| Probable Starting Pitchers |
| Day |
Illinois |
Rutgers |
| Fri. 5 p.m. CT |
RHP Tyler Schmitt (4-2, 4.21) |
RHP Landon Mack (4-5, 3.70) |
| Sat. 5 p.m. CT |
LHP Regan Hall (6-2, 4.53) |
RHP Justin Shadek (3-3, 7.29) |
| Sun. 11Â a.m. CT |
TBA |
TBA |
PREVIEW
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. --Â Illinois baseball returns to Big Ten play with a three-game set at Rutgers. First pitch in Friday's series opener at Bainton Field is set for 5 p.m. CT.
The Orange and Blue are coming off of a 5-2 midweek victory at Bradley on Tuesday at Dozer Park. Collin Jennings doubled, homered and drove in all five runs, while Ryan Daly tossed 4.0 scoreless in his start, allowing one hit and striking out four.
RHP Tyler Schmitt (4-2, 4.21) is set to get the ball in Friday's opener with LHP Regan Hall (6-2, 4.53) set to take the hill on Saturday. Sunday's starter is to be determined.
SERIES HISTORY
vs. Rutgers
- Record: 10-6 (H: 6-0, A: 3-6, N: 1-0)
- Last: L, 3-0 (5/14/23 at Piscataway, N.J.)
- Illinois has gone 2-4 in last six meetings
- Last three series have all been played in Piscataway
NOTES
ILLINI SET FOR BIG TEN SERIES AT RUTGERS
Illinois baseball heads to the East Coast for a three-game series at Rutgers. First pitch in Friday's series opener is set for 5 p.m. CT.
Scott Beatty will call the action for the Illini on the Busey Bank Illini Sports Network (WDWS 1400-AM/93.9FM).
All three games can be streamed on B1G+.
Streaming, audio, and stats links are also available at FightingIllini.com.
ABOUTÂ THE OPPONENT
Rutgers comes into the contest with a 21-24 record, including a 9-12 mark in Big Ten play.
The Scarlet Knights are coming off a midweek victory at UConn on Tuesday, defeating the Huskies 13-11. In its last Big Ten series, Rutgers earned a series win at Ohio State, taking two of three games from the Buckeyes.
OF Trevor Cohen is leading the Scarlet Knights at the plate this season, posting an overall slash of .362/.437/.486 to go along with 18 doubles, a triple, one home run and 29 RBI. INF Ty Doucette leads the team in the power department, pacing the squad with nine home runs and 41 RBI.
RHP Landon Mack leads the starters, going 4-5 with a 3.70 ERA (24 ER/58.1 IP) over 11 games/starts, recording a staff-best 52 strikeouts. RHP Nolan Peel is leading arm out of the bullpen, going 1-1 with a 2.86 ERA (7 ER/22.0 IP) in 10 appearances, one start, firing 19 strikeouts.
The Scarlet Knights went 28-25 last season, including a 6-18 mark in conference play.
ALL-TIME SERIES INFO
Illinois leads the all-time series 16-10 but have gone 3-6 in games played in New Jersey.
The last six meetings between the two programs have been played in The Garden State, where the Illini have gone 2-4 in those contests.
In the last series between the two sides from May 12-14, 2023, the Orange and Blue dropped two of three ballgames, splitting the first two games at Bainton Field before dropping the finale at ShoreTown Ballpark in Lakewood, N.J., home of the Jersey Shore Blue Claws, the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies.
AT BRADLEY RECAP
Illinois got back into the win column with a 5-2 victory over Bradley on Tuesday at Dozer Park in Peoria, Ill.
Collin Jennings provided all the offense for the Illini, going 2-for-5 with a run scored, double, home run and a career-high five RBI. Vytas Valincius also put together a multi-hit effort, going 2-for-3 with two walks. Nick Groves drew three walks in the contest.
Ryan Daly put together his best outing in his Illinois career in the start, working 4.0 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, walking none and striking out four. Sam Reed, Jake Swartz, Reed Gannon and Mitch Dye all posted scoreless innings in relief, with Dye picking up the first save of his Illini career.
PURDUE WEEKEND RECAP
Illinois won its ninth-straight Big Ten series at Illinois Field by taking two of three games over Purdue.
The Illini slashed just .258/.320/.472 as a team, scoring 13 runs to go along with five doubles, a triple, four home runs and seven walks.
Cameron Chee-Aloy had one of his best weekends of the season at the plate, going 5-for-10 (.500) with two runs , a triple and two RBI. Kyle Schupmann also had a solid weekend, going 4-for-10 (.400) with a run, double, home run and two RBI.
Illinois arms went 2-1 with a 8.64 ERA (24 ER/25.0 IP), recording 15 strikeouts and yielding an opponent's average of .309.
The Orange and Blue got brilliant starts on April 25 and April 26 from Tyler Schmitt (7.1 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO) and Regan Hall (8.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R/ER, 0 BB, 4 SO), respectively, with both games being closed out by Zach Bates (2.1 IP, 0 R/ER, 0 BB, 4 SO). In the series finale on April 27, however, the pitching staff allowed a season-high 20 runs.
41-HOMER CLUB
Drake Westcott moved another spot up Illinois' all-time home run leaderboard after slugging the 41st homer in his Illini career in the series finale on April 27 at Purdue.
Westcott is now alone in second place all-time in program history, trailing only Scott Spiezio (1991-93), who slugged 48 homers in his Illinois career.
The Edwardsville, Ill., native reached the 40-homer mark on April 22 at Indiana State with his two-home run performance, becoming the third Illini in program history to reach 40 dingers.
It was the first multi-HR game of the season for Westcott and the eighth such performance of his career.
KINGS OF THE HILL
The Fighting Illini got another solid turn through their weekend rotation from their regular starters to claim a series victory over Purdue.
The duo of Tyler Schmitt and Regan Hall combined to go 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA (4 ER/15.1 IP), fanning nine batters while issuing just one walk.
Zach Bates continued to shine in high-leverage situations, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth on April 25 to keep Illinois' 6-4 advantage and then tossed a scoreless ninth to earn his fifth save of the season. Bates then picked up save No. 6 on April 26 by turning in a 1-2-3 ninth.
Mitch Dye (1.2 IP, 0 R/ER, 3 BB, 2 SO) and Jake Swartz (1.0 IP, 0 R/ER) also didn't allow a run in relief this weekend.
HALL MONITOR
Regan Hall continued his run of strong starts on April 26, earning his fourth-straight win by tossing a career-high 8.0 innings, allowing just one run on six hits to go along with four strikeouts.
On April 20, Hall held Washington to just one run over 5.1 innings of work, striking out four batters.Â
In the series finale vs. Indiana on April 13, Hall earned the first complete game of his career by tossing 7.0 innings and allowing just one run on four hits to go along with one walk and one strikeout. He became the first Illini pitcher to turn in a complete-game effort since Jack Wenninger (9.0 IP) on April 29, 2023, at Ohio State.
In his last four starts, the Albuquerque, N.M., native, has gone 4-0 with a 1.03 ERA (3 ER/26.2 IP) allowing 21 hits and striking out 14. He has also lowered his season ERA from 9.00 to 4.53.Â
HOME COOKING
After going 20-3 in 2024 at Illinois Field, the Illini have continued their stellar play at home, posting a 14-3 record in Champaign this season.
Illinois is outscoring its opponents 168-99 in its 17 home contests, averaging 9.9 runs per game.
The Fighting Illini have scored at least 10 runs in nine of those ball games after having 14 such games during the 2024 season.
FEELING THE CHEE-SIEST
Cameron Chee-Aloy turned in one of his best weekends at the plate vs. Purdue, going 5-for-10 with two runs scored, a triple and two RBI.
Chee-Aloy has hit safely in six of his last seven games and has gone 8-for-25 (.320) during that span with four runs scored, a triple, three RBI and two walks.
Chee-Aloy has also hit safely in 16 of his last 20 games overall, to raise his season average from .214 to .270.
CLUTCH HITTING
Through 42 games this season, the Illini have delivered in big spots at the plate, posting a team average of .315 with runners in scoring position as well as a team average of .308 with two outs in an inning. This has led to a total of 149 two-out RBI, which accounts for 43.3 percent (149/344) of runs scored by the offense this season.
Vytas Valincius leads the team with 22 hits with runners in scoring position, while Collin Jennings leads the squad with 26 two-out RBI. Kyle Schupmann leads the team with 21 hits with two outs.
Illinois has also been successful at moving runners over in their plate appearances, doing so at a .510 clip (440/863).
CLOSE CALLS
After winning on April 25 and April 26 by two runs over Purdue, Illinois is now 1-4 on the season in games decided by one run and 5-2 in games decided by two runs, good for an overall record of 6-6 in contests decided by two runs or fewer.
Illinois played its narrowest series of the season at Washington from April 18-20, getting outscored by just one run, 8-7. All three games were decided by two runs or fewer, with the Illini splitting the ballgames decided by two runs on April 18 and 20, while dropping the one-run ballgame on April 19.
In 2024, the Fighting Illini went 3-3 in one-run ballgames and 5-1 in two-run games, compiling an 8-4 record in close contests.
CATCH THEM IF YOU CAN
Through 42 games this season, the Illini have stolen 56 bases in 68 attempts more than doubling their 2024 total of 25 stolen bases.
2025 marks the first time since 2019 (59) that Illinois has swiped at least 50 bags in a single season.
As a team, Illinois has stolen a game-high six bases three times this season, doing so on Feb. 15 vs. Abilene Christian, Feb. 25 vs. Aurora and April 6 vs. Maryland.
Nick Groves leads the Illini with 13 stolen bases in 17 attempts, which also ranks tied for fourth among Big Ten players.
On Feb. 25 vs. Aurora, Cameron Chee-Aloy set the single-game program record with five stolen bases in the contest.
Greg LaChance (5-for-5), Collin Jennings (5-for-5) and Jack Zebig (2-for-2) are also all perfect in multiple stolen base attempts.
QUICK STARTS
In all three games of its series vs. Maryland from April 5-6, Illinois got off to some fast starts, scoring run in the first inning of each game while also keeping the Terrapins off the board.
In the doubleheader opener on April 5, the Illini plated a pair of runs and in the doubleheader nightcap and the finale on April 6, the Orange and Blue jumped out to 5-0 leads.
On April 15 vs. SIUE, Illinois plated six runs in the first inning, a season-high mark for the opening frame.
Last weekend vs. Purdue, the Illini scored in the first inning in all three games, using their early advantages on Friday and Saturday to lead throughout those contests.
Four the fourth-straight game on Tuesday, the Orange and Blue scored in the opening frame, plating two runs against Bradley.
Overall, Illinois is outscoring its opponents 34-33 in the first inning this season.
WALK IT OFF
The Illini earned back-to-back walk-off run-rule victories over the Terrapins to earn a series sweep from April 5-6.
In the doubleheader nightcap on April 5, Jack Zebig crushed his second walk-off home run of the season, a three-run blast in the eighth inning to give Illinois a 15-3 win.
On April 6, Collin Jennings put the finishing touches on the series sweep with a three-run shot of his own in the seventh to give the Orange and Blue the 11-0 victory.
Illinois earned its first walk-off victory of the season in the second game of the doubleheader on March 15 vs. Valparaiso thanks to Zebig's seventh-inning grand slam to lift the Illini to a 14-4 run-rule win over the Beacons.
The Orange and Blue recorded four walk-off wins last season, three of which came via a run rule.
D1BASEBALL WEEK 6 RANKINGS
Two Fighting Illini found themselves on D1Baseball player ranking lists in the outlet's week six update in late March.
Jack Zebig is ranked as the No. 44 shortstop in the country and Kyle Schupmann is ranked to the No. 45 third basemen.
Zebig, at the time of ranking, started all 22 games at short, has slashed .361/.476/.651 with six home runs and a team-high 29 RBI, which ranks 10th among Big Ten players.
Kyle Schupmann, at the time of ranking, appeared and started in 20 games during the campaign, all at third base. The Geneva, Ill., native, is slashing .325/.419/.675 with a team-high seven home runs and has also driven in 20 runs.
Neither player was featured in D1Baseball's preseason rankings.
2024 B1G CHAMPS
For the 31st time in program history, Illinois was crowned Big Ten champions after its 9-4 victory over Purdue on May 17, 2024. The Illini were able to claim an outright title with Nebraska's loss to Michigan State on May 18, 2024. Their 18-10 triumph later that day over the Boilermakers would have also solidified an outright title had the Huskers won.
The conference title was the program's third in the Dan Hartleb era (2006-pres.) and the first since 2015. Hartleb's three Big Ten championships are fifth-most in program history.
Illinois 31 conference titles are second-most all-time in the Big Ten.
ILLINI PLAY LONG BALL
During the 2024 campaign, the Fighting Illini launched 104 home runs, setting a new program record and shattering the previous of 91 (1998) in the process.
Illinois' 104 home runs were the most among Big Ten teams, slugging 21 more than second-placed Indiana (83). It also ranked 28th nationally and ninth among teams that played fewer than 60 games.
The Orange and Blue averaged 1.86 home runs per game, which was the 19th-highest mark in the country and the best in the Big Ten.
Five players tallied double-digit home runs last season (Brody Harding, Ryan Moerman, Jacob Schroeder, Vytas Valincius, Drake Westcott) and were the only team in the conference with more than four players in double figures.
The Illini return 54.8 percent (57/104) of their home run production in 2025.
FOUR IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
Illinois slugged at least four home runs in a single game seven times last season, winning each one of those contests.
The Illini did so for the first time in the 2025 campaign in the first game of the doubleheader vs. Valparaiso on March 15, but suffered a rare defeat when hitting that mark.
The Illini crushed a season-high five home runs in the second game of the doubleheader on March 21 at Northwestern to defeat the Wildcats 11-6.
The Orange and Blue reached the four-HR mark for the first time at home this season on Tuesday vs. SIUE, slugging five.
Illinois had eight such games in 2023, going 7-1 in those ballgames. Since 2018, Illinois is 20-3 when they hit at least four homers in a single game.
DAN HARTLEB'S 20TH SEASON
Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb begins his 20th season at the helm of the program in 2025.
The winningest coach in Illini baseball history has currently amassed 593Â wins, three Big Ten championships, one Big Ten Tournament title, five NCAA Regional appearances and one NCAA Super Regional Appearance.
Along with being named Big Ten Coach of the Year two times, Hartleb was named Big Coach of the Decade (2010s), by D1Baseball.
As he enters his 35th season overall at Illinois, Hartleb has seen 148 players have earned Big Ten All-Conference honors under his watch, with 47 of those players earning first-team selections. He's also coached a total of 27 All-Americans and 96 players who have gone on to play professionally.
Among active Big Ten coaches, Hartleb is one of two coaches that have spent at least 20 seasons as head coach at their current school (John Savage, UCLA, 21st season in 2025).Â
HOME SWEET HOME
Illinois finished the 2024 season 20-3 at Illinois Field after taking two of three games from Iowa from May 10-12, 2024.
The Illini also went 8-0 during its season-long homestand from April 9-23, 2024.
It was the first time since 2015 that Illinois won at least 20 home games, with the Illini's .869 winning percentage is the highest mark in program history since 1940 (8-1, .889).
The Orange and Blue were victorious in all six home series last season, earning sweeps over Penn State, Northern Illinois and Northwestern. Overall, Illinois has won nine-straight home series, dating back to 2023.
Following the sweep of Northwestern from April 19-21, 2024, the Illini had won 12-straight Big Ten home games dating back to last season, four series sweeps, which was the longest such streak since the Orange and Blue won 18-straight such games from May 2, 2014, to March 26, 2016.
The Fighting Illini also won their home opener 12-2 over Eastern Illinois at Illinois Field on Feb. 27, 2024. Illinois is 8-3 in its last 11 home openers and the 12 runs scored are the most since also scoring 12 in the 2021 home opener vs. Northwestern.
OPENING DAY HISTORY
Illinois is 6-3 in their last nine season openers, following 2025's curtain-raising defeat to Abilene Christian on Feb. 14...the Illini snapped a brief two-game losing streak in season openers in their 9-6 victory over Youngstown State in 2023.
DAN HARTLEB, THE WINNINGEST COACH ATÂ ILLINOIS
Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb earned win No. 519 on April 2, 2023, against Michigan, passing Lee Eilbracht for the most in program history...currently has 593Â career wins.
CLEAN FIELDING
The Illini led the Big Ten in fielding percentage during conference play (.986) last season for the third-straight year and for the fifth time in the last six seasons overall.
The Illini posted a .979 fielding percentage overall and have posted a .970 overall fielding percentage or better in 12 of the last 14 seasons.
NEW YEAR, NEW FACES
Illinois has 17 returners and 18 newcomers on the 2024 roster.
  » Thirteen newcomers are transfers: LHP Zach Bates (Iowa Central CC), RHP Ryan Daly (St. Francis), RHP Mitch Dye (Lincoln Land CC), OF Nick Groves (Niagara), C/1B Will Johannes (Madison College), INF Greg LaChance (Jefferson College), LHP Reece Marley (Case Western Reserve), RHP Christian Morel (Tampa Unviersity), INF/RHP Grant Ross (Madison College), RHP Tyler Schmitt (UW-La Crosse), INF Kyle Schupmann (Cincinnati), OF Alexander Wright (George Washington), INF Jack Zebig (Marryville University)
ILLINI TRIO EARN BIG TEN PRESEASON HONORS
A trio of Illini baseball players were selected Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch, the conference announced on Feb. 12.
Right-hander Ben Plumley along with catcher Jacob Schroeder and first baseman Drake Westcott, were all named to the list.
Plumley is coming off of a breakout 2024 season, where he amassed 33 strikeouts in 35.1 innings of work last season over 23 relief appearances. He had a season-long six-game span (8.1 IP) without allowing an earned run from May 10 to June 1, striking out eight batters compared to three walks.
Schroeder, who earned 2024 College Baseball Foundation All-American Second Team and All-Big Ten First Team honors slashed .306/.434/.613 to go along with seven doubles, 14 home runs and 41 RBI. Schroeder ranked tied for ninth in the Big Ten in home runs and also ranked among conference leaders in slugging (8th) and OPS (1.047, 10th).Â
Westcott slashed .290/.421/.571 to go along with 11 doubles, 16 home runs and 52 RBI. He ranked among conference leaders in walks (T-3rd, 47) and home runs (T-4th). Westcott enters the 2025 campaign with 34 career dingers in the Orange and Blue, 14 away from matching Scott Spiezio's (1991-93) program record of 48.
ONES TO WATCH
D1Baseball Big Ten Top 2025 MLB Draft
Prospects: No. 19 RHP Tyler Schmitt, No. 22 OF Nick Groves, No. 37 RHP Julius Sanchez
D1Baseball Big Ten Top 2026 MLB Draft Prospects: No. 10 OF Cameron Chee-Aloy
Perfect Game Preseason All-Conference Team: 1B Drake Westcott
Perfect Game Big Ten Top 2025 MLB Draft
Prospects: No. 30 RHP Julius Sanchez, No. 38 Ben Plumley
Perfect Game Big Ten Top 2027 MLB Draft Prospects: No. 16 OF/LHP Brayden Mazzacano
ILLINI BASEBALL INKS SEVEN TO 2025 CLASS
"I am extremely excited about the group of great athletes that we have signed to join our Illini family," head coach Dan Hartleb said.Â
"We feel as if this group has the ability to help us to pursue future championships. In the changing times of college athletics, I feel as though our staff did a tremendous job of identifying great athletes and helping to secure their talents which will ensure our success moving forward."
Michael Farina / INF / Mundelein, Ill.
Aidan Flinn / LHP / Mokena, Ill.
Lucas Krebs / SS / Edwardsville, Ill.
Ryan Ohm / RHP / Rochester, Minn.
AJ Putty / 1B / McHenry, Ill.
Jack Wheeler / 3B/RHP / Morris, Ill.
Ike Young / RHP / Cisco, Ill.
UP NEXT
The Fighting Illini return to Illinois Field for a midweek contest vs. Bradley on Tuesday. First pitch from Champaign is set for 6 p.m. CT.
