The Danville Dans are excited to announce that renowned baseball coach Ron Polk will be part of their coaching staff for the 2022 season.

Polk has 52 years of experience coaching NCAA-D1 teams and has compiled one of the most successful winning records. His resume includes 1,373 wins, eight trips to the College World Series, six Hall of Fames inductions, and seven tours as a USA Baseball coach.

(Photo from Commercial-News: Mississippi State interim president Vance Watson, right, stands with baseball head coach Ron Polk during the pregame presentation which concluded Polk’s 29th baseball season on May 17, 2008.)

Coach Polk has coached at Georgia Southern University and University of Arizona but is most famous for his 29 years as head coach of the Mississippi State baseball team.  He has also coached summer baseball in the Cape Cod League for the last eight years.

With a total of 31 seasons as a head coach in the SEC, Polk is often referred to as the “Father of Southeastern Conference Baseball.”

Polk’s unmatched expertise will benefit the college athletes from across the country who come to Danville, IL to develop their baseball skills during the upcoming Prospect League season.

“Anytime you get to work with a baseball legend like Coach Polk, it’s an honor,” said Dans manager, Eric Coleman. “His knowledge of the game is second to none. We couldn’t be more excited for our players and coaches to learn from him this summer.”

Polk’s coaching technics get results. Nearly 200 of the players he has coached have signed professional baseball contracts, with 29 of those athletes played in Major League Baseball. Eight of those major leaguers were first round draft picks. This success is why his textbook, The Baseball Playbook, is the chosen teaching tool at 450 colleges and has sold more than 125,000 copies.

Polk has been a longtime friend of the Dans. About 33 years ago, he first sent one of his staff to coach in Danville. He even traveled to Danville to be a guest speaker at a local sports banquet.

“Our coaching staff and players will learn a lot from him.” said Rick Kurth, Danville Dans co-owner. “I believe his time here will lead to some pretty exciting games, too. After all, we’re all about player development and a fun time at the ballpark. It’s a genuine honor to have Ron Polk join the Danville Dans.”