McLean County Times

A year after achieving their highest number of conference wins since 2013, the Illinois State baseball team has been projected to finish fourth in the annual Preseason Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Coaches' Poll. This announcement was made by the league on Monday.

Missouri State leads the poll with 90 total points and five first-place votes. Southern Illinois follows closely with 86 points, while Murray State ranks third with 84 points. The Redbirds are placed fourth with 72 points. Evansville and Indiana State are tied for fifth place with 49 points each. UIC, Belmont, Bradley, and Valparaiso complete the poll rankings.

Illinois State's baseball team also boasts three players on the MVC Preseason All-Conference Team, matching the highest number from any school in the conference. Seniors Judah Morris and Kyle Gibson, along with junior Daniel Pacella, have been recognized for their performance.

Daniel Pacella is notable as he returns from last season's All-MVC First Team. He has started all 17 games this season in left field and currently holds a batting average of .433/.494/.761 with eight doubles, four home runs, 13 RBIs, and 16 runs scored.

Judah Morris received an Honorable Mention All-MVC selection last season and continues to be a key player at first base for the Redbirds in 2025. His current stats include a .322/.461/.763 batting average with a team-leading 22 RBIs, five doubles, seven home runs, and 13 runs over 59 at-bats.

Kyle Gibson joined the Redbirds before the start of this season and has quickly become an essential part of the team at third base. He is slashing .324/.380/.380 with two doubles, a triple, 11 RBIs, and ten runs scored so far this year.

Head coach Steve Holm is in his seventh season leading ISU. Under his guidance last year, they achieved a record of 30-27 overall and went 16-11 in MVC play—the most conference wins for ISU since their first-place finish in 2013 when they had a record of 16-5.

The Redbirds will face SIUE in an upcoming midweek game scheduled for Tuesday at Duffy Bass Field at 5 PM. The game will be available for streaming on ESPN+.

For further updates on Illinois State Baseball activities or events such as ticket information or merchandise purchases visit GoRedbirds.com or follow them across various social media platforms including X (@RedbirdBaseball), Instagram (isuredbirdbaseball), and Facebook (Illinois State Baseball).