In wake of stellar baseball season, Indiana State University boosts Hannahs' contract

Jun. 21—The architect of Indiana State's stellar 2023 college baseball season has received an increase in his contract.

Last year, ISU extended coach Mitch Hannahs' contract with the university through the 2028 season. Now, Hannahs' extended contract includes a salary increase, university sports information and communications staff confirmed Wednesday.

On Tuesday, university President Deborah Curtis and Athletic Director Sherard Clinkscales announced Hannahs' contract had been extended through 2028. In response to the Tribune-Star's requests to clarify — given that Hannahs' contract had been extended to 2028 on April 27, 2022 — ISU communications staff issued details on the deal Wednesday.

"This is a new contract extension that supersedes any previous agreement," said the statement issued by Seth Montgomery, ISU associate athletic director for communications and digital content. "With the extension, Coach Hannahs now becomes the highest paid head baseball coach in the Missouri Valley Conference with an annual salary of $180,000. The contract provides an additional $35,000 in each of the next four years added to the baseball program budget. Coach Hannahs will also have an additional $28,000 per year to pay his coaching staff until 2028."

In terms of an example of other Missouri Valley Conference baseball coaches, a news release by Southern Illinois University Athletics last August said that Salukis head baseball coach Lance Rhodes had agreed to a five-year contract extension with a base salary of $170,000 per year.

This season at Indiana State, Hannahs' Sycamores completed a 45-17 season that included the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament championships, an NCAA tournament regional championship and an appearance in the Fort Worth Super Regional, where ISU's run ended with a pair of close losses to host Texas Christian.

Hannahs' Sycamores were the host team for the MVC tournament and NCAA regional, and would've been the super regional host, given its high seeding, but the university declined to host the super regional because of a scheduling conflict with the Special Olympics of Indiana Summer Games. The super regional berth was the first for ISU, as was hosting a regional.

Hannahs, 55, was voted as the MVC Dan Callahan Coach of the Year by his peers for the first time in his career.

"We are so proud of Coach Hannahs and this incredible group of student-athletes on their historic 2023 season," Curtis said in a university news release. "He truly cares about holding his players and our university to a high standard.

"We are thrilled Mitch is staying and we look forward to next season and many more after," Curtis added. "Indiana State is thrilled to continue the momentum from the 2023 season for many years to come."

In 2023, the Sycamores won 45 games; the most in the Hannahs coaching era and set a new program record for Missouri Valley wins with 24. ISU won every MVC weekend series for the first time in program history.

"We are thankful that Mitch has chosen to extend his leadership of our storied program," Clinkscales said in the release. "ISU is very fortunate to have a coach of his caliber. Mitch is the foundation of the baseball team, and he has done a terrific job building a group that engages not only with our alumni and students, but across the Wabash Valley and beyond. Mitch and [his wife] Amy care about this community, and we are excited they'll be staying."

Hannahs graduated from ISU in 1989 and earned All-American honors as a Sycamore baseball standout. As a freshman, he played for ISU's only College World Series team in 1986. In 2010, Hannahs was inducted into the university's athletics Hall of Fame. The Sycamores' coach has posted at least 30 wins in six seasons and 10 or more wins in MVC play in seven of the last 10 years.

Hannahs' 311 career wins are second in ISU baseball history, trailing only his former coach Bob Warn's 1,070 victories.

"I continue to be very thankful to serve as the head coach at Indiana State University," Hannahs said in the news release.

"Thank you to my coaching staff and to my past and current players for their effort and support over the years," he added. "Indiana State and the community of Terre Haute is a very special place for me and my family. I'm grateful to President Curtis and Sherard for their commitment to improving all aspects of Indiana State baseball."

Hannahs' Sycamores advanced to the NCAA tournament for the 12th time in program history and third in the last four seasons in 2023. ISU was ranked in all six major NCAA baseball polls and posted a top-10 RPI heading into the postseason. While playing multiple top-level opponents at home and on the road, the Sycamores finished as one of the nation's hottest teams, winning 30 of their final 33 regular-season games, including winning nonconference games against Vanderbilt, Indiana, Purdue, Ball State and Illinois.

ISU won the 2023 MVC tournament in front of their home fans at Bob Warn Field, clinching the program's first tournament championship since 2019 and eighth in program history. The regular-season and conference tournament success led to Indiana State earning the No. 14 national seed in the 2023 NCAA tournament and the right to host an NCAA regional for the first time in program history.

Indiana State continued its momentum in the NCAA tournament as ISU topped Wright State and Iowa (twice) over the June 2-4 weekend on the way to winning just the program's second NCAA regional title in school history and first since 1986. The Sycamores advanced to the super regional round for the first time in program history since the NCAA tournament format was changed back in 1999. ISU's season ended in Fort Worth after falling twice to TCU by scores of 4-1 and 6-4 at Lupton Stadium.

Eleven Indiana State athletes were honored on the MVC postseason All-Conference team, including Connor Fenlong (MVC Pitcher of the Year) and Grant Magill (MVC Defensive Player of the Year).