Nestor Carrillo has a vested interest in the baseball program at Morton College. He’s climbed the ranks, going from a player to assistant coach and now to head coach.
Carrillo is starting his third season as head coach. His first year in 2015 produced a 14-37 record, but one of the Midwest’s youngest coaching staffs produced a monumental upset when the Panthers stunned nationally-ranked Elgin twice in the Region IV playoffs to claim Morton College’s first sectional championship since 1989. Elgin had outscored Morton College 32-4 in its two previous meetings.
The Panthers’ growth continued the following season with a 19-25-1 record, a five-game improvement in the win column and a 12-game reduction on the loss side.
Carrillo’s ability in player development was never more evident than in the case of sophomore outfielder Manny Becerra, one of 28 NJCAA baseball players from across the country presented with a Marucci Elite Hitter award, which honors student-athletes with the top batting average in each district across all three divisions of competition.
The 6-2 left-handed hitting and throwing Becerra led NJCAA Region IV in batting average (.500), on-base percentage (.592) and slugging percentage (.717). He was named First Team All-Region IV and Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference.
Becerra, now at NAIA school Missouri Valley College, came to Morton College as a transfer, where he hit just .233 at his previous stop.
Carrillo spent the past three years as an assistant coach under Gene Rausch before being elevated to the top spot. The graduate of Morton East High School also was an infielder and pitcher at Morton College during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
“My goal is to build a winning program and to do with student-athletes with good character and a solid work ethic,” said Carrillo, who points to recently retired New York Yankee Derek Jeter as a role model for his players to emulate.
“I’m excited to have the opportunity to be the head coach at Morton College,” Carrillo added. “We want to get the word out about our program. We can do that by developing players and getting them into four-year schools.”
