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PING!BASEBALL
SPOTLIGHT COACH
Dan Callahan
Southern Illinois Salukis
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College baseball fans can quickly recite
storied programs such as Southern Cal, Texas and LSU as those
who have cemented themselves in the annals of baseball history.
However even some the most knowledgeable fans fail to mention
a program which has piled up a treasure trove of accolades
over their existence on the diamond, the Southern Illinois
Salukis. SIU has made the trip to Omaha five times in their
sixty-one year existence; that’s just as many visits
as programs such as Arkansas, Minnesota and Florida and more
than Texas A&M, Tennessee and the reigning two-time champion
Oregon State. While the Salukis haven’t had the success
in recent years that they did in the late sixties and seventies
when they were the CWS runner-up twice, they’ve hardly
been an afterthought when it comes to playing quality baseball.
 SIU
has won at least thirty games five of the past six seasons
(34-22 in ‘07), and with their three top hitters, two
of three weekend starters and closer returning to Carbondale,
the Salukis should not only eclipse the thirty win mark once
again, but challenge the forty win plateau and compete for
the Missouri Valley Conference title.
The man at the helm of the Saluki ship is
Head Coach Dan Callahan who returns for this fourteenth season
in Maroon & White. Since taking over the program in 1989,
Callahan clubs have won 356 games, good for second in school
history. A former minor leaguer who went into coaching after
it was evident that a pay to play career wasn’t in the
cards, Callahan’s teams have won without relying on
big bats to drive home runs. In 2007 SIU won 34 games despite
not having a single Saluki eclipse five homeruns for the season
(last year thirty players individually hit more homeruns than
the Salukis’ season total of 16). In fact, there hasn’t
been a Southern Illinois player with double-digit dingers
since 2003. Instead good pitching, defense and smart fundamental
baseball have contributed to wins.
In 2005 each of SIU’s three starting
pitchers earned All-MVC honors and were selected in the top-20
rounds of the Major League Baseball amateur draft. Additionally
the team’s 3.41 ERA ranked 19th in the country. Last
year Saluki pitchers had a team ERA of 4.29 to place in the
top twenty-five percent of the nation, led by Cody Adams’
3.01 mark in 109 innings pitched. In the next MLB amateur
draft in June, Adams will certainly be faced with the dilemma
of finishing school or going pro as it is anticipated to be
an early selection due to his increasingly blistering mid-90’s
fastball.
Defensively Callahan coached teams have repeatedly
placed in the top 20 nationally in fielding percentage (most
recently in 2002) and led the country in turning double plays
with 72 twin-killings in 2003 and finished 23rd in double
plays per game in 2006. Even with two freshmen on the left
side for much of the year in 2007 the Salukis ranked 37th
in double players per game. With a year’s experience,
Callahan expects the infield defense to improve in 2008 and
match the already steady mitts in the outfield and behind
the plate and once again regain the elite status level they
achieved a couple years ago.
Callahan has helped produce two dozen Major
League Baseball draft picks and 15 first-team All-MVC selections.
Numbers which will unquestionably grow after this season as
SIU boasts one of the best catchers (both offensively and
defensively) in the nation in junior Mark Kelly (.379, 2,
63), and a pair of terrific pitchers in junior starter Cody
Adams (11-5, 3.01, 89 strikeouts) and sophomore reliever Bryant
George (3-1, 3.15, 11 saves). Each of the trio was recently
named to the Brooks Wallace Preseason Watch List as college
baseball premier player. George’s 11 saves last year
tied for the most by any freshman in the county and for 23rd
overall.
Despite striving to make his players winners
on the field, Callahan stresses the importance of having accomplished
students-athletes in the classroom as well. In nearly 20 years
as a head college baseball coach (he also coached Eastern
Illinois for six before taking over the reigns at SIU), nearly
every player who was a part of his program for more than two
years completed their college degree.
“As much as we feel we have a fine
track record of helping guys move on to the pro level, we
still try to stress that the odds of that occurring are still
rare.” Callahan affirmed, “If one does the math,
most guys will not play pro ball, let alone play in the big
leagues, and we do our best to stress the importance of leaving
SIU with a degree, even if it is a semester or year after
their eligibility expires.”
Even with perennial favorite Wichita State
and a competitive Creighton club returning much of their pennant
winning teams (WSU regular season title, CU conference tournament)
from a year ago, the Southern Illinois Salukis should challenge
for their first Missouri Valley Conference title and NCAA
appearance since 1990.
“We certainly hope this is our year,”
Callahan said when asked if this is the year SIU takes it
to the next level, “I still think we're going to be
chasing Wichita State, which has almost become a given in
the MVC, and we know Creighton is expected to be strong. I'm
confident we have the pitching depth and returnees at the
positions to make a strong run in the league.”
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