The University of Illinois Springfield baseball team had an unforgettable season in 2018, from its 29-game winning streak, to its conference division championship, and to being ranked as high as No. 4 in NCAA Division II. While the highest-scoring offense in the country garnered a lot of the headlines, the team's pitching staff continued its trend of being one of the top staffs in the region.
 
Over the last three seasons, the Prairie Stars' pitchers have been led by Associate Head Coach Ryan Copeland. In his three years, Copeland's three pitching staffs have been some of the top ones in program history, including setting three of the top-five ERAs and three of the top-four opponent batting averages in the school's record book.
 
The success of UIS pitching begins on the recruiting trail, where Copeland, who is also the team's recruiting coordinator, finds the right fits for the program.
 
"Head Coach Chris Ramirez has always trusted me to get the right guy for our program," said Copeland. "We talk recruiting almost every day because we are always trying to get more talented, to add more depth, to find a way to get players that we shouldn't be able to get.
 
"We have had a lot of success recruiting and developing projectable high school arms and centering our pitching staff around those guys. Athletic, loose arms tend to have much higher ceilings, and we have seen our pitchers make significant velocity jumps once they arrive on campus."
 
UIS has also been successful with finding transfers from junior colleges and NCAA Division I programs. Justin Revels, Andrew Dean, Gunnar Kay, Nick Alvarado, and Alec Altmyer are some examples of players who were key members of the 2018 pitching staff after they discovered that UIS was the right fit for their collegiate careers.
 
"Our recruiting goal is that every top high school and junior college player in the Midwest should know about our program, and they should want to explore more about whether or not we are the right team for them," said Copeland.
 
After the Prairie Stars recruit a pitcher, the next step is to develop them to the best of their abilities. The coaching staff has an individual vision for player development for each athlete on their roster, from the time they step onto campus until the time they graduate. That starts in the weight room with UIS's Strength and Conditioning Coach Chris Lowe.
 
"One of the most important aspects to development is getting our players accustomed to being in the weight room four to five days per week," said Copeland. "There is no substitute for strength in college baseball and we are incredibly fortunate to have Coach Lowe working with our guys each day.
 
"We use Driveline as part of our program, which includes a very detailed pre-throwing and post-throwing routine involving Jaeger Bands, weighted baseballs, plyocare balls, and wrist weights. We give our guys a lot of options regarding their training because I want them to take accountability for their own careers. Individualization is so important when it comes to development."
 
The next step in player development for pitchers is utilizing technology to improve. UIS is very forward-thinking in this area with a data-driven approach to development. The Prairie Stars use the Rapsodo system which gives each pitcher feedback on velocity, spin rate, spin axis, and horizontal and vertical break.
 
"I want our guys to throw hard and rely on their stuff through the strike zone," said Copeland. "We put an emphasis on strikeout percentage and swing/miss percentage because both numbers are indicative of velocity and stuff. I am a big believer in utilizing data and technology to develop our pitchers but at the end of the day, it is my responsibility to create and maintain a competitive environment that allows each pitcher to be themselves."
 
The focus on recruiting and development paid huge dividends in 2018 for the Prairie Stars. The UIS pitching staff led the nation by allowing just 6.80 hits per nine innings. It also ranked sixth in NCAA Division II in ERA (3.16), sixth in WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) (1.24), and tenth in strikeouts per nine innings (1.10). All of those categories led the GLVC and the NCAA Midwest Region.
 
"Our guys did such a great job of buying into their roles on the pitching staff," said Copeland. "There are only so many innings to go around and everyone wants to be on the mound when it matters most so it is imperative that guys genuinely feel like their outings matter. We will put our pitchers into specific situations during the fall to see how it may or may not be the right fit for them and our team when we start the season in February."
 
A perfect example of UIS's system at work is in 2018 senior Sam Geraci. Geraci transferred to UIS from Parkland College, and did not find success immediately as a junior. The UIS coaching staff though stuck with him, and their development program suggested he lower his arm angle a bit to create some deception in his pitches. As a senior, Geraci was a key member of the bullpen, appearing in 23 games, having a 2.78 ERA, and a 3-0 record.
 
One of the top returners this upcoming season is Andrew Dean, a first-team all-conference and first-team all-region performer last season. After arriving at UIS, the pitching staff changed his arm action, put him in the weight room with Coach Lowe, and used the date from Driveline to help improve him. In a short time, his velocity went from the 82-84 range, to 88-92, and now he is a possible draft prospect entering his senior season.
 
For the UIS baseball program, 2018 will always be great memories, but the focus is now entirely on 2019.
 
"We had a very talented pitching staff this past year and most of those guys are returning for the 2019 season," said Copeland. "They are an exciting group to work with because they are all driven to become better pitchers. We are coming off a very successful season, but what happened last year doesn't matter anymore. We need to make sure that we are doing everything we can, including recruiting and development, to put our guys in a position to be successful during the 2019 season and beyond."