Head Coach - Craig Gerdes

A new era of Eureka College baseball was born late last year when Eureka College Athletics Hall of Famer Craig Gerdes was named the new head baseball coach of the Red Devils on Dec. 1, 2009.  Gerdes returns to the Eureka athletics staff after serving as Interim Director of Athletics in 2008 and as an assistant baseball coach from 2005-07.

Gerdes comes to Eureka College after dedicating more than three decades of service as a coach and English teacher at Eureka Middle School.  Widely known throughout the Eureka community, he served as the school’s athletic director and coached boys’ baseball, basketball and track from the time the school opened in 1971 until his retirement in 2006. 

In 33 years on the baseball diamond at EMS, Gerdes led the Hornets to 440 victories, 14 regional championships, five sectional titles and three appearances in the IESA Final Four.  Gerdes coached current Tampa Bay Ray and Major League Baseball all-star Ben Zobrist at EMS from 1994-96.  Gerdes also coached the boys’ basketball team to the 1986 seventh grade IESA class AA state basketball championship.

Gerdes was a four-year member of the Eureka College men’s basketball team from 1967-71 before graduating cum laude in 1971.  The Washburn, Ill. native scored 1,150 points during his EC career, and his 859 career rebounds rank third all-time at Eureka and were a school record until 1994.  He was inducted into the Eureka College Athletics Hall of Fame in 1991. 

Gerdes served as the Eureka College Interim Director of Athletics in early 2008, organizing the department’s annual E-Tribe golf outing at Pine Lakes Golf Course that included more than 155 participants and raised more than $35,000 for Eureka College.

 “We’re thrilled to welcome Craig back to our staff as our new baseball coach,” Director of Athletics Paul Bryant said.  “Coach Gerdes continues to represent Eureka College athletics with great pride and dignity and we’re proud to have him lead our baseball program.  He will have a positive influence on our student-athletes both on and off the field.”

Gerdes joins swim coach Jane Austin, football and track coach Kurt Barth, cross country coach Kim Holdenrid and golf coach Morgan Murphy as EC alums currently serving as head coaches at Eureka.  In all, 14 coaches in the athletics department graduated from Eureka College. 

Assistant Coach Wade Furrow

Former Eureka College baseball standout Wade Furrow will enter his first season as an assistant coach for the Red Devils in 2010.  Furrow will serve as the Eureka hitting coach.

An outfielder and designated hitter, Furrow was a two-time all-conference selection for the Red Devils.  He received First Team honors from the Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference in 2006 and Honorable Mention accolades from the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in 2008.  Furrow earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Eureka in 2008.

A two-year baseball starter and 2003 graduate of El Paso High School, Furrow was a high school basketball teammate of current Eureka assistant basketball coach Clint Rabbe.

Wade and his wife Emily were married in July 2009.

Assistant Coach Andrew Werner

Washington, Ill. native Andrew Werner will begin his first season on the Eureka baseball staff this spring, working as the Red Devils’ pitching coach in 2010.

Werner comes to Eureka after completing his first season as a pitcher for the Evansville Otters of the independent Frontier League. 

A 2009 graduate of the University of Indianapolis, Werner struck out 99 hitters in 88 innings pitched during his senior campaign, helping the Greyhounds set a new school record with 516 punchouts.  Werner pitched for Illinois Central College for two seasons before transferring to Indianapolis.

Werner was named to the All-Mid-Illini Conference First Team as a senior at Washington High School in 2005.  He also earned All-Area honors from the Peoria Journal Star.