(LEBANON, Ill., Sept. 26)—McKendree University baseball coach Danny Jackson has announced the addition of Clint Stroud to the Bearcats' coaching staff for the 2019 season. Stroud will serve as the team's pitching coach.
 
"We couldn't be happier to have Clint join our coaching staff," said Jackson. "He has a great pedigree. He pitched at both Heartland (Community College) and Illinois State (University). Clint played under both Mark Kingston, who is now the head coach at South Carolina, and Billy Mohl, who is the head coach at South Florida.  You can't ask for a better pitching background than that. Clint has a great personality, loves the game and I believe he will be a huge asset for our pitching staff."
 
Stroud comes to McKendree after serving as the director of baseball operations at his alma mater, Illinois State. He handled several different aspects of the Redbirds' program, including day-to-day operations, coordinating community service initiatives, managing all aspects of the team's baseball camps and helping with the Redbird Dugout Club fundraising efforts. Also during that time, Stroud was a baseball camp on-field coordinator for Illinois State.
 
In the summer of 2016, Stroud was a pitching coach in the Midwest Collegiate League, a summer baseball league for collegiate players. He was instrumental in the development Mitch Weis, the MCL's Pitcher of the Year. Stroud was also as an assistant coach at Illinois State in 2014-15, serving as bullpen and first base coach on Mark Kingston's staff while assisting with the development of the Redbirds' pitchers.
 
As a player, Stroud spent two seasons at Illinois State after beginning his collegiate career at Heartland. At Heartland, he set single-season records with 12 saves and a 0.39 earned-run average while helping the program to consecutive National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) World Series appearances in 2011 and 2012. Stroud earned both his bachelor's degree (2015) and master's degree (2017) from Illinois State.
 
"I'm excited and honored to be a part of Coach Jackson's staff here at McKendree," said Stroud. "I feel like I have been able to build a good chemistry with our pitching staff so far. We want to have a mentality on our staff of going at hitters, attacking the strike zone and competing right from the first pitch. There were a lot of young guys on the staff last year, and we want to build on what they learned in their first season at McKendree and take that next step. When you add in the new pitchers we have in our program, we are really excited about what we have, and I'm looking forward to being a part of something special."

The McKendree baseball team posted an overall record of 11-37 with a 6-17 mark in Great Lakes Valley Conference play in 2018. The Bearcats are set to begin their 2019 season Feb. 16-17 with a three-game series at Missouri Southern State University.