The Illinois State baseball team will travel to Murray, Kentucky, for the Missouri Valley Conference Championship at Johnny Reagan Field at Taylor Family Park, according to a May 19 announcement. The Redbirds are entering their sixth tournament appearance under head coach Steve Holm as the No. 6 seed and will play No. 3 Murray State in the opening round on Wednesday, May 20.
The matchup is significant as Illinois State aims to build on its previous tournament performances and secure a deeper run this season. The Redbirds have posted a 3-2 record in their last five tournament openers, including a decisive win over Indiana State last year.
Illinois State comes into the championship after losing its final regular-season series against Michigan State. In that series finale, redshirt sophomore Brayden Bakes set a new single-season hit record for the program by becoming the first player to surpass 90 hits in one season. Bakes matched his career-best with four hits during Saturday’s game.
Bakes was among nine Redbirds recognized with All-MVC honors announced Tuesday morning. He received First Team accolades alongside Graham Mastros, Camden Karczewski, Michael Addari, and Reece Clapp. Luke Stulga earned Second Team honors while Ryan Bakes, Michael Carrano Jr., and Carson Cormier were named Honorable Mention.
Murray State enters as host after securing the No. 3 seed with a series victory over Evansville. Pitcher Nic Schutte is expected to start for Murray State; he leads his team with a 4.28 ERA and has tallied 75 strikeouts across more than seventy-five innings pitched this season. Senior first baseman Luke Mistone leads their offense with strong hitting statistics.
According to the official website, Illinois State Redbirds benefits from resources such as the Redbird Athletics Excellence Fund for competitiveness and recruitment; they utilize facilities like OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center for student-athlete preparation; compete in NCAA Division I events across various regions; are linked to Illinois State University; offer news and fan resources online; and recently saw success in men’s basketball starts.
