- In his sixth season as an assistant coach at UIS in 2021
- Named the team’s pitching coach prior to the 2020 season
- Helped UIS collect a 98-30-1 record over the last three seasons
Levi Petzoldt is in his sixth season as a member of the University of Illinois Springfield baseball coaching staff in 2021. He is in his second year as the team’s pitching coach.
In his first year as the team’s pitching coach, UIS ranked 10
th in NCAA Division II with 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings. The Prairie Stars also ranked in the top-five in the GLVC with a 4.08 ERA, 8.23 hits allowed per nine innings, and a 1.48 WHIP. Petzoldt’s pitching staff had a 10-4 record in the shortened season.
In his first four years at UIS, the Prairie Stars had a record of 149-70-1. The pitching staffs had three of the top-four ERA marks in program history, and four of the top-five opponent batting average and most strikeouts per inning marks.
Petzoldt has helped nine pitchers earn all-GLVC honors, including five first-team pitchers. In 2019, he played a role in development of Andrew Dean who was the GLVC Pitcher of the Year, the first All-American pitcher in program history, and the first UIS player to be drafted when he was selected in the 18
th round by the San Diego Padres.
Petzoldt was part of the 2019 coaching staff that helped UIS go 41-17-1, and advanced to the NCAA Division II Super Regionals. UIS finished one game away from winning the GLVC Regular Season Championship, and advanced to the GLVC Tournament Championship game.
UIS ranked 16
th in NCAA Division II with a 3.83 ERA, was tenth in strikeouts per nine innings with a 10.1 mark, and ranked 17
th with a 1.34 WHIP. Besides Dean, Justin Revels also earned first-team all-GLVC honors, and was an all-region selection.
In 2018, Petzoldt was part of the best record in program history. The Prairie Stars went 47-9, won the GLVC East Division Championship, hosted the NCAA Division II Midwest Regionals, and were ranked as high as No. 4 in the country.
Five pitchers earned all-GLVC honors, including three first-team members. UIS led the nation in hits allowed per nine innings (6.80), and led the conference in ERA (3.16), strikeouts per nine innings (10.0), strikeouts-to-walk ratio (2.28), and WHIP (1.24).
In 2017, the UIS staff ranked sixth in the GLVC in ERA (4.84), fourth in strikeouts (341), third in opponent batting average (.272), and second in doubles allowed (72). Two pitchers that season were all-GLVC selections.
In his first season as assisting with the pitchers in 2016, the Prairie Stars ranked seventh in the conference in ERA while leading the league in opposing batting average, holding opponents to a mere .257 average, allowing the second fewest hits in the league. Additionally, the pitching staff ranked second in the league in strikeouts, tallying 379 on the season.
Petzoldt comes to UIS from Lincoln College, where he spent the 2012-2014 seasons as an assistant coach. His duties included recruiting and developing position players. Before his time on the Lincoln staff, Petzoldt served as the Head Coach for the eighth grade American Legion team in Jackson, Mo., and as an assistant coach at Perryville High School.
A pitcher in college, Petzoldt spent two years at Lincoln College before transferring to Fontbonne University in St. Louis.
A native of Jackson, Mo., Petzoldt earned a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education with a concentration in History from Fontbonne University. Petzoldt has a Master of Arts in History with a concentration in European History from American Public University.
