Great Sport Moments: Simply the Best
Nine players from Head Coach Dan Hartleb’s 50-win, 2015 squad were picked in the Major League Baseball draft. (Image courtesy of U. of I. Athletics) The seed for the greatest baseball team in U. of I. history—Head Coach Dan Hartleb’s 50-win, 2015 squad—was planted the year before.
The 2014 Fighting Illini finished 32-21, advancing to the Big Ten tournament. But the team, led by catcher Jason Goldstein, ’16 ENG, and outfielder Casey Fletcher, ’15 LAS, son of Illinois Hall of Famer Darrin Fletcher, failed to make the NCAA field.
The snub, however, actually helped Illinois.
The team really banded together, Hartleb says. “They did an unbelievable job of sticking together and caring. And when they stepped across the white line for practice and games [the next season], it was all business.”
A highly successful business. The Illinois stars—nine players from the team ended up getting picked in the Major League Baseball draft—put past disappointments behind them, winning nine of their first 12 games.
Then, in early March, Hartleb’s team took 2 of 3 against No. 10–ranked Oklahoma State.
“Our guys went into that series expecting to win,” Hartleb says. “That’s where some people around the country looked around and started saying ‘What’s going on here?’” Illinois had everyone’s attention.
Looking back on the season 11 years later, Hartleb recognizes that a key to the team’s success was finding the right role for star pitcher Tyler Jay—as a reliever.
“I told him, ‘You can affect way more games out of the bullpen than you can as a starter,’” Hartleb says. “He bought into it.”
The coach knew what he was talking about. Jay became an All-American, earned Big Ten Pitcher of the Year honors, and was the sixth pick in the next MLB draft, by the Minnesota Twins.
Illinois thrived with Jay as the closer, putting together a school-record 27-game winning streak late in the season.
Other players also stepped up, including outfielder Will Krug, ’16 ENG, a former walk-on, whom Hartleb calls “one of the most relentless workers I’ve ever been around.”
In the season opener against New Mexico State, Krug delivered a game-tying single in the ninth inning, setting up a comeback victory.
Last, but not least, David Kerian, ’15 LAS, had a monster season at first base, becoming Big Ten Player of the Year and a second-team All-American.
The Illini finished 50-10-1, winning the Big Ten regular season title with a 21-1 mark—its only conference loss coming on the road at Michigan State.
In the postseason, Illinois won the NCAA regional on their home field, qualifying for the Super Regional. Unfortunately, that’s where they met defending national champion Vanderbilt, who swept the Illini in two games, denying Hartleb’s team its first trip to the College World Series.
Hartleb looks back fondly on his tournament experience. “It was such an honor,” he says. “I’ll never forget the energy and the great crowds that we had. It was awesome.”
Illinois Alumni, Spring 2026
