Evansville_Purple_Aces_baseball
Evansville Purple Aces baseball
Missouri Valley NCAA Division I baseball team
The Evansville Purple Aces baseball team represents the University of Evansville, which is located in Evansville, Indiana. The Purple Aces are an NCAA Division I college baseball program that competes in the Missouri Valley Conference. They began competing in Division I in 1978 and joined the Missouri Valley Conference in the 1995 season. The Evansville Purple Aces play all home games on campus at Charles H. Braun Stadium.
| Evansville Purple Aces | |
|---|---|
 2024 Evansville Purple Aces baseball team | |
| Founded | 1924 |
| Conference history | Indiana Collegiate Conference (1951–1976) Midwestern Collegiate Conference (1981–1994) |
| University | University of Evansville |
| Head coach | Wes Carroll (16th season) |
| Conference | Missouri Valley Conference |
| 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, 1991, 2006, 2014 | |
1924–1926: Early years
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 that 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.
- 1951–1976: Indiana Collegiate Conference
- 1981–1994: Midwestern Collegiate Conference
- 1995–present: Missouri Valley Conference
Charles H. Braun Stadium is a baseball stadium on the Evansville campus in Evansville, Indiana that seats 1,200 people.[2]
Records taken from the 2018 Evansville Purple Aces baseball media guide.[2]
| Season | Coach | Years | Record | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924–1926 | John Harmon | 3 | 12–19 | .387 |
| 1946 | Emerson Henke | 1 | 0–5 | .000 |
| 1947–1966 | Don Ping | 20 | 93–119–5 | .440 |
| 1967–1969 | Dave Daviess | 3 | 16–24–1 | .402 |
| 1970–1974 | Wayne Boultinghouse | 5 | 80–66–2 | .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 | 14 | 352–384 | .478 |
| Totals | 12 coaches | 80 seasons | 1,489–1–1,459–12 | .505 |
All-Americans
| Year | Position | Name | Team | Selector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | P | Andy Benes | 1st | ABCA |
| BA | ||||
| CB | ||||
| 1991 | P | John MacCauley | 3rd | ABCA |
| 1993 | OF | Marty Watson | 2nd | ABCA |
| 1996 | SS | Jamey Carroll | 3rd | ABCA |
| 2000 | P | Ryan Miller | 3rd | CB |
| 2002 | P | Steve Obenchain | 3rd | ABCA |
| 2011 | UTL | Cody Fick | 1st | ABCA |
| 2nd | CB | |||
| 2012 | SS | Eric Stamets | 3rd | CB |
| 2014 | P | Kyle Freeland | 2nd | ABCA |
| 1st | BA | |||
| 3rd | CB | |||
| 2015 | OF | Kevin Kaczmarski | 2nd | ABCA |
| 2nd | BA | |||
| 1st | CB |
Freshman First-Team All-Americans
| Year | Position | Name | Selector |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | DH | Erik Lis | CB |
| 2004 | DH | Pat Tumilty | CB |
| 2008 | OF | Greg Wallace | CB |
| 2010 | SS | Eric Stamets | CB |
| 2012 | OF | Kevin Kaczmarski | CB |
Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year
| Year | Position | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | UN | Pat Heck |
| 1988 | P | Andy Benes |
| 1991 | P | John MacCauley |
| 1992 | OF | Pat Schulz |
Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year
Midwestern Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year
Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year
Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year
| Year | Position | Name |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | P | Kenton Deverman |
Taken from the 2018 Evansville Purple Aces baseball media guide.[2] Updated March 11, 2020.
- Missouri Valley Conference Style Guide (PDF). August 29, 2022. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
- "2018 Evansville Baseball Media Guide" (PDF). www.gopurpleaces.com. University of Evansville. Retrieved July 27, 2020.