Ryan Copeland

Title

Head Coach

In his eighth season as a coach at UIS in 2023, including his fourth as the head coach
2021 GLVC Coach of the Year and 2021 and 2022 Midwest Regional Coach of the Year
Led UIS to its first GLVC Tournament Championship and first NCAA Division II National Championship appearance in 2022

Ryan Copeland is in his fourth season as the head coach of the University of Illinois Springfield baseball team in 2023. He is in his eighth season at the school after also serving as the team’s pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for four years before taking over the head coaching position.

Since arriving at UIS, the Prairie Stars have a 244-93-1 record. They have won three GLVC Regular Season Championships, reached three GLVC Tournament Championship games and won one, advanced to four NCAA Regional Tournaments, two NCAA Super Regionals, and one NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament. Since Copeland has become head coach, UIS has a 95-23 record.

Copeland’s 2022 team was the best squad in UIS history. The Prairie Stars dominated the regular season, including winning the GLVC Blue Division by four games. UIS then captured its first GLVC Tournament Championship, outscoring its opponents by a 47-11 margin at the event. The Prairie Stars went 3-0 at the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament, and then defeated Quincy by a 2-1 margin in the NCAA Super Regional to advance to the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament for the first time.

UIS ranked sixth in NCAA Division II with 10.0 runs per game, and was also top-10 offensively in walks, doubles, hits, home runs, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. On the mound, UIS had the best ERA in the GLVC and 34^th-best in NCAA Division II. The Prairie Stars were fourth nationally in strikeouts per nine innings.

Copeland helped three players earned All-American honors, seven earned all-region awards, and 10 were all-GLVC players. Zion Pettigrew became the first player in GLVC history to win back-to-back Player of the Year awards. Copeland was named Regional Coach of the Year honors by the ABCA.

In the classroom, three players earned CoSIDA Academic All-American honors, and four were Academic All-District. Austin Alderman was named the GLVC Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the first UIS baseball player to earn that honor. A total of 26 players were named on the GLVC Academic All-Conference team.

In 2021, Copeland led UIS to a 37-8 overall record. The Prairie Stars won the GLVC Regular Season Championship with a 30-5 mark, reached the GLVC Tournament Championship game, and were the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Regional Tournament.

UIS had one of the top offenses in the country, averaging over 10 runs a game. The Prairie Stars also ranked in the top-seven in the country in batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage. On the mound, UIS was 13^th nationally with a 3.83 ERA, and led the GLVC in hits allowed per nine innings and shutouts.

Copeland coached the first Prairie Star to earn GLVC and NCAA Midwest Regional Player of the Year honors in Zion Pettigrew. Pettigrew and Youngquist were both first-team All-Americans. Chad Sander, Austin Alderman, and Mathieu joined those two players on one of the all-region teams, and a total of eight players were named all-conference.

Copeland also brought UIS success in the classroom in 2021. Thirty-one players were named to the GLVC Academic All-Conference team. Four players earned Academic All-District honors, including Youngquist and Mathieu who were both named Academic All-Americans.

In his first season as head coach in 2020, Copeland led UIS to a 10-4 record during the shortened season. Copeland built one of the top offenses in NCAA Division II. The Prairie Stars led the nation with 1.86 home runs per game. They were in the top-15 nationally with 10.6 runs per game, a .333 batting average, .435 on-base percentage, and .548 slugging percentage.

On the mound, Copeland rebuilt a pitching staff that lost all of its primary starters from the year before. The new-look staff ranked tenth in the nation with 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings. It was in the top-five in the GLVC with a 4.08 ERA, 8.23 hits allowed per nine innings, and a 1.48 WHIP.

Off the diamond, Copeland also helped UIS baseball to a record-breaking year in the classroom, including a 3.23 GPA for the spring semester. Twenty-nine players earned the GLVC Academic All-Conference award.

In the four seasons as an assistant coach on the UIS staff, the Prairie Stars went 149-70-1 (.680). In 2018 and 2019, Copeland built the top pitching staff in the GLVC, which helped UIS go 88-26-1 (.770). UIS won the 2018 GLVC Regular Season Championship, and missed a second title by one game the next year. The Prairie Stars advanced to the 2019 GLVC Tournament Championship game. In NCAA postseason play, UIS has hosted the regional tournament in 2018 and 2019, and won the regional tournament in 2019, advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time.

In 2019, UIS ranked 16th in NCAA Division II with a 3.83 ERA, was tenth in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings with a 10.1 mark, and ranked 17th with a 1.34 WHIP. In 2018, UIS had a 3.16 ERA which was sixth in the nation, and led NCAA Division II by allowing just 6.80 hits per nine innings. The Prairie Stars also ranked tenth that year with 10.0 strikeouts per nine innings and sixth with a 1.24 WHIP. All of those numbers were the top marks in the GLVC.

Copeland has helped UIS pitcher earn nine all-GLVC honors, including five first-team members. IN 2019, he helped Andrew Dean become the GLVC Pitcher of the Year, and the first Prairie Stars pitcher to earn All-American honors.

Copeland's role as the recruiting coordinator has also helped UIS have one of the top offenses in the nation those two seasons. In 2018, UIS led NCAA Division II with 9.4 runs a game, and that team hit a national-best 104 homers. The next year, UIS ranked eighth in the nation with 8.4 runs a game, and the Prairie Stars were 21st with a .409 on-base percentage.

Copeland came to UIS after assisting his alma mater, Illinois State, from 2014-15. With the Redbirds, Copeland managed pitchers during games as well as assisting with administrative duties. The Des Plaines native also served as the head coach of the Illinois Indians 18U travel team in the summer of 2014.

While a pitcher at Illinois State from 2007-10, Copeland was a four-year starter and letterwinner, and a two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference player. He finished his career as the all-time leader in innings pitched at Illinois State. Copeland recorded the final out with a strikeout when Illinois State won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament in 2010.

After his collegiate playing career, Copeland was drafted in the 32nd round of 2010 MLB June Amateur Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals as a pitcher. He spent three seasons with the organization, playing his final year with the Palm Beach Cardinals in 2012.

He finished his professional career with an 11-5 record, a 3.85 ERA, and 138 innings pitched. Copeland was named the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year in 2010, as well as an Appalachian League Postseason All-Star. He was also recognized by the Cardinals organization as a MiLB St. Louis Cardinals Organization All-Star (2010) and the St. Louis Cardinals Minor League Pitcher of the Month (July 2011).

Copeland aided in the development of Andrew Dean and Quinn Gudaitis, both UIS pitchers that were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft. Two other Prairie Stars have signed free agent contracts with MLB franchises, and others have joined Independent Leagues. While at Illinois State, Copeland coached three other MLB draftees in Paul DeJong, Will Headean, and Ryan Koziol.

Copeland Year-by-Year Head Coaching Record

Year	Overall	GLVC	Place
2020	10-4	1-2
2021	37-8	30-5	1st-Division	GLVC Tournament Finalist NCAA Regional
2022	48-11	19-5	1st-Division	GLVC Tournament Champions NCAA Regional Champions NCAA Super Regional Champions NCAA DII National Championship Tournament
Overall	95-23	50-12