Elvis Dominguez

Head Coach

Elvis Dominguez, who has served as the head coach at Eastern Kentucky University for the last seven years and has connections to the Missouri Valley Conference that go back more than 25 years, was named the 15th head coach in Bradley Baseball history during a press conference June 24, 2008 at O'Brien Field.

During his 19-year college coaching career, Dominguez has recruited and coached eight players that advanced to the Major Leagues, 22 All-Americans and three Ohio Valley Conference Players of the Year. Eight of his Eastern Kentucky players have been drafted the last six years, including a trio of players selected within the first seven rounds of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Of particular note, 2008 OVC Pitcher of the Year Christian Friedrich was the 25th overall selection by the Colorado Rockies in the first round of this month's draft. Friedrich limited the Braves to just two hits and struck out nine in his six innings, leading the Colonels to a 13-1 victory against Bradley March 1 in Richmond, Ky.

Off the field, Eastern Kentucky boasts the top NCAA Academic Progress Rate score (960) of any Division I baseball program in the state of Kentucky and ranks among the 80th percentile of all Division I programs in the country. His teams have posted at least a 3.0 grade point average each of the last five years, including a 12-year high 3.1 mark during the 2007 Fall semester.

In addition to his work on the diamond, Dominguez is in his third year serving on the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee. He previously worked as an associate scout for the Texas Rangers during his high school coaching days from 1989-92 and he coordinated the NCAA YES camp program during the College World Series from 1992-97.

John Corbin

Assistant Coach

John Corbin is preparing for his second year as the pitching coach at Bradley University and his eighth year overall as an assistant to Braves head coach Elvis Dominguez.

Having followed Dominguez from Eastern Kentucky University, where he also served as pitching coach for six seasons, Corbin turned in measurable results in his first year working with the Braves staff. Of particular note, Bradley's staff earned run average dropped from 6.30 in 2008 to 5.51 in 2009, while opponent batting average also dropped 30 points from .311 in 2008 to .281 in 2009. All five of Bradley's returning pitchers saw their ERA's drop in 2009, averaging a reduction of 2.87. An honorable mention All-Missouri Valley Conference pick in 2009 under Corbin's tutelage, fourth-year junior hurler Rob Scahill led the way by seeing his ERA drop from 5.49 to 4.05 while seeing his draft stock improve from being a 48th-round selection by the Yankees in 2008 to becoming and eighth-round pick by the Colorado Rockies during the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Two Bradley newcomers also turned in solid numbers in their first seasons working with Corbin. Freshman left-hander Joe Bircher was 4-2 with a 3.39 ERA in 63 innings of work last season while boasting a near 3-to-1 strikeouts-to-walk ratio (50-17). Meanwhile, freshman right-hander Justin Ziegler posted a 3.97 ERA in 34.0 innings while limiting the opposition to a .246 batting average.

Corbin served as both the recruiting coordinator and pitching coach for the Colonels from 2003-08, overseeing the identification and evaluation of baseball prospects, managed the scholarship budget and maintained relationships with high school and junior college coaches, as well as professional scouts. He also managed the development of the Eastern Kentucky pitching staff, prepared opponent scouting reports, coordinated the placement of players in collegiate summer leagues and assisted the management of baseball camps. Corbin serves many of the same roles at Bradley.

Sean Lyons

Assistant Coach

The Bradley Baseball program solidified its staff for the 2010 season by announcing former Eastern Illinois assistant coach Sean Lyons as the Braves newest addition. Lyons spent six seasons as the Panthers defense and infield coach, recruiting coordinator and also worked extensively with EIU's hitters. In addition to his coaching experience, Lyons played for the Panthers from 1996-99.

Under Lyons' tutelage, the 2009 EIU squad ranked second in the nation with a .362 batting average, third in slugging percentage, eighth in home runs per game and ninth in scoring. The Panthers finished 36-14, earning the Ohio Valley Conference Championship and the school's first ever top-30 national ranking.

"I am really excited that Sean Lyons has decided to join our staff at Bradley," said second-year head coach Elvis Dominguez. "I have watched him work first hand and was always impressed with the way he carried himself on the recruiting trail as the recruiting coordinator and on the field as their hitting and infield coach. His players were always well prepared and the success EIU has had can be directly related to the type of student-athletes he recruited and developed."

Eastern's 2008 team captured the OVC Tournament championship, earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers defense turned 52 doubles plays during the season, 12 more than opponents, and scored 17 runs in two NCAA Regional games.

In 2007, the Panthers batted .299 as a team and had the fewest number of strikeouts in the OVC. Eastern Illinois' defense led the OVC in fielding percentage and double plays turned in 2006, while the team batted .304 and recorded the fewest number of K's in the conference.

In his six seasons at EIU, Lyons recruited and coached four Major League Baseball draft picks, two Freshman All-Americans, one Academic All-American, one mid-season All-America and one OVC Player of the Year.