SUNDAY
at Louisville  - 1 p.m.

New Faces in Dugout
The Indiana State baseball team features three new faces  on the coaching staff. Nick Zumsande, who will serve as the assistant coach, arrives in Terre Haute after serving as the assistant/pitching coach at Iowa State. The Cyclone baseball program was discontinued after the 2001 season. In his lone year at Iowa State, he resurrected the Cyclone pitching staff as they dropped their team ERA from 6.26 to 4.38, which ranked fourth in the Big 12 conference. Prior to returning to his alma mater, he was the head coach at Muscatine Community College from 1989 to 2000. While at MCC, the Indians had a ranking for six of the 10 years in the 1990’s. He was instrumental in having 30 players signing professional baseball contract and over 50 former players sent to major four-year colleges throughout the country. He graduated from Iowa State in 1984 with a bachelor’s degree in Physical Education. He earned his master’s degree in Athletic Administration from Northwest Missouri State in 1986.
Jeremy Brown, who will serve as a graduate assistant, has ties to both the Missouri Valley Conference and the state of Indiana. He has served the last two seasons as the pitching coach at the University of Evansville. As a pitcher at Evansville from 1996-1999, he pitched in 61 games, including 48 starts and tallying a 21-19 record. He is currently third all-time at UE in career strikeouts (278), fourth in career starts (48) and fifth in career innings (334.2), ninth in both appearances (61) and wins (21).
The final new addition to the ISU coaching staff is volunteer assistant, Jason Ronai. The recent graduate of UNC-Asheville was a four-year letterwinner for the Bulldogs. During his senior season, he recorded 54 hits, highlighted by 12 extra-base hits and also scored 36 runs, which was second on the team. In 2000, the Bulldog coaching staff named him the team MVP and Most Improved as he was the team’s third leading hitter with a .306 average, he set an UNCA school record for most at bats with 229 and led the team with 70 hits and 40 runs. Throughout his senior year, he served as president of UNCA’s student-athlete association.

MVC Coaches Make Predictions
Serving as a prognisticator is a part of the role a head coach has to fulfill. Each year, coaches are surveyed to make predictions on what they think what could transpire in the upcoming season. On February 8, the prediction of the coaches of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) was released on how they see the 2002 season unfolding. The Sycamores were picked fourth in the nine team pre-season poll. Additionally, Indiana State was one of only three teams to receive a first-place vote. The Shockers of Wichita State tallied the most first-place votes - five; however, the Bears of Southwest Missouri State were picked to finish the season at the top.

The Valley Preseason Poll went as follows:
Team (First Place Votes) Points
1. Southwest Missouri State (3) 74
2. Wichita State (5) 68
3. Evansville 52
4. Indiana State (1) 49
5. Northern Iowa 43
6. Creighton 40
7. Illinois State 33
8. Southern Illinois 31
9. Bradley 15

Save the Best for Last
Saturday’s game against Butler marks the season opener for the Sycamores. Additionally, Indiana State is also the final team in the MVC to begin its 2002 campaign.

A Glance at the Opponents
 

Butler	Opponent	Louisville
Indianapolis, Ind.	Location	Louisville, Ky.
Horizon League	Conference	Conference USA
Bulldogs	Nickname	Cardinals
Blue and White	Colors	Rd, Black and White
1-0•	2002 Record	2-1
32-29	2001 Record	25-30
8-12 (4th)	2001 Conference Record (Place)	13-14 (6th)
18/13	Lettermen Returning/Lost	19/9
6/3	Starters Returning/Lost	6/3
7/5	Pitchers Returning/Lost	7/5
Steve Farley	Head Coach	Lelo Prado
Minnesota '81	Alma Mater	Tampa '85
7	Years at School	11

• - Butler and Louisville are scheduled to play on Friday, March 1.

Indiana State in Season Openers
Indiana State has posted a 50-45-2 record in season openers - there are no results available for nine seasons. During head coach Bob Warn’s tenure at Indiana State, the Sycamores are 14-12 on opening day. During 1989-1992, ISU posted a four-game winning streak in their season debuts. This weekend marks the fourth time that Indiana State has opened its season in Louisville, Ky.

Future Sycamore Passes Away
On Wednesday, January 9, 2002 - the Indiana State baseball program found out that one of the signees for the 2003 season, Matthew Huffman had passed away. Huffman, a 6-1, 195 lbs., a first baseman/catcher, attended Maricopa High School in Casa Grande, Arizona.  He was a four-year starter in baseball, as well as football. While at Maricopa he was coached by former Sycamore Mat Reese, who played at ISU during the years 1992 and 1993. He set school records in baseball for batting average, slugging percentage, doubles, triples, and home runs. Off the field, he was number three in his class academically.
An emotional Bob Warn expressed after hearing about the incident, “we are saddened by this tragedy to the Huffman family. We as a coaching staff will be hard pressed to find a more outstanding individual and a student-athlete who works equally at baseball, as well as academics.” Huffman is survived by his parents, Greg and Laurel Huffman and his two brothers.

A Hall of Fame Year
The legacy of Indiana State baseball head coach Bob Warn has left a lasting impact on the game in his 27 years as the Sycamores’ head coach. Recently, Warn was informed that he has been selected for induction in to the American Baseball Coaches Associaton’s Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place during the annual ABCA Convention, January 2-5, 2003. Warn is also a member of the Iowa Western Hall of Fame and the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame.

Last weekend, Warn and his 1986 team that advanced to the College World Series was inducted into the ISU Hall of Fame. Joining in the selection of honorees was one of Warn’s former players, Bill Hayes. Hayes, who will spend the 2002 season managing San Jose of the Class A California League (a San Francisco Giants affiliate), is currently working in the spring training camp for the Giants .

Hayes is not the only former player of Warn’s in the ISU Hall of Fame, he joins Wallace Johnson and Zane Smith, who was inducted in 1985 and in 2000, respectively. All three individuals culminated their professional baseball careers by reaching the ‘big show.’

17 Sycamores Earn Spot on Athletic Director’s Honor Roll
17 members of the Indiana State University baseball team, including three who earned a perfect 4.0 grade-point average, were named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for their academic efforts during fall semester 2001. The Athletic Director’s honor roll recognizes Indiana State University student-athletes who obtain over a 3.0 grade-point average for a semester. Earning a perfect 4.0 grade-point average were junior Jamie Baker, seniors Tommy Jeffers and Greg Wear. Joining the trio on the Athletic Director’s honor roll are: Dustin Crawford, Kenny Geiersbach, Michael Huven, Kraig Kyle, Adam Larrison, Michael Miller, Jay Molstad, John Purdom, Caleb Reger, Travis Soppe, Chase Stalcup, Mitch Stetter, Barry Warn and Brian Woods.

Stetter and Hall Recognized in Baseball America Predictions
Prior to the start of the 2002 season, Baseball America recognized junior Mitch Stetter as the MVC pitcher with the “Best Control” and one of the “Top 2002 Draft Prospects.” Junior Chris Hall received some ink as well, he was deemed, “Best Defensive Third Baseman” in the conference. Additionally, the national publication picked the Sycamores to finish eighth.

A Coaching Legacy
Throughout 106 years of ISU baseball, the title of head coach has been a dubious honor. Two of the coaches - Paul Wolf and Wally Marks - are in the ISU Hall of Fame. Wolf posted a 140-113 mark during his tenure from 1938-1941, 1956-1967. Prior to Wolf took over the helm, Marks posted a 108-81-2 mark as the Sycamores head man.

Two other names that may not be in the ISU Hall of Fame, but are familiar on not just a Terre Haute, not just a state but on  a national level. The Sycamores head coach in 1948 was John Wooden. The legendary men’s basketball coach who coached UCLA to 10 national titles (1964-65,67-73,75). As the Sycamores’ head coach, he posted a 7-7 record. The other famous coach at Indiana State is Birch Bayh, Sr., who is sixth on the all-time victory list among all ISU head coaches. Bayh’s family tree is popular in the state of Indiana. His son (Evan II)and his grandson (Evan III) both with the same name have all been involved in politics in the United States. His son, Evan II, was speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives in 1958 and a democratic nominee for President of the U.S. in 1976. Evan III, his grandson, is currently an U.S. Senator (since 1997) from the state of Indiana, plus he served as Governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997.

Like Father, Like Son
Sophomore Joe Thatcher is not the first person in his family to play for Indiana State. The left hander’s father, Phil, played for the Sycamores from 1977-1979. In 1979, ISU won the MVC Tournament advanced to the NCAA Midwest Region and dropped a pair of contests to Hawai’i and Oklahoma, respectively.

A ‘March’ Towards Success
Last year, Indiana State posted an even 12-12 record in the month of March. Senior Brad Pierce began his ISU career with a blistering .327 batting average, right behind him was junior catcher Ben Vannatter, who hit .319. The tandem combined for 31 hits, 16 RBIs, nine runs.

A Potent Position
Last year, the Indiana State outfield hit an astonishing .335 (200/597), led by the bat of Chad Zaucha who hit .352. The downside of this is that Zaucha and teammate Jason Frome are no longer  members of the ISU roster. Looking to continue the terror is junior Kevin Egli. The West Terre Haute, Ind. native was fourth among his Sycamore teammates in hitting with a .343 clip. Additonally, he was named honorable mention all-MVC and to the all-MVC tournament team. He finished the season in the top five in nine-different offensive categories. Egli was also a terror against MVC foes as he hit .364 with six doubles, a triple and three homers.

Wearing the Experience Hat
The Indiana State lineup returns 16 of its 22 letterwinners from the 2001 season. The experience hat comes into play as the individual who earned the most starting nods at, catcher-Ben Vannatter (33), first base-John Purdom (54), second base-Caleb Reger (39), third base-Chris Hall (53), right field-Kevin Egli (46) and designated hitter-Brad Pierce (24), all return for the 2002 season. Also, the top four starters in the ISU rotation: Mitch Stetter, Travis Soppe, Joe Thatcher and Matt Zaleski all return to the mix, as well.

Ten Sycamores in the Pros
Ten former Indiana State players have continued their careers in Major League Baseball. Two former Sycamores, Chuck Smith and Alex Graman currently find themselves on the 40-man roster in the ‘Big Show.”