CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — Illinois head baseball coach Dan Hartleb gave a preview into the 2025 season on Wednesday.

After a 2024 year that saw the Illini (35-21, 18-6) take home a share of the regular season Big Ten title, the team is itching to take the field in hopes of adding more hardware to the trophy case.

“I’m excited about the start of the season,” Hartleb said. “You hit a point every year where you just need to go play. We need to go out and see where we’re at in some areas.”

Hartleb also says the team has a bit of a different feel this year with 18 new players. He said going out and playing will be the best way to answer some uncertain questions and to see where the new faces fit in.

Despite several new pieces in the lineup, Hartleb doesn’t want to completely forget the past. After a successful season ending in a title, he wants to find a happy medium with blending in the old and ushering in the new with this year’s team.

“There’s a combination. I think you have to take the history, and the feeling guys had, and they should be able to point you some things that helped them get there,” Hartleb said. “Yet at the same time you can’t sit there and act like you’re the best team in the world. It takes a lot of work, and it takes some things to go your way because you make them go your way.”

Illinois opens its season in the Corpus Christi Series against Abilene Christian Feb. 14-16 at Whataburger Field in Texas.