Jack Van Remortel Joins Illinois Baseball Staff as Director of Player Development
September 6, 2026 | Baseball
NEWS
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Jack Van Remortel has joined the Illinois baseball coaching staff as director of player development, head coach Dan Hartleb announced.
Van Remortel comes to the Fighting Illini after spending the last two seasons as an assistant coach at Akron.
"We are extremely excited to have Jack join our coaching staff," Hartleb said. "He comes to us with playing experience at the Division I level while competing in the Big Ten. Jack also has three years of coaching experience as well as experience coaching the bases. He is a bright young mind and will be an integral part of our program."
"I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for the University of Illinois baseball program," Van Remortel said. "As a player, I loved competing against Illinois because the team always played the game the right way. I am very grateful for the opportunity to join a program and staff that has had such long-standing success. Excited to get to work!"
While with the Zips, Van Remortel managed and led infield development while assisting with hitting development. He also designed and implemented practice plans, scouting reports, and game strategy. He was in charge of planning and facilitating youth and prospect camps and assisted with on- and off-campus recruiting efforts.
Across his two seasons at Akron, he coached NCBWA Third-Team All-American Brady Bowen in addition to two All-MAC selections and two All-MAC Defensive Team honorees.
After competing at Michigan from 2018-23, Van Remortel served as a graduate assistant as his alma mater during the 2024 campaign. In that role, he was the first base coach while assisting with on-campus recruiting and infield development. He also implemented and facilitated hitting development, developed and executed practice plans, participated in coaching meetings that involved game strategy and recruitment, and analyzed Trackman videos and data.
As a student-athlete with the Wolverines, he was part of Michigan's 2019 NCAA Tournament runner-up squad and won the Big Ten championship in 2022. Named to the 2023 Shriners College Classic All-Tournament Team, Van Remortel was a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree. He posted a career .264 batting average while competing in 106 games with 78 starts.
A native of Carmel, Indiana, Van Remortel earned his bachelor's degree in sport management with a minor in entrepreneurship before completing a graduate certificate in real estate development.
