Evansville Purple Aces baseball | |
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Founded | 1924 |
Overall record | 1,565–1,509–12 |
University | University of Evansville |
Head coach | Wes Carroll (17th season) |
Conference | Missouri Valley |
Location | Evansville, Indiana |
Home stadium | Charles H. Braun Stadium (Capacity: 1,200) |
Nickname | Purple Aces |
Colors | Purple, white, and orange [1] |
NCAA regional champions | |
2024 | |
NCAA Tournament appearances | |
1975, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2006, 2024 | |
Conference tournament champions | |
1988, 1990, 2006, 2024 | |
Regular season conference champions | |
1951, 1975, 1976, 1988, 1990, 1991, 2006, 2014 | |
Conference division champions | |
1988, 1989, 1990 |
The Evansville Purple Aces baseball team represents the University of Evansville in NCAA Division I college baseball. The Purple Aces have competed in the Missouri Valley Conference since 1995. The Purple Aces play all home games on German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium. The team competed in two NCAA Division II baseball tournaments before they started competing in Division I in 1995. Since then they have competed in four NCAA Division I baseball tournaments and have won one regional championship.
The first officially sanctioned Evansville College baseball team was formed in 1924. John Harmon was hired as the first head coach of the then-Evansville College Pioneers. Their first game was against Bethel College, which led to a 5–4 Pioneers victory, marking their first in school history. The Pioneers would finish their inaugural season with a 3–6 record. Harmon would lead the Pioneers to a 5–2 record the following season, their first winning season in school history. In 1926, the "Pioneers" nickname was switched to the "Aces" with popular support. During the same year, the team regressed to 4–10. This was also the last season before the college discontinued the program.
In 1946, Emerson Henke was hired as the head coach to reconstruct the Purple Aces baseball program. In their return season, Henke led the team to a 0–5 record before being fired at the end of the year. Henke is the only Evansville coach to be fired after not winning a game and owns the title for shortest-tenured coach in school history.
Before the 1947 season, Evansville football coach Don Ping was hired as the Purple Aces baseball coach. In his first season with the team, the Aces went 3–4 before improving to 7–4–1 in 1948. After finishing 5–6–1 in 1949 and 6–5 in 1950, Evansville joined the Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) before the start of the 1951 season. Evansville finished their first ICC season with a 7–4–1 winning their first regular season conference championship. Ping would coach the Aces baseball team for another 15 seasons without any postseason success. He compiled a 93–119–5 record and became the first Aces head coach to reach the 90-win mark.
In 1967, Dave Daviess was hired as the new baseball coach to replace Ping. In his first season, the Aces compiled a 3–8 record while playing some low-level non-conference opponents. The following season, Daviess' group regressed to 4–9 but played slightly better than the previous years. In 1969, the Aces finished with a 9–7–1 which was their best finish since they went 12–3–1 in 1956. Daviess stepped down from being the baseball coach before the 1970 season. He compiled a 16–24–1 record in three seasons with the team.
Wayne Boultinghouse was hired as the head baseball coach before the 1970 season. He would help the Aces to a 7–7 record in his first year but the team would regress to 3–12 the next year. In 1972, the Aces would finally play their first full schedule of games as they finished with a 14–15–2 record while playing 12 series against high-ranking opponents. In 1974, the Aces would finish with a program-best 35–21 record. After the season, Boultinghouse would step down from his position after compiling an 80–66–2 record in five years.
In 1975, Bob Hodges was hired as the head baseball coach. His first season would prove to be more than successful. He led the team to a 17–12 regular season record, helping the Aces win their first ICC regular season championship in 24 years. For this, the Aces got an automatic berth to the 1975 NCAA Division II Mideast Regional. After losing to SIU Edwardsville and Wright State, the Aces were eliminated with a 17–14 record. The Aces would continue to be successful the next year, earning another ICC regular season championship while earning a spot in the 1976 NCAA Division II Mideast Regional. The Aces would go 0–2 in the tournament losing to Wright State again and Eastern Illinois. The Aces ended the year with a 21–16 record. After two years with the team and a 38–30 record, Hodges stepped down from his coaching position.
In 1977, Mike Platt was hired to be the newest baseball coach for the Purple Aces. In his first season, he helped the Aces to a 22–18 record before going 13–29 the following season. Platt was fired following the 1978 season. In two years he went 35–47 as the head coach.
Gary Crum was hired as the next head coach of the Purple Aces in 1979. After going 4–27, Crum was fired.
In 1980, Evansville made a risky decision by hiring former Illinois State baseball player Jim Brownlee as their next head coach. Brownlee had previously been the head baseball coach of Princeton Community High School in Princeton, Indiana and had little college coaching experience. This was evident after Evansville finished with a 7–37–1 in his first season.
Before the 1981 season, Evansville joined the Midwestern City Conference (MCC) – now known as the Horizon League – in hopes of better competition. Evansville struggled in the conference until 1985 when they went 38–26 overall and 7–5 in the conference. Brownlee was named MCC Coach of the Year and Pat Heck won MCC Player of the Year, marking the first time in school history that a coach or player won such awards.
Evansville won the MCC regular season divisional and conference championship during the 1988 season after compiling an 11–1 record in conference play. After losing in the first round of the MCC Tournament, Evansville fought to beat Detroit Mercy twice to win the tournament. Brad Tyler was named MCC Tournament Most Valuable Player. They were then given an automatic berth to the 1988 NCAA Division I Tempe Regional. Evansville would upset the eventual College World Series runner-ups in No. 1 Arizona State in the first round but would lose back-to-back games against No. 4 UNLV and No. 3 Central Michigan to be eliminated. Pitcher Andy Benes became the first Aces player to be named Consensus All-American while also being awarded MCC Player of the Year, Baseball America Pitcher of the Year, Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year, and was named the inaugural Rotary Smith Award recipient. Brownlee was also named MCC Coach of the Year. Evansville finished the season with a program-best 44–20 record, a school record that still stands as of 2024.
Season | Conference | Coach | Opponent | Score(s) |
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1988 | MCC | Jim Brownlee | Detroit Mercy | 7–0, 9–4 |
1990 | Notre Dame | 8–7 | ||
2006 | MVC | Dave Schrage | Missouri State | 8–4, 2–1 |
2024 | Wes Carroll | Indiana State | 8–6 | |
Conference Tournament Championships: 4 |
Season | Conference | Coach | Overall | Conference | |
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1951 | ICC | Don Ping | 7–9 | 6–2 | |
1975 | Bob Hodges | 17–14 | 10–2 | ||
1976 | 21–16 | 10–2 | |||
1988 | MCC | Jim Brownlee | 44–20 | 11–1 | |
1990 | 27–25 | 11–3 | |||
1991 | 40–18–1 | 19–5 | |||
2006 | MVC | Dave Schrage | 43–22 | 16–8 | |
2014 | Wes Carroll | 34–21 | 15–6 | ||
Conference Regular Season Championships: 8 |
Season | Division | Coach | Overall | Conference | |
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1988 | MCC South | Jim Brownlee | 44–20 | 11–1 | |
1989 | 30–26 | 12–3 | |||
1990 | 27–25 | 11–3 | |||
Division Regular Season Championships: 3 |
Tenure | Coach | Seasons | Record | Pct. |
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1924–1926 | John Harmon | 3 | 12–18 | .400 |
1946 | Emerson Henke | 1 | 0–5 | .000 |
1947–1966 | Don Ping | 21 | 93–119–5 | .440 |
1967–1969 | Dave Daviess | 3 | 16–24–1 | .402 |
1970–1974 | Wayne Boultinghouse | 5 | 80–66–3 | .547 |
1975–1976 | Bob Hodges | 2 | 38–30 | .559 |
1977–1978 | Mike Platt | 2 | 35–47 | .427 |
1979 | Gary Crum | 1 | 4–27 | .129 |
1980–2002 | Jim Brownlee | 23 | 680–565–4 | .546 |
2003–2006 | Dave Schrage | 4 | 130–108 | .546 |
2007–2008 | David Seifert | 2 | 49–65 | .430 |
2009–present | Wes Carroll | 16 | 428–434 | .497 |
Year | Record | Pct. | Notes |
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1975 | 0–2 | .000 | Mideast Regional |
1976 | 0–2 | .000 | Mideast Regional |
1988 | 1–2 | .333 | Tempe Regional |
2000 | 1–2 | .333 | Tallahassee Regional |
2006 | 4–2 | .667 | Charlottesville Regional |
2024 | 4–3 | .571 | Knoxville Super Regional |
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No. | Member | Position | Career |
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6 | Jim Brownlee | Head coach | 1980–2002 |
23 | Jamey Carroll | Infielder | 1994–1996 |
30 | Andy Benes | Pitcher | 1986-1988 |
No. | Date | Pitcher | Opponent | RS | RA | Notes |
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1 | April 7, 1990 | Gerry Croarkin (7 IP) | Butler | 4 | 1 | |
2 | May 13, 2000 | Vince Serafini (7 IP) | Missouri State | 3 | 0 | |
3 | April 10, 2005 | Fred Jones (7 IP) | Northern Iowa | 10 | 0 | |
4 | May 2, 2009 | Keegan Dennis (7 IP) | SIU Edwardsville | 9 | 0 |
Bosse Field is a baseball stadium in Evansville, Indiana. It was the home of the University of Evansville Purple Aces baseball team from 1985 to 1998.
German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium is a baseball stadium in Evansville, Indiana. It has been the home stadium of the University of Evansville Purple Aces baseball team since 1999. In 2020, the field was named after the German American Bank due to its contributions to the 2019 renovations.
Year | Player | Rnd. | No. | Team |
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1984 | Mike Goedde | 4 | 82 | Cincinnati Reds |
1987 | Darren Niethammer | 16 | 415 | Texas Rangers |
1988 | Andy Benes | 1 | 1 | San Diego Padres |
Rob Maurer | 6 | 141 | Texas Rangers | |
1990 | Brad Tyler | 6 | 175 | Baltimore Orioles |
1991 | John MacCauley | 35 | 930 | Chicago White Sox |
1992 | Jeff Tenbarge | 6 | 153 | Houston Astros |
1993 | Curtis Broome | 22 | 621 | Chicago White Sox |
Sal Fasano | 37 | 1,029 | Kansas City Royals | |
Greg Willming | 42 | 1,179 | Texas Rangers | |
1994 | Chris Helfrich | 36 | 989 | Oakland Athletics |
1995 | Adam Benes | 20 | 547 | St. Louis Cardinals |
Jason Imrisek | 43 | 1,206 | New York Yankees | |
1996 | Jamey Carroll | 14 | 400 | Montreal Expos |
Mike Zywica | 24 | 713 | Texas Rangers | |
1997 | Chris Luttig | 17 | 512 | Pittsburgh Pirates |
1998 | Brian McMillin | 31 | 919 | Minnesota Twins |
1999 | John Kremer | 19 | 591 | New York Yankees |
2000 | Ryan Miller | 9 | 261 | Milwaukee Brewers |
2001 | Preston Larrison | 2 | 55 | Detroit Tigers |
Vince Serafini | 6 | 167 | Minnesota Twins | |
Wes Carroll | 37 | 1,100 | Philadelphia Phillies | |
Matt Serafini | 43 | 1,284 | Milwaukee Brewers | |
2002 | Steve Obenchain | 1S | 37 | Oakland Athletics |
Blake Whealy | 13 | 387 | New York Mets | |
Andy Rohleder | 24 | 713 | Florida Marlins | |
Joey Vandever | 43 | 1,301 | St. Louis Cardinals | |
2004 | Cody Strait | 12 | 348 | Cincinnati Reds |
2005 | Erik Lis | 9 | 285 | Minnesota Twins |
Michael Greenhouse | 28 | 850 | Chicago Cubs | |
2006 | Adam Rogers | 31 | 930 | Toronto Blue Jays |
2007 | Ben Norton | 24 | 726 | Kansas City Royals |
Kirk Bacsu | 32 | 982 | Philadelphia Philies | |
Fred Jones | 33 | 1,021 | New York Yankees | |
Kai Tuomi | 40 | 1,197 | Washington Nationals | |
2009 | Wade Kapteyn | 24 | 720 | Detroit Tigers |
2011 | Cody Fick | 23 | 721 | Philadelphia Phillies |
2012 | Eric Stamets | 6 | 207 | Los Angeles Angels |
2013 | Kyle Lloyd | 29 | 868 | San Diego Padres |
2014 | Kyle Freeland | 1 | 8 | Colorado Rockies |
Kyle Pollock | 20 | 603 | Kansas City Royals | |
Sam Johns | 31 | 934 | Washington Nationals |
Todd Arlan Lickliter is the former head coach of the Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). He was previously the head coach of Marian University, the University of Iowa, and Butler University men's basketball teams. He spent the 2011–12 season as an assistant coach at Miami (Ohio).
Martin Ray Simmons is an American basketball coach and former player. He is the head men's basketball coach at Eastern Illinois University, a position he has held since 2021. Simmons served as the head men's basketball coach at Wartburg College from 1996 to 1997, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville from 2002 to 2007, and the University of Evansville from 2007 to 2018. As a high school player, Simmons was named Illinois Mr. Basketball in 1983. He played college basketball at Indiana University Bloomington and Evansville.
The Evansville Purple Aces are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of the University of Evansville, located in Evansville, Indiana. The Aces athletic program is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference and competes at the NCAA's Division I level. Evansville's mascot is Ace Purple, and the school colors are purple, white and orange.
The Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represents the Purple Aces of the University of Evansville, located in Evansville, Indiana, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They play their home games at the Ford Center. Evansville's athletics teams were originally known as the Pioneers in the early part of the 1900s. In the 1920s, the name Aces arose after a local sports writer wrote in a game story of the men's basketball team, "They played like Aces." The team has been known as the Aces and/or Purple Aces ever since. Evansville has won five Division II national championships.
The Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) was a men's college athletic conference in the United States, in existence from 1950 to 1978. It consisted solely of schools in Indiana.
The Evansville Purple Aces men's soccer team represents the University of Evansville in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) of NCAA Division I soccer. The Purple Aces play their home matches on Black Beauty Field at Arad McCutchan Stadium on the north end of the university's campus in Evansville, Indiana. The team is currently coached by Marshall Ray.
Ryan Brownlee in an American college baseball coach and former professional second baseman.
Dave Schrage is an American baseball coach and former outfielder. He played college baseball at Creighton University for head coach Dave Underwood from 1980 to 1983. He then served as the head coach of the Waldorf Warriors (1988–1990), Northern Iowa Panthers (1991–1999), Northern Illinois Huskies (2000–2002), Evansville Purple Aces (2003–2006), Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2007–2010) South Dakota State Jackrabbits (2012–2016) and the Butler Bulldogs (2017–2022).
James Robert Polk was an American basketball coach. Polk coached the Vanderbilt Commodores, the Trinity Tigers, the Saint Louis Billikens and Rice University. He began his college coaching career as an assistant coach a Georgia Tech during World War II. His first coaching job was at his high school alma mater Tell City High, in Tell City, Indiana.
Fred Schmalz is a retired American soccer coach. He coached at the collegiate level for 33 years. He was a National Coach of the Year and has been named to six Halls of Fame for his play and his coaching successes.
Wesley Clint Carroll is an American college baseball coach, currently serving as head coach of the Evansville Purple Aces baseball team. He has held that position since the 2009 season. He played at Evansville, becoming the Purple Aces' first ever Freshman All-American. He then went on to a minor league career, reaching Triple-A and playing in spring training games with his brother Jamey Carroll. He then became an assistant coach with the Purple Aces for three seasons before ascending to the top job.
The 2016–17 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Aces, led by 10th-year head coach Marty Simmons, played their home games at the Ford Center as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 16–17, 6–12 to finish in eighth place in MVC play. They defeated Indiana State in the MVC tournament before losing to Illinois State in the quarterfinals.
The 2017–18 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Aces, led by 11th-year head coach Marty Simmons, played their home games at the Ford Center as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 17–15, 7–11 in MVC play to finish in a three-way tie for seventh place. As the No. 8 seed in the MVC tournament, they lost to Northern Iowa in the first round.
The 2018–19 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Aces, led by first-year head coach Walter McCarty, played their home games at the Ford Center as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 11–21 overall, 5–13 in MVC play, and finishing in last place. As the No. 10 seed in the MVC tournament, they lost to Illinois State in the first round.
The 1991–92 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville in the 1991–92 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Jim Crews and they played their home games at Roberts Municipal Stadium as members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. After winning the MCC regular season championship, the Purple Aces won the MCC tournament to receive an automatic bid to the 1992 NCAA tournament. They were defeated by UTEP in the opening round and finished 24–6.
The 1992–93 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville in the 1992–93 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Jim Crews and they played their home games at Roberts Municipal Stadium as members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. After finishing in a tie for the MCC regular season championship, the Purple Aces won the MCC tournament to receive an automatic bid to the 1993 NCAA tournament. They were defeated by Florida State in the opening round and finished 23–7.
The 2022–23 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Aces, led by first-year head coach David Ragland, played their home games at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 5–27, 1–19 in MVC play to finish in last place. They lost to Indiana State in the first round of the MVC tournament.
The 2024 Evansville Purple Aces baseball team represented the University of Evansville as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference during the 2024 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Purple Aces played their home games at Charles H. Braun Stadium.
The 1988 Evansville Purple Aces baseball team represented the University of Evansville as a member of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference during the 1988 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Purple Aces played their home games at Bosse Field. The team was coached by Jim Brownlee in his ninth season at Evansville.