Valparaiso Beacons baseball | |
---|---|
2025 Valparaiso Beacons baseball team | |
Founded | 1916 |
University | Valparaiso University |
Head coach | Brian Schmack (12th season) |
Conference | Missouri Valley |
Location | Valparaiso, Indiana |
Home stadium | Emory G. Bauer Field (Capacity: 500) |
Nickname | Beacons |
Colors | Brown and gold [1] |
NCAA Tournament appearances | |
1958, 1963, 1966, 1967, 1968, 2012, 2013 | |
Conference tournament champions | |
2012, 2013 | |
Regular season conference champions | |
2012 |
The Valparaiso Beacons baseball team is a baseball team that represents Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. The Beacons competed in the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship five times before 1970. After returning in 2012 for the first time in 44 years, the Beacons' first round game was almost delayed an additional day, because the preceding game was the second-longest in NCAA tournament history. [2] The Beacons game against the Purdue Boilermakers began at approximately 10:40 pm only 20 minutes before a curfew. [3] In their second game of the NCAA tournament, the Crusaders played the Kentucky Wildcats, who lost the marathon game to the Kent State Golden Flashes. The games were played at U.S. Steel Yard in Gary, Indiana.
The 2012 Beacons team tied a school record with 35 wins. [4]
The Beacons are coached by Brian Schmack and play their home games at Emory G. Bauer Field.
Year | Record | Pct | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1958 | 1–2 | .333 | District 4 |
1963 | 0–2 | .000 | District 4 |
1966 | 1–2 | .333 | District 4 |
1967 | 0–2 | .000 | District 4 |
1968 | 0–2 | .000 | District 4 |
2012 | 0–2 | .000 | Gary Regional |
2013 | 1–2 | .333 | Bloomington Regional |
TOTALS | 3–14 | .176 |
= All-Star | = Baseball Hall of Famer |
Athlete | Years in MLB | MLB Teams |
---|---|---|
Hank Olmsted | 1905 | Boston Americans |
Grover Baichley | 1914 | St. Louis Browns |
Freddy Spurgeon | 1924-1927 | Cleveland Indians |
Wally Gilbert | 1932 | Brooklyn Robins, Cincinnati Reds |
Al Pilarcik | 1956-1961 | Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox |
Dick Phillips | 1962-1964, 1966 | San Francisco Giants, Washington Senators |
Lloyd McClendon | 1987-1994 | Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates |
Taken from Baseball Reference. [5] Updated June 28, 2021.
The Horizon League is a collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in and near the Great Lakes region and in part of the Southern United States.
Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is an independent Lutheran university with five colleges. It enrolls nearly 2,300 students and has a 350-acre (140 ha) campus.
Bryce Homer Drew is an American college basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Grand Canyon Antelopes. Previously he served as the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores and in the same capacity at his alma mater, Valparaiso, having succeeded his father, Homer Drew. Drew has led his teams to the NCAA tournament on six occasions, including at least once at each of the three schools where he has been the head coach.
The Athletics–Recreation Center, also known as the ARC, is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena on the campus of Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It serves as the home court for Valparaiso Beacons men's and women's basketball teams as well as the volleyball team. It opened in 1984 as an addition to Hilltop Gym, the oldest parts of which date to 1939.
The Valparaiso Beacons is the name of the athletic teams from Valparaiso University – often referred to as Valpo – in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. The Beacons compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level and are members of the Missouri Valley Conference in all sports except football, bowling, and men's swimming.
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The Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team represents Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. The basketball team competes in the Missouri Valley Conference, having joined that league in 2017 after 10 seasons in the Horizon League. The Beacons play in the Athletics-Recreation Center, which has a nominal capacity of 5,432. The record capacity 5,444 was reached on March 23, 2016, in the NIT Quarterfinal. The team last played in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament in 2015.
The Valparaiso Beacons football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Valparaiso University located in the U.S. state of Indiana. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL). Valparaiso's first football team was fielded in 1919. The team plays its home games at the 5,000-seat Brown Field in Valparaiso, Indiana. Andy Waddle has served as the team's head coach since 2025. Valparaiso was known as the Crusaders through the 2019 season.
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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.
Emory G. Bauer Field is a baseball venue in Valparaiso, Indiana, United States. It is home to the Valparaiso Beacons baseball team of the NCAA Division I Missouri Valley Conference. Opened in 1970, it has a capacity of 500 spectators.
The Valparaiso Crusaders men's soccer team represented Valparaiso University (Valpo) in NCAA Division I soccer competition as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference The Crusaders played home matches at Brown Field on the Valpo campus in Valparaiso, Indiana.
The 2012–13 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2012–13 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cruasaders, led by second year head coach Bryce Drew, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center and were members of the Horizon League. The season finished with 26–8 in overall, 13–3 in Horizon League to become Horizon League Regular Season Champions. They were also champions of the Horizon League tournament, defeating Wright State in the championship game, for the first Horizon League title in school history. They received an automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA tournament, their first tournament bid in 9 years, where they received a 14 seed and lost to 3 seed Michigan State in the second round.
The 2015–16 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by fifth year head coach Bryce Drew, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center and were members of the Horizon League. They finished the season 30–7, 16–2 in Horizon League play to win the regular season championship. They lost in the semifinals of the Horizon League tournament to Green Bay. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament. As one of the last four teams left out of the NCAA tournament, they received a #1 seed in the NIT where they defeated Texas Southern, Florida State, Saint Mary's, and BYU to advance to the championship game where they lost to George Washington.
The 2019–20 Valparaiso Crusaders men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crusaders, led by fourth-year head coach Matt Lottich, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center as third-year members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 19–16, 9–9 in MVC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 7 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Evansville, Loyola–Chicago, and Missouri State to advance to the championship game where they lost to Bradley.
Jacob Michael Diebler is an American basketball coach and former player who currently serves as the head coach for the Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team. Since 2019, he had served as an assistant coach at Ohio State. On February 14, 2024, he was named the interim head coach at Ohio State after the firing of head coach Chris Holtmann.
The 2021–22 Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Beacons, led by sixth-year head coach Matt Lottich, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
The 2022–23 Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Beacons, led by seventh-year head coach Matt Lottich, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Indiana as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). They finished the season 11–20, 5–15 in MVC play, to finish in tenth place. They lost to Murray State in the opening round of the MVC tournament.
The 2023–24 Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Beacons, led by first-year head coach Roger Powell Jr., played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Indiana as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 7–24, 3–17 in MVC play to finish in last place. They lost to Belmont in the opening round of the MVC tournament.
The 2023–24 Valparaiso Beacons women's basketball team represented Valparaiso University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Beacons, led by sixth-year head coach Mary Evans, played their home games at the Athletics–Recreation Center in Valparaiso, Indiana as members of the Missouri Valley Conference.