CHICAGO (Oct. 2, 2023) – The UIC baseball team announced staffing changes Monday, including two new additions to the staff as well as a promotion. Daniel Dulin has been added to the staff as an Assistant Coach, and James McConnon has been named the Director of Baseball Analytics / Player Development. In his second season at UIC, Assistant Coach Jimmy Frankos has been elevated to Hitting and Catching Coach.
 
"We are excited to be able to elevate Jimmy and for the additions of James and Daniel," said UIC head coach Sean McDermott. "All three are hard-working, blue-collar coaches that will help add to our culture and success."
 
In his first season at UIC, Jimmy Frankos helped lead UIC to a .267 team batting average in 2023, resulting in the team reaching the Missouri Valley Conference Championship in its first season of competition as a number six seed. Under Frankos' tutelage, the UIC catchers had a .985 fielding percentage in 2023, committing just five total errors on the year. Frankos most recently served as the volunteer assistant coach for Northwestern University.  Prior to his time at Northwestern, Frankos served as a volunteer assistant at Iowa for the past three seasons as a hitting coach. Before his coaching stint in Iowa, Frankos spent time at Heartland Community College in Illinois, both as an assistant and as a head coach, where he helped win a MWAC Championship. Frankos was a three-year starter at Iowa from 2013 to 2016. 
 
Serving as the Hawkeyes' hitting coach, Iowa's offense ranked in the top five of the Big Ten in nine different categories in 2021, including leading the league in doubles (93), triples (12), walks (243), on-base percentage (.385) and sacrifice flies (21) on their way to a school-record 26 Big Ten victories.
 
During Frankos' first season in Iowa City, he helped Iowa win 10 games in the first month, including posting victories over ranked foes No. 18 Arizona, No. 20 North Carolina, and No. 14 Duke before the season coming to an abrupt end amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
Prior to his time at Iowa, Frankos spent three seasons at Heartland (Illinois) Community College. He was an assistant coach in 2017 and 2018 before being promoted to head coach in 2019. During his stint, the Hawks accumulated 119 wins, including a 34-20 record in his last season with the program.
 
Heartland won one regular season MWAC Championship and finished runner-up in the 2018 Region 24 Regional Tournament.  During his three seasons, 29 student-athletes went on to play at the Division I level, including a program record 14 in 2018.
 
"I'm very grateful to coach McDermott for his trust and confidence in me," commented Frankos. "Having been with the Flames for a year, I know my goals align with the entire coaching staff's, which are to win championships and have our players graduate. I'm excited to continue the success of this storied program."
 
"Jimmy is a great teacher and evaluator of talent," added McDermott.  "He shares the same values as myself and our program. I am looking forward to watching our offense grow and our catchers develop under Jimmy's leadership."
 
Newly appointed assistant coach Daniel Dulin comes to Chicago by way of Southern University, where he spent four seasons overseeing the offense and working defensively with the Jaguars infielders. In 2022, Dulin helped lead the Jaguars to a 21-9 conference record, resulting in the SWAC Western Division Championship. The Jags also advanced to the SWAC Tournament Championship game, where they would end up losing a heart-breaker in 14 innings. In addition to back-to-back championship game appearances with Dulin on staff, the offense finished in the NCAA top 25 in on base %, also finishing in the top 3^rd of the SWAC in multiple categories: doubles, home runs, RBI, slugging %, walks, hit by pitch, and on base %.
The 2021 season culminated in the baseball program's 29^th SWAC Tournament Championship, earning them a bid to the NCAA's Austin, TX regional. That year the offense again finished in the top 3^rd of the SWAC in doubles, home runs, hit by pitch, & fielding %; while also finishing in the NCAA top 30 in stolen bases & stolen bases/game.

Prior to SU, Dulin was the head coach at Highland Community College, who competes in the ultra-competitive Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference.

Before taking on the head coaching duties with the Scotties, Dulin served as an assistant coach at Murray State University, helping MSU set a program record for wins in a season during his tenure. At MSU he worked with hitters and outfielders.

Prior to Murray State, Dulin was an assistant coach at Hutchinson Community College for four seasons. At Hutchinson he worked with the infielders and assisted the hitters, while he helped the Blue Dragons to a pair of Jayhawk West Championships and in 2014 helped the team achieve an #8 ranking and 43-17 mark (the school's sixth 40-win season).

He also coached at Coffeyville Community College working with hitters and outfielders and served as the Red Ravens recruiting coordinator. In 2010 he helped the Red Ravens finish third in the Jayhawk East while setting a school record for best conference finish in school history. 
 
Dulin attended Highland Community College from 2002-2004 and played second base for the Scotties. He received his undergrad from Fort Hays State University, and his Master's degree from Pittsburg State University in 2014.
 
"It is an honor and a privilege to be appointed to the UIC baseball coaching staff," commented Dulin. "The Flames are a high-level program with a rich baseball tradition, so I am excited to be here and be a part of it."
 
"We are grateful that through our national search we were able to identify and attract a highly regarded talent coach in Daniel Dulin," McDermott added. "Daniel is tough minded, observant and has the ability to get the most out of his players. He has championship experience and has worked for several great coaches in his coaching journey. Daniel's knowledge and recruiting will be great additions to our culture."
 
With a demonstrated background in analytics and their relation to baseball, James McConnon joins the UIC baseball staff as the Director of Baseball Analytics / Player Development. A former collegiate catcher at St. Joseph's University, McConnon also spent a season as a graduate manager with the Northwestern baseball team in 2022.
 
Earning his Master of Arts in sports administration at Northwestern with a concentration in sports analytics, he helped the Wildcats staff utilize player development technology to organize and visualize data to develop informed individualized training plans. McConnon was also a crucial asset in the development of opponent scouting reports and will serve a similar role for the Flames beginning in the 2024 season.
 
"I am grateful to coach McDermott for the opportunity to continue working in baseball," said McConnon. "I am looking forward to being another asset for the Flames coaching staff, allowing them to use advanced technology to help steer decisions on a day-to-day basis."
 
"James is bright, self motivated and has a wealth of varying experience in the field," said McDermott. "He will be a valuable link between our analytics and the development of our players moving forward. I am excited to have him as part of our staff for next season."