Sports Alumni

Hockey

• Jay Blunk '86

  Executive vice president of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Men's Baseball and Women's Softball

• Jeremy Accardo

  Major League Baseball pitcher who previously played for Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles. Currently a free agent.

• Dave Bergman '78

  Former Major League Baseball player for the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers and member of the 1984 World Champion Tigers.

• Michael Bucek '82

  Vice president of marketing and business development for Kansas City Royals.

• Stacy Birk ’07

  Former pitcher for the Philadelphia Force.

• Lee "Buzz" Capra '73

  Former Atlanta Braves pitcher who led the National League in earned run average in 1973 and former coach for the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, and Philadelphia Phillies.

• Neal Cotts

  Former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins. Past pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, and Milwaukee Brewers. Member of the 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox.

• Paul DeJong '15

  Major League Baseball starting shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals.

• Matt Herges

  Former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies, and Cleveland Indians. Pitching coach for the Tulsa Drillers.

• Dan Kolb

  Former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers, and 2004 MLB All-Star.

• Jay Miller '78

  Coached the U.S. National Softball team to a gold medal at the U.S. Cup in Hawaii in 2001. Currently assistant pitching coach for the Louisville Cardinals.

• Owen Miller

  Major League Baseball player for the San Diego Padres.

• Shannon Nicholson '07

  Former pitcher for the professional softball team the Akron Racers. Currently head softball coach for University of Illinois-Springfield.

• Nate Palmer '13

  Currently a linebacker with the Green Bay Packers.

• Nancy Svoboda '86

  Executive vice president of human resources for the Denver Broncos.

• Margie Wright '74

  Named to the USA Olympic Softball Team as an assistant coach for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, and in 2000, became the softball coach with the most all-time wins in the NCAA. Was the California State University-Fresno softball coach from 1985-2012. Also an inductee in the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame.

Golf

• D.A. Weibring '75

  Professional Golfers Association Tour golf professional (five-time winner). He hosts a golf tournament to benefit Illinois State Athletics every year.

Soccer

• Kate Del Fava '20

  Attacker for Kansas City soccer team.

Wrestling

• Kevin Bracken '95

  He has won the title of U.S. Open National Champion in 1997, 2001, 2002, and 2003 and placed 5th at the 2000 Olympic Games.

Men's and Women's Basketball

• Cathy Boswell '83

  Member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic Gold Medal basketball team. She played professional basketball in Italy, Spain, and Brazil.

• Doug Collins '73

  As a star Redbird player, Doug was a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic basketball team and was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Formerly a guard for the Philadelphia 76ers, he served as head coach for the Chicago Bulls, Detroit Pistons, the Washington Wizards and as a commentator for NBC Sports. Former coach of the 76ers and now works with the team as an adviser. First Redbird to be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.

• Stephen Fisher '67, M.S. '68

  Head men's basketball coach at San Diego State University. Steve previously coached the University of Michigan to an NCAA title. In 1998, he reported on the NCAA men's basketball tournament for Sporting News and yahoo.com.

• Charlotte Lewis '78

  Member of the 1976 U.S. Olympic Gold Medal women's basketball team.

• Lorene Ramsey '59

  Retired women's basketball coach of Illinois Central College, who with a career record of 887-197, won more games than any other women's basketball coach at any college level.

Football

• Aveion Cason

  Former runningback for the Detroit Lions.

• Sha-Ron Edwards

  Former runningback for the Atlanta Falcons.

• Kevin Glenn

  Quarterback for the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

• Damian K. Gregory

  Former defensive tackle for the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Oakland Raiders, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Founder and executive director of Gridiron Group.

• Boomer Grigsby

  Former fullback for the Miami Dolphins.

• Brent Hawkins

  Former linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

• Tyler Kirby '07

  Vice president of business development for Kansas City Chiefs.

• Mike Prior '85

  Former professional football player and member of the Superbowl Championship team for the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts.

• Dennis Nelson '70

  A starting offensive tackle and member of the Superbowl Championship team of the Baltimore Colts of the NFL during the 1970s.

• Tony Marasco '81

  Assisted in forming the U.S. Football League.

• James O'Shaughnessy '14

  Tight end for Jacksonville Jaguars.

• James Robinson

  Running back for Jacksonville Jaguars.

• Laurent Robinson

  Former wide receiver for St. Louis Rams.

• Cameron Siskowic

  Former linebacker for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

• Colton Underwood '17

  Tight end for the San Diego Chargers. Now free agent.

Women's Cross Country/Track and Field

• Aisha Praught Leer '12

  Member of the 2016 and 2020 Jamaican Olympic women's track and field team.