NORMAL, Ill. - The Illinois State baseball program has announced its schedule for the upcoming 2025 season.
The spring slate features some of the best programs in the country, including five that qualified for last season's NCAA Tournament and seven teams that finished in the top 100 of last year's RPI.
The Redbirds return multiple key pieces from a season ago, including 2024 First Team All-MVC selection Daniel Pacella, and Honorable Mention All-MVC performers Joe Husak and Judah Morris. The Birds welcome in 18 new faces to Normal, including nine transfers with the likes of Kyle Gibson (Millikin), Leo Berger (UW Parkside), Michael Addari (Michigan State), and Cam Hill (John A. Logan CC).
Illinois State wrapped up the 2024 season with 30 wins, which is tied for the ninth-most in program history. The 30 wins were also the second most under head coach Steve Holm, who finished with 36 wins in his debut season of 2019.
Illinois State begins the 2025 campaign in Bowling Green, Kentucky with a four-game series against Western Kentucky from Feb. 14-16. Following the trip to the Bluegrass State, the Redbirds return to Illinois for a midweek tilt at SIUE (Feb. 18).
The Birds remain on the road as they head to Jacksonville, Florida to face Jacksonville University (Feb. 21-23). ISU closes out February and begins March with a trip to Saint Charles, Missouri to face Lindenwood (Feb. 28-Mar. 2).
Illinois State plays its second midweek of the season at Oral Roberts (Mar. 5) before traveling to Stillwater for a three-game series against Oklahoma State (Mar. 7-9). The Redbirds and Golden Eagles will meet for the first time since 2002 while ISU and OSU will face off for the first time since 2021.
Illinois State returns to Illinois and heads to Evanston for a midweek meeting with Northwestern on March 11 before traveling to Macomb to face Western Illinois on March 13-14. The Leathernecks and Redbirds will then play two games in Normal as ISU hosts its home opening contests on March 15-16.
Following a home midweek against SIUE (Mar. 18), Missouri Valley Conference play begins for the Redbirds with a trip to Belmont (Mar. 21-23). The month of March closes for ISU with four straight at home as Iowa (Mar. 25) and Murray State (Mar. 28-30) come to Duffy Bass Field.
April begins with four straight on the road for ISU as the Redbirds travel to Illinois (Apr. 1), before traveling to Valparaiso, Indiana, for a road MVC series against the Beacons (Apr. 4-6). Then, it's back to Duffy Bass Field as Illinois State hosts Illinois (Apr. 8) and Evansville (Apr. 11-13).
Following the short home stand, it's a trip down I-74 for the Redbirds to face off with Bradley (Apr. 18-20). The Redbirds return home for a meeting with Northern Illinois (Apr. 23) before a road series against Southern Illinois (Apr. 25-27). The month of April closes for ISU with a midweek at Iowa (Apr. 29) before hosting Southern Indiana (Apr. 30).
The final month of the regular season, May, begins with a home series against Missouri State (May 2-4). After traveling to Northern Illinois (May 6), the Redbirds conclude the home portion of the schedule with the final home series against UIC (May 9-11) before Eastern Illinois (May 13) comes to Normal. The Redbirds close out the 2025 regular season by traveling to Indiana State in the final MVC series (May 15-17).
The MVC Tournament returns to Duffy Bass Field in Normal, Ill., from May 20-24 as the league's top eight teams look to crown a conference champion and earn an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. Host Illinois State is not guaranteed a spot in the field.
*All opponents, dates, times, and locations are subject to change
SCHEDULE NOTES
- Illinois State is 869-863-7 (.500) all-time in their combined series history against their 2025 scheduled opponents.
- Five of ISU's 2024 opponents made appearances in the 2024 NCAA Regionals (Evansville, Oral Roberts, Oklahoma State, Indiana State, Illinois).
- Seven of ISU's 2025 opponents finished in the top 100 of the 2024 NCAA RPI rankings (Indiana State – 12th, Oklahoma State – 16th, Illinois – 43rd, Evansville – 52nd, Murray State – 80th, UIC – 89th, Western Kentucky – 100th).
- Illinois State is scheduled to play Southern Indiana for the first time since 1977.
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