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 As the associate head coach, Durkac’s responsibilities included
spearheading recruiting, as well as working with ISU hitters and
infielders. Not only does his experience include 12 years of
coaching, but it also includes seven years of playing professionally
spanning the globe.
“I am pleased to announce that Bo Durkac has accepted the position
of head coach for our baseball program,” Lyons said. “We had
significant interest from head coaches of very successful programs,
as well as assistant coaches from high level programs from across
the country. We trusted our search process to lead us to our next
head coach. Bo’s passion for baseball and Illinois State was evident
from the beginning. He has a keen baseball mind and the ability to
transfer that knowledge to bring out the best in our young men. He
has a passion for those players off the field and believes in the
Illinois State commitment to academics and individual personal
development. We have no doubt that he will continue the high level
of excellence that we saw under Coach Kingston. Illinois State
baseball is in very good hands, and we are excited about the future
under Bo’s leadership.”
At the end of the 2014 season, six Redbirds were selected in the
Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, which set a program record for
players picked in a single draft. Offensively, ISU was second in the
conference in on-base percentage (.378), triples (16) and walks
(262). The team finished third in batting average (.272), runs
scored (313) and runs batted in (287). During the 2014 season,
Durkac helped lead the Redbirds to their second-straight Valley
Tournament Championship game, as ISU finished the regular season in
fifth place.
During the 2014 season, Durkac also helped develop Paul DeJong, who
was named a Valley First Team honoree. DeJong led Illinois State in
most offensive categories this spring, including batting average
(.360), on-base percentage (.443), slugging percentage (.605), hits
(72), home runs (8), doubles (19), triples (3), total bases (121)
and runs batted in (45). He finished second in the Valley in batting
average, hits, total bases and slugging percentage. DeJong appeared
in 50 games for Illinois State and spent time defensively at second
base, third base, catcher and shortstop.
“First of all, I want to thank Larry Lyons and his staff for giving
me this wonderful opportunity,” Durkac said. “The fact that I will
be a Head Coach at such a well-respected institution like Illinois
State University—both academically and from a baseball standpoint—is
truly a dream come true. From a professional standpoint, I want to
thank two people in particular. The first is Mark Kingston. I have
known Mark for over twenty years, and he is the one who helped get
my coaching career started once I finished playing. I enjoyed and
took great satisfaction in what we accomplished here over the past
five years. I would also like to thank Loren Hibbs. When I decided I
wanted to be a college baseball coach, he was one of several coaches
I contacted to help get my foot in the door. He took a chance on a
guy who was long on desire but short on experience when he could
have very easily hired someone already in the business.”
In 2013, Durkac helped guide the most successful regular season in
Illinois State baseball history, as the Redbirds won a
program-record 39 games and the first outright Missouri Valley
Conference title in school history. Offensively, Illinois State led
the MVC in batting average (.293), on-base percentage (.388),
slugging percentage (.403) and home runs (29) and averaged 6.2
runs-per-game. Additionally, five position players were named
First-Team All-Missouri Valley Conference. Durkac oversaw a pair of
four-year Redbirds who were drafted in the 2013 Major League
Baseball First Year Player Draft, helping mold Brett Kay (San
Francisco Giants), winner of the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference
Defensive Most Valuable Player award, and Chad Hinshaw (Los Angeles
Angels), Illinois State's all-time stolen base leader.
Under Durkac's guidance, the 2012 Illinois State offense was one of
the most potent in NCAA Division I baseball. The offense averaged
6.9 runs-per-game, good for 12thnationally, and led the led the
Missouri Valley Conference in batting average (.297), and on-base
percentage (.386) while finishing second in slugging percentage
(.426).
Durkac helped the 2011 Redbirds win 36 games, while hitting .271
with a Valley-high .409 slugging percentage and a .385 on-base
percentage. ISU also hit 39 home runs, which ranked second in the
league. In his first season at Illinois State, Durkac oversaw a 2010
Redbird team that hit .293, as ISU won its first-ever MVC
regular-season title and its first State Farm MVC Tournament
championship since 1994.
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“It is not about what Illinois State has done for me, rather, it
is what I expect to do for Illinois State,” Durkac continued. “The
standard has been set. The expectations are clear. I will work
tirelessly to make Illinois State University proud of its
student-athletes both on and off the field. Simply put, I love this
school, I love this town, and I am honored to be the next head coach
of the Redbirds.”
At Charlotte, Durkac served as the hitting instructor,
infield/outfield defensive instructor and recruiting coordinator.
Durkac led Charlotte to steady offensive increases each season,
including a school-record .333 batting average in 2008. Also during
the 2008 season, the Niners collected their second-highest hit total
in a single season with 720, giving the team over 700 hits in
back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history. Durkac
coached or recruited 36 all-conference selections, three
All-Americans and three freshman All-America selections.
Durkac finished his professional baseball career with the Long
Island Ducks of the Atlantic League in 2001, after playing for
Sonoma County in the Western Baseball League that summer and with
the Taichung Agan in the Taiwan Major Leagues during the spring.
Before playing in Taiwan, he played three seasons in the Western
Baseball League for the Chico Heat and was named a Western League
All-Star in 1999. That fall, he played for Team USA in the XIV
International Cup in Sydney, Australia. Durkac spent the 1996 and
1997 in affiliated Minor League Baseball.
He has authored two books on baseball: "2001: A Baseball Odyssey"
and "How to Become a Professional Baseball Player." He also
contributed a semimonthly column on Baseball America's website for
two years.
What Everyone is Saying about Bo Durkac
Mark Kingston - Head Coach at South Florida “I am excited
that Bo has been named the next head coach at Illinois State. He was
an integral part of the building process over the last five years.
He has a passion for the game and a great desire to help
student-athletes. I know Bo will continue the upward trend of the
program, and I think Larry Lyons has made a tremendous decision.”
Loren Hibbs - Head Coach at Charlotte “Bo’s first coaching
job was with us as an assistant coach. He is a worker and a
tremendous recruiter. He will do a great job at Illinois State. He
grew as a coach here and he had a great run with player development
and recruiting. I am happy he got the promotion under coach Kingston
at ISU. Now, he is a head coach, it is a great hire by Illinois
state and he will do a tremendous job.”
Chet Sergo - Area Scout for Los Angeles Dodgers “On the
field, Bo shows energy and communicates well with players. He is
constantly coaching and motivating and is very fundamental in his
teachings. In his five years in the area, Bo has established
recruiting ties and contacts that have had him at the right
ballparks and events to bring championship players to ISU. On the
recruiting trail, Bo is a very good worker and evaluator. He has
always been a good representative for the Redbird baseball program,
and I am confident he will make a fine head coach at Illinois State.
I believe you have the right man.”
Sean Duncan - Executive Director of the Prep Baseball Report
“I sincerely believe that the reason why Illinois State has had so
much success recently is in large part due to Bo’s tireless work
ethic and evaluative eye. Bo is one of the best in the business in
identifying players, extremely talented players, and is consistently
ahead of the curve with them. Bo Durkac will be a great head coach
at Illinois State.”
[Text received; LAUREN HUTCHCRAFT,
ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY]
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