Baseball 6/30/2020 11:41:00 AM

Bunton to Step Down, Hicks Named Head Baseball Coach

DANVILLE, ILLINOIS – When you think of Danville Area Community College Athletics and the baseball program the first person to come to mind is Tim Bunton.

Bunton came to Danville Area Community College in May of 1995 from Southwest Missouri State University (currently Missouri State University) in Springfield, Missouri. He was asked to revive a baseball program that had been extinct for almost fourteen years.

His first year squad of 1996 finished with an overall record of 14-29 but that group of young men also laid the foundation of a very consistent and competitive program. The Jaguars played for the Region 24 championship the following year in 1997 and finished with an overall record of 30-26. The 1999 team won the Region 24 Championship with a record of 38-15 and that began a stretch of seven consecutive winning seasons (1999-2005) in which the Jaguars averaged 33 wins. Bunton took a year off from the head coaching duties in 2010-2011 and from 2012 to the present the Jaguars have averaged 31 wins and have competed in three Region 24 Championships (2013/2014/2017).

Coach Bunton has an overall record at Danville of 668-535. Bunton has had 198 sophomores in his twenty years and 170 of these sophomores have continued their education past Danville Area Community College. There have been 2 conference championships, 1 region championship, 1 National Player of the Year, 5 Gold Glove winners, 7 All-Americans, 15 National Academic Award Winners, 10 professional players, 79 All-Conference selections, and 55 All-Region 24 selections.

Through a vast amount of success, Coach Bunton is now switching roles at DACC. He will now focus solely as the Director of Athletics. The move allows Bunton to spend more time around the athletic programs and oversee all student-athletes.

Coach Bunton on his new role;

"I look forward to continuing working with our great coaching staff and continuing to try and improve our department - such as facilities, fundraising, travel, web-site, and more."

Now with Bunton stepping into a new role; the change allows former DACC Baseball Alumni and current Assistant Coach Clayton Hicks to claim the reigns from Bunton.

Coach Bunton on Coach Hicks;

"Coach Hicks will be a great head coach here at DACC. He has been very loyal to this program, both as a player and a coach. He is a hard worker and wants the best for the young men he will be leading, both on and off the field. Clayton has gone out the last two summers to coach in the Prospect League and has gained a ton of experience managing the college game. I look forward to continuing our working relationship and am excited to see what he does with the baseball program."

Coach Hicks is a former Danville Area Community College baseball Jaguar, where he competed during the 2010 and 2011 seasons. The former Jaguar was a work-horse in his two years on the mound here at DACC, compiling a total of 164. 1 innings pitched along with 14 wins, and 157 strikeouts. He earned All-Conference recognition as a sophomore before moving on to Quincy University, where he competed for two seasons under the guidance of head coach and former MLB player Josh Rabe.

Coach Hicks earned his head coaching experience as he spent time in the Prospect League coaching the Hannibal Hoots in one of the most vintage summer collegiate leagues around. The league includes the Danville Dans, Normal Corn Belters, Terre Haute Rex and others that gather top collegiate talent across the nation.

Coach Hicks;

"I am very excited to take the reigns as head coach; I hope to continue the tradition of winning that Coach Bunton has brought to DACC Baseball. I look forward in continuing to develop strong student-athletes such as Coach Bunton was able to do while I was a player of his. He led me to have strong leadership skills in which I want to bring to DACC Baseball and build on the winning culture."

Coach Hicks will take over with a loaded roster that was impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic which will allow third year sophomores to participate for another year under Hicks. The move could not be at a better time for Coach Hicks as he will have one the largest rosters DACC Baseball has ever had that is loaded with top prospects from across the nation.

The Jaguars will look to be back in action come August, you can check Danvillejaguars.com for updates and game times when fall sports begin.

Print Friendly Version