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Dan Callahan enters his 14th year as head coach at Southern Illinois University. Since taking over the helm of one of collegiate baseball's most storied programs, Callahan has recorded a total of 356 wins, which rank second-best of any head coach in Saluki baseball history. He also helped produce 24 Major League draft picks and 15 first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference selections. Four of his student-athletes have even gone on to win either the league's "Player," "Freshman" or "Newcomer-of-the-Year" award. However, it's been the last six years, where Callahan's Salukis have shined most. Callahan guided SIU to 30 or more wins in five of the last six seasons. In 2007, he recorded his 350th win at SIU and 500th victory as a NCAA Division I head coach. In 2006, the Salukis won 10 of their first 11 games, marking their best start since 1970. In 2005, SIU won 38 ballgames, the most victories in a season under Callahan. Callahan coached his first MVC Player-of-the-Year, P.J. Finigan, that year as well. Prior to that, Callahan led SIU to the MVC Tournament Championship in 2003 and 2004, where it fell one win shy of garnering the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. SIU's 2003 MVC Championship appearance was the Salukis' first in 13 years. The Dawgs are only one of three Valley teams -- along with Wichita State and Creighton -- to reach the league's postseason tournament each of the last six seasons. By finishing among the top-four in the MVC four of the last five seasons, the Salukis have not only established themselves as one of the elite teams in the conference, but they have become a strong pitching and defensive unit along the way. All three of SIU's starting pitchers garnered all-conference honors and were chosen in the top-20 rounds of the Major League Baseball draft in 2005. Left-hander Tyler Norrick, right-hander P.J. Finigan and left-hander Bryan Rueger were a big reason why the Dawgs ranked second in the Valley and 19th in the nation with a 3.38 ERA that year. A total of five Saluki pitchers have been drafted since the 2005 campaign. Defensively, SIU turned 68 or more double plays in back-to-back years (2003, 2004), and as a result, ranked among the top-10 in the nation in DPs per game. The Salukis even turned a school record 72 double plays and led the nation with 1.3 a game in 2003. A year later, the Dawgs had 68 twin killings and ranked ninth in the country. Not to mention, Callahan's 2002 club led the MVC in overall defense with a .969 fielding percentage, as it tied for 14th in the nation and fell only two points shy of tying the school record (.971). In addition to their success on the field, Callahan's student-athletes have excelled in the classroom. Twenty-seven of his players have earned MVC scholar-athlete accolades, and one was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team. In Callahan's 19 years as a head coach at the college level, all but one of his student-athletes who have participated in his program for four years have either graduated or are on course to do so. Though this statistic excludes some players who have joined the professional ranks, several of these student-athletes have returned to campus during the offseason to complete their degrees. Callahan finished his master's degree at SIU in 1987 and was appointed head coach at Eastern Illinois University in the fall of 1988. In his six years at Eastern, Callahan led the Panthers to a pair of conference championships. Prior to Eastern Illinois, Callahan first came to SIU in 1985 as a graduate assistant under former Saluki head coach Richard "Itch" Jones, who recently retired as head coach at the University of Illinois. During Callahan's stay at SIU, the Salukis went 115-65 and advanced to the NCAA Central Regional in 1996. Callahan started his coaching career at Springfield Lanphier High School before accepting the head coaching position at his alma mater, Springfield High School, in 1984. Callahan directed his clubs to a 42-23 record, including a runner-up finish at the 1985 Illinois AA Tournament during that stint. As an athlete, the Springfield, Ill., native played four years of varsity baseball, two at the University of New Orleans and two at Quincy College. He graduated from Quincy in 1981 and went on to pitch in both the San Diego Padres and Seattle Mariners' organizations. Callahan and his wife, Stacy, have two daughters, Alexa (16) and Carly (12), and reside in Carterville, Ill. His parents, Ann and Gene, live in Springfield, Ill. His father is retired after serving as Director of Governmental Relations for Major League Baseball. He is also a former member of SIU's Board of Trustee's. Last Updated February 7, 2008
Dan Callahan Year-by-Year
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2009 Team Information2008 Team Information2007 Team Information2006 Team Information2005 Team InformationMiscellaneousCollege Baseball Links
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