McLean County Times

The Illinois State baseball team has released its schedule for the 2025 season. The upcoming season includes matchups against five teams that participated in last year's NCAA Tournament and seven teams that were ranked in the top 100 of the previous year's RPI.

Key returning players for the Redbirds include Daniel Pacella, a First Team All-MVC selection, as well as Joe Husak and Judah Morris, who received Honorable Mentions. The team will also welcome 18 new players, including nine transfers such as Kyle Gibson from Millikin, Leo Berger from UW Parkside, Michael Addari from Michigan State, and Cam Hill from John A. Logan CC.

Illinois State ended the 2024 season with 30 wins, tying for ninth-most in program history. This was also the second-highest win total under head coach Steve Holm since his debut season in 2019 when he achieved 36 wins.

The Redbirds' 2025 campaign kicks off with a four-game series against Western Kentucky in Bowling Green on February 14-16. Following this series, they will play at SIUE on February 18 before traveling to Jacksonville University from February 21-23.

Further road games include matchups against Lindenwood (February 28-March 2), Oral Roberts (March 5), and Oklahoma State (March 7-9). They will return to Illinois for games against Northwestern on March 11 and Western Illinois on March 13-14. The home opener is set for March 15-16 against Western Illinois.

Missouri Valley Conference play begins with a trip to Belmont from March 21-23. Home games follow against Iowa on March 25 and Murray State from March 28-30.

April sees the Redbirds facing several opponents both home and away, including Illinois (April 1), Valparaiso (April 4-6), Evansville (April11-13), Bradley (April18-20), Northern Illinois (April23), Southern Illinois (April25-27), Iowa again on April29, and Southern Indiana on April30.

In May, they host Missouri State from May2-4 before visiting Northern Illinois on May6. The final home series is scheduled against UIC from May9-11 before Eastern Illinois visits Normal on May13. The regular season concludes with an MVC series at Indiana State from May15-17.

The MVC Tournament returns to Duffy Bass Field in Normal between May20-May24 where eight teams will compete for a conference championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. However, host team Illinois State is not guaranteed participation in this tournament.

For updates about the team's schedule or other information related to Redbird Baseball fans can visit GoRedbirds.com or follow them across social media platforms like X (@RedbirdBaseball) or Instagram (@isuredbirdbaseball).