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Steve Hardman enters his fourth season in the Viking dugout after serving for four years as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at conference rival North Central College. Along the way, Hardman has accomplished a great deal in a short amount of time.

“In Steve Hardman, our pitchers get a coach who is truly an outstanding teacher of the game. Steve has a proven track record of success as pitching coach in the CCIW. Having the type of professional and Division I experience that he has speaks volumes about his background. He is a self made man, and his intensity and personal dedication are exactly what we preach to our players every day. Steve is a baseball guy, but he’s a baseball guy who has the discipline to live his life the way he teaches the game. That builds credibility and instills confidence”, states head coach Luke Johnson.

Hardman has developed a bevy of top notch pitchers over the last four years. He has worked with three Rawlings ABCA All Central Region players, one ALL-CCIW first teamer, three ALL-CCIW second teamers, one CCIW statistical leader, and two pitchers who have signed contracts in NCAA sanctioned summer leagues. Additionally, four of his pitchers have been named to Collegiate Baseball’s Division III “Players to Watch” list. He has spent the last two summers as the head coach of the Glen Ellyn Jam, a member of the Chicago Metro-Collegiate Summer League. The Metro-Collegiate is a wood bat league that is comprised of college eligible players from all divisions. His 2006 team was the runner-up in the prestigious AAABC tournament this past summer in Johnstown Pennsylvania, garnering notice from Baseball America magazine.

“Steve has made a calling card out of squeezing every last amount of ability out of his pitching staff. He takes individual development as seriously as I do, and as truly another head coach on staff. His past success is the result of nothing more than hard work and a belief in himself. I know he will help instill this in our players, and I am excited that he will play a big part in moving our program forward,” Johnson says.

Hardman’s playing experience is just as impressive. He began his career going 9-1 as a freshman at Division III Loras College, earning First team all Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference first team status, as well as the IIAC newcomer of the year award in 1997. He then transferred to Illinois Valley Community College, where he was a first team all conference pitcher in the Arrowhead Conference, a National Junior College Athletic Association Region IV first team selection, and a Rawlings/ABCA All-American in 1999. He finished his career at Division I Northern Illinois University where he was a standout pitcher for the Huskies. After earning a B.A. in history at NIU the spring of 2001, he signed with the Cook County Cheetahs of the independent Frontier League. He went on to pitch professionally for the Rockford River Hawks and the Kenosha Mammoths, also members of the Frontier League.

Hardman earned an M.A. in Liberal Studies from North Central in 2005. He is the Athletic Admission Recruiter in the North Park Office of Admissions. He and his wife, Sarah reside in Chicago.