MSL to MLB: Fremd's Tauchman, 'Tucc,' Intertwined in a Hall of a January
Bradley Hall of Fame Inducts Tauchman; Donatucci Goes Into Fremd Hall of Honor on January 30
Mike Donatucci’s “Iron Will” at Fremd is exemplified by Mike Tauchman’s ability to showcase his baseball skills that gave Cubs fans a number of thrills last summer.
And January has turned out to be a “hall” of a month for both of them.
Tauchman, who starred for the Vikings in baseball and football, was inducted into the Bradley athletics Hall of Fame at halftime of Saturday’s men’s basketball game against Belmont in Peoria. Donatucci, who built the football program into a perennial powerhouse, is going into the Fremd Hall of Honor on Jan. 30 with a ceremony before the boys basketball game with Hoffman Estates.
Tauchman’s two varsity football seasons in 2007 and 2008 were part of Fremd’s record-setting Mid-Suburban League streaks under Donatucci of eight outright or shared division titles in the West (2003-10) and 16 playoff appearances (1995-2010). Tauchman was a standout receiver-defensive back as a junior and then was switched to quarterback as a senior, where he was a dual threat who passed and ran for nearly 2,300 yards, punted for a 36.5 average and intercepted 4 passes.
“He’s a tremendous competitor, that’s all there is to it,” Donatucci told the Daily Herald’s Larry Weindruch after Tauchman helped Fremd avenge a regular-season loss to cross-town rival Palatine in the first round of the 2008 playoffs.
And a comeback victory that season at Rolling Meadows against future NFL quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who was a junior, often comes up in interviews. It did last Wednesday when Tauchman was on Peoria radio station WMBD with morning personality Dan DiOrio.
“I love football and still do,” Tauchman told DiOrio. “It was a blast playing high school football. You’d go crazy for those Friday nights. I took a lot of lessons from that time and learned a lot.”
Particularly perseverance as he followed his mom’s path to Bradley after hitting .494 with 10 doubles, 7 homers and 38 RBI as a Fremd senior for Chris Piggott. Tauchman was a four-year starter and was the Joe Carter Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year as a senior as he led the nation in hitting at .425 with 16 doubles and 40 RBI and stole 28 bases in 30 attempts.
Tauchman hit .341 for his Bradley career but getting chosen in the 10th round of the 2013 draft by the Colorado Rockies was no guarantee of making it big. But he did get there in 2017 and went to the Yankees in 2019, where he hit .277 with 13 homers and 47 RBI in 87 before an injury ended his season in September.
He played with the Giants in 2021, spent 2022 in Korea and then hooked on with the Cubs and became a local folk hero as he hit .252 with 8 homers and 48 RBI in 108 games and had a memorable catch where he reached over the center field fence in St. Louis and took away what would have been a game-winning 2-run homer. Now he’s getting ready to start spring training for a second season at Wrigley Field.
“I really enjoyed my time down there (in Peoria) and my time at Bradley was so important to my life,” Tauchman told DiOrio. “I met my wife of seven years. It’s a great honor and I have so much to be thankful for all Bradley did for me.”
Tauchman and Donatucci also did a lot for Fremd and it’s fitting in that “Tucc” is being honored during a game against Hoffman Estates with Fremd music director Judy Klingner (1988-2019). Donatucci was an assistant coach and defensive coordinator at Hoffman before he was hired to replace the retiring Joe Samjoedny after the 1992 season.
It was not a program that needed a major overhaul but Donatucci put his own stamp on it until he retired in 2011 with a 137-63 record. After a year’s hiatus as a head coach, he returned to a Hoffman program that had won 1 game in four years, and in four years went 16-21 and built the foundation of what is now one of the MSL’s most successful programs under Tim Heyse.
Donatucci’s 153 victories were the most by an MSL football coach until Barrington’s Joe Sanchez broke the record last fall. And Donatucci is still at it and lending his expertise as the defensive coordinator at Hersey.
Ibach Gets Promotion from Rays
Kevin Ibach has played a big role for the Tampa Bay Rays, one of the model franchises in professional sports when it comes to doing more with less. And Ibach, a 1996 Hersey graduate, was rewarded last Wednesday with more responsibility when he was named assistant general manager and vice president of baseball operations.
Ibach has been with the Rays since 2012 in his career in Major League Baseball that is nearing a quarter-century. Ibach and three others will share the duties of previous general manager Peter Bendix, who became the Miami Marlins president of baseball operations in November 2023.
“Kevin is very deserving of this recognition,” Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander told Tampa Bay Times’ Rays beat writer Marc Topkin. “He’s widely respected for his experiences, expertise and work ethic. We’re excited for the leadership that he will provide as they all grow into greater responsibilities.”
Those responsibilities for Ibach will include a focus on player development, pro personnel and pro scouting and he will add strategy and department oversight duties. Last year he was the Rays vice president of player personnel as they went 99-63 and made their fifth consecutive postseason appearance. Ibach started with the Rays as a pro scout before getting promotions to pro scouting director in 2015 and senior director of pro personnel and pro scouting in 2020.
Ibach also spent seven years as a baseball operations coordinator with the Orioles and five years with the Marlins as a Midwest area scout before joining the Rays. He also played for the Schaumburg Flyers after a standout Division I collegiate career as a middle infielder at LaSalle University. Ibach played varsity baseball and football at Hersey and also played American Legion baseball for Arlington.
Pinto Gets Back in the Game in Joliet
Mike Pinto will be back where he belongs this summer in a dugout managing a baseball team. Pinto, who lived in Schaumburg and coached at Oakton College, was named as the new manager of the Joliet Slammers, who were purchased in early January by an investment group led by Mike Veeck, his son Night Train Veeck and renowned actor Bill Murray.
Pinto managed the Southern Illinois Miners, located in Marion, during their entire existence from 2007-21 as one of the model franchises in independent baseball. Pinto’s teams won 770 games, a Frontier League title and four division titles, made seven playoff appearances and had only one losing season before the organization ceased operations when the owners decided to retire. Four of his players reached the big leagues.
"I couldn't be more excited to return to Joliet,” Pinto told Heather Mills for the Slammers website. “First of all, I absolutely love that stadium (Duly Health and Care Field). I started there as a coach with the JackHammers back in 2002 and have many great memories at that park and of the fans there. Until the last few years I lived in Plainfield, so it will be like coming home. I am also very excited to work with the investment group and management team. We are looking forward to doing great things together.
“Now the work begins to build a roster of players that will not only play the game well, and right, but also be great ambassadors for the Joliet community we will represent. I am also excited to return to the Frontier League. So many players and coaches have seen their big league dreams come true because of their starts in this league. I look forward to helping many more realize that dream as well.”
Pinto also managed the Sioux Falls Canaries in the American Association before taking over the Southern Illinois Miners. Mike Veeck is the son and Night Train Veeck is the grandson of Hall of Fame owner and baseball maverick Bill Veeck.
“From the moment I saw Mike’s name, I was thrilled at the prospect of bringing him on board to lead the Slammers,” said Night Train Veeck, the Slammers executive vice president of sales and marketing. “His excellent track record of winning teams, creating strong cultures, and ability to connect with players and communities is going to make for quite an exciting year on the field for our fans. I can't wait to open our gates in 2024 and welcome Mike back to the Joliet community.”
Barrington Basketball Buzzing After Dramatic Finishes
A couple of weeks ago when it was mentioned that Barrington senior Alec Schmidts’ shooting form looked like the legendary Larry Bird, head coach Bryan Tucker smiled and said, “I don’t care what it looks like as long as it goes in.”
That day Schmidts had seven shots from 3-point range go in for 25 points at Wauconda. His big season had another memorable moment Saturday afternoon when all-area quarterback Nick Peipert delivered a perfect pass on the run from midcourt to Schmidts in the right corner for a buzzer-beating 3 that gave the Broncos a 57-54 win over visiting New Trier, which was just two spots outside of last week’s Associated Press Class 4A state poll top 10.
That also gave Barrington basketball two dramatic endings in less than 24 hours. The Fillies edged Palatine in Friday’s Mid-Suburban West matchup as Molly O’Riordan hit a layup off an inbound pass with one second to play.
Meadows’ Kirkorsky Hits Girls Basketball Milestone
Congratulations to Rolling Meadows’ girls basketball coach Ryan Kirkorsky as a 59-28 victory Friday over Wheeling was the 300th of his career. Kirkorsky is now 301-154 overall in a varsity coaching career that started in 2008 after the Mustangs beat Vernon Hills 27-21 on Saturday to improve to 18-6 overall. They lead the MSL East at 6-1.
It also gives three MSL schools who currently have girls and boys coaches with 300 career victories with Kirkorsky and Kevin Katovich at Rolling Meadows, Babbi Barreiro and Bryan Tucker at Barrington and Bob Widlowski and Dave Yates at Fremd.
Kirkorsky, a 1991 Buffalo Grove graduate, was 62-51 from 2008-12 at Elk Grove and is 229-103 at Meadows. His first two Mustangs’ teams finished second in the state in Class 4A and were a combined 59-9 with Jackie Kemph, Alexis Glasgow and Jenny Vliet leading the way. His 2017 and 2018 teams also won regional titles.
When Kirkorsky was hired at Elk Grove, he told Daily Herald girls sports guru John Leusch that BG teacher and coach John Erfort was one of his biggest influences. Erfort coached the 1988 boys soccer team led by Brian McBride to a state title.
Macomb Madness On the Horizon for Clancy and Western Illinois?
The Western Illinois men’s basketball program has never made the NCAA tournament since it moved up to Division I status in 1981. But the possibility of March Madness in Macomb is gaining momentum with a new regime that includes first-year assistant and Buffalo Grove grad John Clancy.
The Leathernecks saw their longest winning streak (9 games) and best conference start (5-0 in the Ohio Valley) since 2012-13 come to an end with Saturday’s 58-57 home loss to Tennessee State. But they are still 12-7 and after a 3-6 start that included back-to-back losses to Top 25 Big Ten programs Illinois and Wisconsin and they also had a loss at 12-5 SMU.
Clancy joined new head coach Chad Boudreau’s staff in June after going 52-13 in two seasons at Triton. The former BG all-area guard has also been an assistant at Southern Illinois and John A. Logan and coached at Wheeling, Elk Grove and St. Viator.
The Leathernecks are thriving on balance as 6-foot-5 junior James Dent Jr. leads the team in scoring (13.7 ppg) and minutes played per game (28.5) even though he’s only started 7 of the 19 games. The Springfield Southeast High product played at Logan before this year.
Brooklyn native Ryan Myers (13 ppg) is a 6-1 junior who played at junior college power Indian Hills (Iowa) and is the team’s 3-point leader at 46. Six-5 senior Jesiah West (8.5 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and 6-4 redshirt senior Quinlan Bennett (7.9 ppg) from Proviso East are returning starters. One of the biggest additions has been 6-11 senior Drew Cisse, a San Diego native who played at D-II Missouri-St. Louis last year. Cisse is averaging 8.4 points and is first in the country in total rebounds (228), third in rebounds per game (12.0) and eighth in blocked shots (46).
WIU begins a tough four-game road trip with an ESPNU game against Southern Indiana at 8 p.m. on Jan. 25 and a matchup with second-place Morehead State on Jan. 27. Southern Indiana’s leading scorer is St. Viator alum Jeremiah Hernandez (16.3 ppg), a three-time all-East Suburban Catholic Conference pick and two-time league player of the year in 2018-19. Hernandez is in his second year at USI after spending two seasons at Kent State.
The key for WIU in its first year in a one-bid league such as the OVC will be winning the league tournament May 6-9 in Evansville. WIU lost conference tourney title games three consecutive years in the Mid-Continent (1995-97) and in the Summit League in 2012 in overtime to South Dakota State. It won the Mid-Continent tourney title in 1984 but the league did not have an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament.
Guth Has Loyola Women on Upward Trend
Alison Guth is another BG product who is in the midst of a big college basketball turnaround in her second season leading the Loyola women’s program. The Ramblers improved to 10-8 overall and 4-3 in the Atlantic 10 with a 78-50 win Friday over St. Bonaventure and have cruised past last year’s finishes of 6-24 overall and 1-15 in the league.
“Good day for Rambler basketball,” Guth said on the Loyola athletic website. “What was exciting for us was that we actually defended and scored it in the same game.”
They have beaten the A-10 defending co-champions Massachusetts and Rhode Island in their last four games. The only loss in that stretch was 52-36 loss to 15-2 VCU.
Alyssa Fisher, a 5-7 graduate student from Baton Rouge, La., who played at St. Francis (N.Y.), leads the team in scoring at 13.4 ppg and 5-8 graduate student guard Sam Galanopoulos (Niles West) is averaging 12.9 ppg with 74 assists to just 37 turnovers and surpassed the 1,000-career point mark Friday. Six-2 senior Sitori Tanin (Middleton, Wis.) is averaging 9.9 ppg and 5.6 rebounds a game.
Loyola won 73-68 at Northwestern and its losses include 98-69 to No. 3 Iowa, where star Caitlin Clark had a triple-double with 35 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists, and 93-72 to DePaul.
Guth won 99 games in six years as head coach at Yale before coming to Loyola. She started for BG’s 2000 Class AA state champions and played on Illinois’ 2003 NCAA tournament team.
Monaghan Part of Green Bay Basketball Resurgence
The football season is now over in Green Bay with the Packers’ last-minute playoff loss but the city’s Division I men’s basketball team is a solid entertainment option once again. Ex-Fremd and Harper College star Pat Monaghan is a big part of the rise of the Phoenix in his first year as an assistant coach in the new regime led by Sundance Wicks.
Green Bay has won 7 of 9 games since a loss to nationally-ranked Oklahoma to improve to 12-9 overall and at 7-3 in the Horizon League is just a half-game behind first-place Oakland (Mich). Green Bay had won only 16 games total in the last three seasons and was 3-29 overall and 2-18 in the Horizon last year.
Monaghan, who finished his playing career at Lewis University, has been coaching in college since 2006. He had spent the past five years working for Bryan Mullins at Southern Illinois before going to Green Bay.
Leading the resurgence on the court is 6-3 junior Noah Reynolds, an all-stater at Peoria Notre Dame who is averaging 19.1 points and 4.5 assists a game. Reynolds played the previous two seasons at Wyoming and averaged 14 points a game last year.
Green Bay lost the first meeting with Oakland 79-73 on Jan. 6 but gets a shot at a regular-season split at home Thursday night.
Triton Men’s Basketball Keeps Rolling
The Triton College men’s basketball team was unranked in the NJCAA Division I preseason poll. But it was No. 13 in the most recent poll in what has been a near-perfect transition with former assistant coach and Libertyville graduate Brian Burns taking over as head coach after John Clancy left to become an assistant at Western Illinois.
The Trojans won their first 17 games before falling 101-85 to Kankakee on Wednesday but rebounded to beat Sauk Valley 92-89 on Saturday.
“We weren’t ranked in the preseason and we remind them all the time,” Burns said on the Triton athletics website after an 86-54 win over Lake Michigan College on Dec. 16. “We make sure we have a chip on our shoulder.”
Amar Aguillard, a 6-5 sophomore from Zion-Benton and Georgia Southern, leads Triton in scoring at 21.9 ppg with 54 3-pointers through 15 games. Three other players average double-figure scoring in 6-5 freshman A.J. Dixon (Merrillville, Ind., 16.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg), 5-11 sophomore Dylan Williams (16.6 ppg, 42 3s, 98 assists to 39 turnovers) and 6-3 sophomore Dior Conners (13.7 ppg, 33 3s).
Second-year assistant Zac Boster played at Huntley and is a well-known skill trainer in the Chicago area.
Brownley Honored by IHSBCA
Hersey’s Wally Brownley was named the Summer Coach of the Year by the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association (IHSBCA) after his team won the Phil Lawler Summer Classic. Brownley, who played on Schaumburg’s 1997 Class AA state championship team, was honored Saturday night at the annual IHSBCA Clinic and Banquet.
Grayslake Central’s Troy Whalen was chosen as one of four Class 3A area coaches of the year. New Trier’s Mike Napoleon was a 4A area coach of the year. Palatine head coach Paul Belo, who is retiring after this season, and first-year Northern Illinois coach Ryan Copeland, who starred at Elk Grove, were among the clinic speakers.
Triton Alum Suemnick Sparks Huge Kansas Upset
West Virginia senior Patrick Suemnick, who played at Triton for John Clancy and Brian Burns, was a major figure in one of the biggest college basketball upsets of the season Saturday against third-ranked Kansas. The 6-8 Suemnick had a career-high 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting with 6 rebounds in 34 minutes as the Mountaineers won 91-85.
Suemnick is averaging 5.3 points and 2.9 rebounds for the 7-11 Mountaineers. He averaged 1.4 points in 21 games last year.