Athletics
Athletics List
Tami Baalke '93
Tami holds many titles and records in the Redbird history books. She came in making history as the Gateway Conference Freshman of the Year, the first of only two players in school history to win the honor. She is a two-time First-Team All-Gateway Conference selection, a member of the Illinois State 1,000 point club, and the 1991 and 1992 ISU Most Valuable Player. She is only one of three players in program history to record a triple-double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists and ranks third in the ISU record books in career steals per game.
Matthew Brown '12
Matthew finished his career as the school leader in pass attempts, completions, passing yards, passing touchdowns, completion percentage, passing yards per game, and total offense yards. He also set school single single-season records in these categories. He also finished his career as the Missouri Valley Football Conference all-time leader in five different passing categories while also being a four-time All-MVFC selection as quarterback. Matthew could be seen starting all 13 games at quarterback for the Redbirds and led the Redbirds to a thrilling FCS playoff win at Appalachian State.
Anderson Devonish '18
Anderson finished his REdbird career as a 13-time Missouri Valley Conference Champion and a two-time NCAA Championship qualifier. He holds four ISU school records on the track (indoor 400m, outdoor 200m, indoor/outdoor 4x400-meter relays). As a senior, Anderson qualified for the NCAA Championships outdoors in the 400-meter dash for the second time of his career where he finished 21st to earn Honorable Mention All-American status for the second time. He was named the MVC's Most Valuable Athlete at the 2018 Valley Indoor Championships, scoring a total of 22.50 points to help the Redbirds' to their first title since the 1999 season.
Sami Geringer '15
Sami shined on the beam as a Redbird gymnast and four-time NCAA Regional qualifier. As a senior, she placed 12th in the balance beam competition with at the 2015 NCAA Regional competition and wrapped her career with a tie for first place on the balance beam with at the MIC Championship. As a junior, she took 11th place in the balance beam competition at the NCAA Regional and won the balance beam competition at the 2014 MIC Championship In 2013, Sami won the all-around title at the 2013 MIC Championship and also took first on beam.
Tom Lamonica, M.S. '88
This year Tom was inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame Class with the Paul Morrison Award. His sports information career began in 1975 at College of DuPage and continued at Evansville after the tragic 1977 Aces basketball team plane crash. He arrived at Illinois State from Evansville in time to help with the Redbirds' application for membership in the Valley in 1980 and in his more than 26 years at ISU, he worked with football, men's and women's basketball and volleyball. In 2006, he retired from Redbird Athletics to join the ISU School of Communication (SoC) faculty full-time but stayed connected to the Valley as a staff member at Arch Madness and all 17 Hoops in the Heartland tournaments. He currently teaches public relations and sport communication in the SoC, while leading the school's award-winning internship program.