New Blugold Baseball Coach Picking Up Rhythm

With warmer weather on the horizon, the UW-Eau Claire Baseball team looks to navigate the unpredictable waters of spring baseball in Wisconsin. This year, the Eau Claire ship will have a new captain at the helm, under first-year head coach Patrick Reilly.

UW-Eau Claire baseball is still looking for their first winning season since the program’s return as a varsity sport in 2021. Reilly and his staff believe they have the tools to get the team back on track. 

The Blugolds are a young team with many fresh faces. With 30 underclassmen, as well as several transfers, this young squad is hungry for success and will look to shake things up in the competitive WIAC Conference.

This will be Reilly’s first head coaching job at the Division 3 level, after serving on the Winona State Baseball staff for the past 13 seasons. In his final three years with Winona State, he was promoted to Associate Head Coach, before taking the Head job at Eau Claire.

Through the hiring process last fall, new UW-Eau Claire Athletic Director Jason Verdugo called Reilly a “relentless recruiter who will forge strong relationships with student-athletes.” In addition to his recruiting skills, Verdugo mentioned how Reilly has coaching experience with both hitting and pitching which as he said is “exceptionally unique in today’s collegiate baseball landscape.”

That experience looks to be paying off early for the Blugolds, who are on a 4-game winning streak and have won 5 of their past 6 games after a recent trip down south to Florida.

Patrick Reilly won’t be the only newcomer to Eau Claire this spring. His support staff will consist of Derek Baumgartner, Jeff Dykes, Bob Johnson, and Logan Matson, all of whom will be spending their first season with the program. Johnson, however, is no stranger to Carson Park. The current Bench Coach for the Blugolds was called out of retirement this past offseason after coaching the Eau Claire North Huskies for 17 years.

With conference play beginning this weekend in a matchup vs. UW-Oshkosh, Reilly and his squad will get their first taste of WIAC baseball. As the snow melts, the Blugolds will look to keep bringing the heat both on the mound and at the plate.