After spending the last three seasons as the Apollo baseball associate head coach, Heath Hicks has been named the team’s head coach. Hicks joined the Eagles coaching staff in 2023, helping them win the 3rd Region Championship and reach the semi-finals of the State Tournament.
“I am excited for this opportunity and just grateful for the chance to coach a program that has an incredible tradition and a wonderful community,” Hicks said.
Hicks coaching career dates back to 2002 when he started out as an assistant under Marc Searcy at McLean County. After four seasons, Hicks left for business school and worked in communications in Minor League Baseball for a few years. He returned to McLean County as an assistant still under Searcy in 2014. The following year after Searcy retired, Hicks took over as the head coach, a role he held until 2022.
Now, back in the head coach role, Hicks is looking toward the second opportunity.
“There is a lot of responsibility being a head coach, especially at a school with such a heralded past,’ Hicks said. “I don’t take the responsibility lightly. It is exhilarating to be back in the chair once again and to have once again an opportunity to continue to build something.”
Spending the past two seasons under Brandon Dennis, Hicks learned the how to function in a coaching role at a larger school.
“There are similarities and differences,” Hicks said. “He showed me how a program of this size should be run, the structures that have to be in place that are extremely important, and how to establish a large coaching staff and oversee it. That was all massively important. Coach Dennis did a really good job of keeping players loose, but also having great instruction during practice.”
Hicks will meet with the team Wednesday of this week and is excited to get to work.
“We have, in my opinion, some of the best players in the region returning this year,” Hicks said. “…I just want to continue to implement strong values in how we handle ourselves on a daily basis. Carrying a workers mentality, and an appreciation for our opportunities here and a respect for the name on the front of the jersey.”
