on an indefensible hiring if they fail.

Re: Make Illinois Great Again.

Posted by Strategy on May 5, 2026, 10:33 am, in reply to "Make Illinois Great Again."

The job Bielema has done with football seems a good model. In-state HS player, played college in a neighboring state, and he's spent time building relationships with HS coaches to improve in-state talent acquisition.

In softball, travel relationships are more important than HS. I'd think you want someone who could develop strong relationships with Bandits, Chill, IP and IMG to start. You're not going to get kids to come to ILL, at least not now, from California and Florida. (Or, Hawaii, when I believe the previous HS spent some recruiting time...)

There is enough talent in Illinois to be competitive, and their facilities are quite good. It's a great academic school, and it's a P4 job (albeit B1G is probably the 4th P).

An up and coming mid-major coach or P4 assistant is the likely route. You're not going to get another P4 HC to take this job, and maybe many mid-majors...

Re: Make Illinois Great Again.

Posted by @MIGA on May 5, 2026, 8:30 am, in reply to "Make Illinois Great Again."

It will be interesting to see what level of coaching talent they can attract. Big Ten should be a solid draw, my guess is a current P4 Assistant from a non-Big Ten school. There's a lot of talent in the Midwest.

Re: Make Illinois Great Again.

Posted by Fam'ill'y on May 5, 2026, 7:11 am, in reply to "Make Illinois Great Again."

Yes, let's make Illinois great again. At least not an embarrassment lol

Re: Make Illinois Great Again.

Posted by Another thought on May 8, 2026, 10:11 am, in reply to "Re: Make Illinois Great Again."

No one has mentioned Lance McMahon. He was pitching coach for Perry during her good years. Pitchers seem to like him, and he could probably recruit good pitching and make Illinois competitive. Also, from Missouri.

Re: Make Illinois Great Again.

Posted by @Another thougt on May 9, 2026, 9:35 am, in reply to "Re: Make Illinois Great Again."

Did you miss that every Big 10 Head Coach is a women? I suppose the unofficial conference position could change and this could be a first.

Re: Make Illinois Great Again.

Posted by @Another on May 9, 2026, 1:36 pm, in reply to "Re: Make Illinois Great Again."

Minnesota Coach just got fired too. More chances for a gender shift.

« Back to index

[ Midwest Fastpitch - keeptheboardcorrect@gmail.com ]