McLean County Times

Under the guidance of new head coach Michael Kellar, Illinois Wesleyan University's baseball team is set to begin its 2025 season with a three-game series in Greenville, Illinois. Originally scheduled for earlier dates, the games were postponed due to cold weather conditions. The Titans will play a doubleheader against Grinnell College on Sunday, February 23 at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., followed by a game against Greenville University on Monday, February 24 at 2 p.m. All matches will take place at Robert E. Morris Field.

Michael Kellar steps into his role as head coach after six years as an assistant coach. Josh Laurie has taken over Kellar's previous position as the primary fielders' coach. The team introduces 17 new players this season, including 16 freshmen and one transfer student.

Among the newcomers are freshmen Ben Ford from Naperville, Derek Ittner from Bloomingdale, Evan Les from Tinley Park, Trey Schilling from Lincoln, Michael Gurgone from Mokena, Jack Wisdom from Bloomington, Brennen Tomhave from Pittsfield, Matt Hudik from Frankfort, Morgan Wachler from Palatine, Cole Benson from Oak Park River Forest, Caden Addis from Fairbury Prairie Central, Bradley Crawford from Glenview Glenbrook South, Cole McClusky from Maryville Collinsville, Patrick Smith and Danny Johnson both hailing from Chicago St. Rita and St. Ignatius respectively. Junior transfer Gage Wolfe joins the Titans after transferring last spring.

Returning players include five key members who received All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin honors last season: juniors Cole Shamhart and Will Davidsmeier; seniors Justin Gadomski and Tyler Woltman; and sophomore John Philip Ferraro. Shamhart also earned all-region recognition in 2024.

Davidsmeier led with a low earned run average of 1.82 over 29.2 innings pitched last season with a record of 6-1. Dalen Banks posted a 2.53 ERA in 67.2 innings while Shamhart maintained an ERA of 2.97 over 63.2 innings with an unbeaten record of 8-0.

Offensively, Ferraro ended last season with a .388 batting average while Gadomski achieved a .382 average.

The Titans have faced Grinnell College twice before since their first encounter in the 2017 season—winning both games in extra innings by scores of 6-5 each time.

Against Greenville University (GU), IWU holds an overall record of 13-6 dating back to their first meeting in 2001 but lost their last three encounters against GU including a defeat on February 24 two years ago when they fell short with a scoreline of zero to ten during that year's opener concluded within seven innings.

Sunday’s initial match will commence at one o'clock in the afternoon and can be viewed via live stream accessible through IWUsports.com under baseball's schedule section.