I was going with this anyway, but Augie Garrido died on Thursday. Garrido coached the Illini for three seasons, winning two Big Ten titles. Garrido was a head coach in college baseball from 1969 until 2016. That would be quite a few lives touched. The icon spent much of his coaching career at Cal State Fullerton and with the Texas Longhorns. With a heaping degree of respect toward Garrido, I look at a surprisingly good Illinois squad.
Pegged toward the back off the Big Ten projections entering the season, Illinois scuffled early, best exemplified by being unable to fly to Texas for their weekend opening series.