Northern Illinois Huskies baseball

The Northern Illinois Huskies baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois, United States.[2] The team is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), which is part of the NCAA Division I. NIU's first baseball team was fielded in 1900. The team plays its home games at Ralph McKinzie Field in DeKalb, Illinois. The Huskies are currently led by head coach Ryan Copeland, who will begin his 1st season with the team in 2024.

Northern Illinois Huskies
2023 Northern Illinois Huskies baseball team
Founded1900 (1900)
UniversityNorthern Illinois University
Head coachRyan Copeland (1st season)
ConferenceMid–American
LocationDeKalb, Illinois
Home stadiumRalph McKinzie Field
(Capacity: 1,500)
NicknameHuskies
ColorsCardinal and black[1]
   
NCAA Tournament appearances
1972
Conference tournament champions
1996 (MCC)
Regular season conference champions
1924, 1925, 1936, 1945, 1946, 1950, 1951, 1964 (IIAC)
1972 (Midwestern)

History

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As of 2021, Northern Illinois and Akron are the only current or former MAC schools not to have a player named the MAC Baseball Player of the Year or MAC Baseball Pitcher of the Year since those awards were first given in 1986 and 1988 respectively.

NIU has currently not reached the NCAA tournament since joining the MAC nor have they won the Mid-American Conference baseball tournament, currently being one of only two MAC schools to not win one. They last had a chance in 1996 as MCC champion but lost a play-in series to Northeastern Illinois.

Conference membership

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NCAA Tournament

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Northern Illinois has participated in the NCAA Division I baseball tournament once.

Year Round Opponent Result
1972 Quarterfinals
Lower Round 1
Bowling Green
Iowa
L 0–2
L 1–8

Year-by-year results

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Statistics overview
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
1900 Fred Charles 3–3
1901 Fred Charles 3–5–1
1902 Fred Charles 2–2
1903 A.F. Johnson 4–0
1904 Henry Stiness 7–4
1905 A.C. Kinsbury 5–1
1907 Nelson A. Kellogg 4–5
1908 Nelson A. Kellogg 5–6
1909 Nelson A. Kellogg 7–4
1910 Nelson A. Kellogg 10–2
1912 William Wirtz 5–3
1913 William Wirtz 3–4–1
1914 William Wirtz 5–4
1915 William Wirtz 3–2
1916 William Wirtz 8–1
1917 William Wirtz 5–1
1920 Robert G. Buzzard 10–3
1921 Paul Harrison 3–3–1
1922 Paul Harrison 4–7
1923 Paul Harrison 4–3
1924 William Muir 7–3 N/A 1st
1925 William Muir 11–0 N/A 1st
1926 William Muir 6–3
1927 Roland Cowell 2–3
1928 Roland Cowell 7–2
1929 Roland Cowell 3–3
1930 Chick Evans 5–7
1931 Chick Evans 3–5
1932 Chick Evans 3–4
1933 Chick Evans 7–4–1
1934 Chick Evans 6–4
1935 C. Nordly 8–1
1936 Chick Evans 5–6 N/A 1st
1937 Chick Evans 17–8
1938 Chick Evans 10–12
1939 Chick Evans 10–14
1940 Chick Evans 14–12
1941 Chick Evans 4–14
1942 Chick Evans 8–9
1943 Chick Evans 5–9
1944 Chick Evans 1–9
1945 Ralph McKinzie 8–1 N/A 1st
1946 Chick Evans 15–3 7–0 1st
1947 Chick Evans 13–5–2 N/A
1948 John Pace 11–11 4–3 3rd
1949 Ralph McKinzie 10–6 3–4
1950 Ralph McKinzie 16–8 N/A 1st
1951 Ralph McKinzie 11–6 N/A 1st
1952 Ralph McKinzie 5–12 3–7 4th
1953 Ralph McKinzie 6–12 2–6 5th
1954 Ralph McKinzie 5–15 4–8
1955 Ralph McKinzie 5–17 2–8
1956 Ralph McKinzie 4–13 3–9 6th
1957 Darrel Black 7–10–1 5–5 4th
1958 Darrel Black 8–18–1 7–10
1959 Darrel Black 13–14 9–8
1960 Darrel Black 12–15 5–6 6th
1961 Darrel Black 20–13–1 7–8 4th
1962 Darrel Black 13–21 5–7 4th
1963 Darrel Black 17–17 6–6 4th
1964 Thomas L. Meyer 23–5 10–2 1st
1965 Thomas L. Meyer 15–17–1 6–6 2nd
1966 Thomas L. Meyer 13–6–1 6–2 2nd
1967 Thomas L. Meyer 20–14–1
1968 Thomas L. Meyer 13–14–1
1969 Thomas L. Meyer 16–19
Dave Mason (1970–1971)
1970 Dave Mason 18–15–1
1971 Dave Mason 24–15 5–6
Wayne Franke (1972–1972)
1972 Wayne Franke {{{overall}}} {{{conference}}}
2000 Dave Schrage 24–33 11–15 6th (West)
2001 Dave Schrage 28–27 10–17 5th (West)
2002 Dave Schrage 23–32 11–14 5th (West)
Ed Mathey (2003–2014)
2003 Ed Mathey 34–24 15–11 3rd (West)
2004 Ed Mathey 31–28 14–10 2nd (West)
2005 Ed Mathey 16–36 8–16 6th (West)
2006 Ed Mathey 24–31 8–18 6th (West)
2007 Ed Mathey 34–24 16–11 3rd (West)
2008 Ed Mathey 28–26 16–10 2nd (West)
2009 Ed Mathey 19–34 10–16
2010 Ed Mathey 24–31 12–15 5th (West)
2011 Ed Mathey 30–27 16–11
2012 Ed Mathey 15–40 7–20
2013 Ed Mathey 22–34 16–11 1st (West)
2014 Ed Mathey 17–36–1 11–16 5th (West)
Mike Kunigonis (2015–2023)
2015 Mike Kunigonis 22–33 10–17 5th (West)
2016 Mike Kunigonis 24–32 14–10 2nd (West)
2017 Mike Kunigonis 17–38 11–13 5th (West)
2018 Mike Kunigonis 20–36 9–18 10th
2019 Mike Kunigonis 20–36 14–12 5th
2020 Mike Kunigonis 7–10 0–0 Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021 Mike Kunigonis 16–38 15–25 T-9th
2022 Mike Kunigonis 14–40 13–25 10th
2023 Mike Kunigonis 10–43 5–24 11th
Total: 1426-1685-26

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "NIU Athletic Marks Standards Guide" (PDF). July 12, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  2. ^ "Northern Illinois Huskies". d1baseball.com. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
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