Last week, Illinois baseball named Dillon Napoleon as their new permanent pitching coach. Napoleon takes over for Zach Luevanos who was in the interim role after Coach Mark Allen’s passing.
Napoleon comes with good qualifications. A bit of a bio on our new pitching coach:
– Pitching coach at Western Kentucky University since 2022.
– WKU’s 3.50 ERA in 2025 was the 4th lowest in the nation.
– Before WKU, he was pitching coach at Iowa Western Community College
– Named CUSA’s Assistant Coach of the Year in 2025
– Eight pitchers went pro under his tutelage.
– As a student, he compiled a 19-1 record with Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois.
– Native of Wilmette, Illinois
Dillon Napoleon sounds like what Illinois needs right now!
Coach Dan Hartleb seems to be happy to have Coach Napoleon on board:
We are extremely excited to have Dillon join our Illini family and coaching staff. For years I have admired how Dillon has carried and presented himself dating back to his time in the Big Ten as an assistant at Northwestern. He has proven to be a tireless recruiter and his pitching staffs’ numbers speak for themselves. His ability to build strong relationships and drive skill development has been instrumental in his teams’ successes and the individual achievements of his pitchers.
No doubt, that recruiting experience will be useful right off the bat. He will be joining Hartleb and fellow assistant coaches Adam Christ and Curt Courtwright as they will begin scouting during the off-season.
Welcome Dillon Napoleon!
Coach Hartleb named to USA Baseball coaching staff
In other news, Coach Hartleb has been named to the coaching staff of USA Baseball’s 2025 Collegiate National Team Training Camp.
This is Hartleb’s fifth assignment to USA Baseball, the last one being in 2021. He will serve as the bench/hitting coach for Team Stripes.
The Stars vs. Stripes series will be held June 29 – July 3 throughout North Carolina.
Congrats, Coach!