Mike Kunigonis

Mike Kunigonis (born June 4, 1980) is the former head baseball coach of the Northern Illinois Huskies baseball program at Northern Illinois University. He was named to that position prior to the 2015 season.[1]

Mike Kunigonis
Kunigonis in 2019
Biographical details
Born (1980-06-04) June 4, 1980
Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma materAmerican International College
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2002–2004Niagara (asst.)
2004–2007Canisius (asst.)
2007–2008Radford (asst.)
2008–2014Virginia Tech (asst.)
2015–2023Northern Illinois
Head coaching record
Overall140–252

Early years

Kunigonis was raised in Worcester, Massachusetts. He attended Saint Peter-Marian High School in Worcester.[2]

Playing career

Kunigonis attended American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts. He played for the Division II Yellow Jackets from 1999–2002. A Butova Sportsmanship Award Winner in his Junior year, Michael was also selected as an all–region and all–conference player as a first baseman.[2]

Along with his playing career at American International, Kunigonis graduated with a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice and sociology in 2001. While coaching at Canisius College in 2006, he earned a Master of Science in sports administration.

Coaching career

Following his graduation, Kunigonis spent five seasons working as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at two schools in Western New York. In 2003 and 2004, he worked at Niagara University in Lewiston, and from 2005–2007 at Canisius College in Buffalo. During his tenure at both schools, they reached the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference baseball tournament. For the 2008 season, Kunigonis was an assistant at Radford University.[2]

Kunigonis joined the coaching staff at Virginia Tech prior to the 2009 season, as a volunteer assistant coach. He worked as a volunteer assistant for both the 2009 and 2010 season before being promoted to a full-time assistant coaching position. Kunigonis was promoted to the Hokies hitting coach. Under his guidance, the Hokies had a banner season in 2013, and had one of the highest draft picks in Virginia Tech history with infielder Chad Pinder, who was selected by the Oakland Athletics with the 71st overall pick in the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft.

On January 5, 2015, Kunigonis was announced as the new head coach at Northern Illinois University.[3]

Kunigonis received his first career win against South Dakota State on February 13, 2015, in his head coaching debut, by a score of 10–6. Under Kunigonis NIU Baseball has seen great success in the classroom and in the community. NIU Baseball has been named Community Service Male Team of the year five times for NIU Athletics as well as winning the Victor's Cup for best overall Male Team twice.[4]

On May 7, 2023, Northern Illinois announced that Kunigonis's contract would not be renewed and he was relieved of his head coaching duties.[5]


Head coaching record

The following is a table of Kunigonis' yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Northern Illinois Huskies (Mid-American Conference) (2015–present)
2015 Northern Illinois 22–3310–175th (West)
2016 Northern Illinois 24–3214–102nd (West)MAC Tournament
2017 Northern Illinois 17–3811–135th (West)MAC Tournament
2018 Northern Illinois 20–369–1810th
2019 Northern Illinois 20–3614–125thMAC Tournament Semi Finals
2020 Northern Illinois 7–100–0Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021 Northern Illinois 16–3815–25T-9thNO POST SEASON TOURNAMNET COVID-19
2022 Northern Illinois 14–4013–2510th
2023 Northern Illinois 8–384-1911th
Northern Illinois: 148–29090–139
Total:148–301

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References
  1. Manuel, John (January 4, 2015). "Kunigonis Replaces Mathey At Northern Illinois". Baseball America. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  2. "Mike Kunigonis Bio". hokiesports.com. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  3. Foley, Brian (January 5, 2015). "NIU Names Mike Kunigonis as Head Coach". College Baseball Daily. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  4. "HUSKIES TRIUMPH IN SEASON OPENER OVER SOUTH DAKOTA STATE, 10-6". NIU Huskies. February 13, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  5. "NIU Announces Baseball Coaching Change". May 7, 2023.
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