John Baines, the head men’s basketball coach at the University of St. Francis, has reached a verbal agreement to become the head men’s basketball coach at Elmhurst College.
Baines will become the 15th men’s basketball head coach in Elmhurst history. He takes over for Mark Scherer, who announced his retirement from coaching after 17 seasons of leading the Bluejays. Baines spent 10 seasons as Scherer’s right-hand man in Elmhurst before becoming the head coach of St. Francis in 2010.
"I’m pleased to be able to welcome John Baines back to Elmhurst College," said Elmhurst athletic director Paul Krohn. "John has a proven track record of success both on the court and in recruiting and I’m excited to have back as part of our coaching staff."
In his debut season at St. Francis in 2010-11, Baines guided the Saints to a 21-10 overall record, an improvement of 13 games from the previous season and the team’s best record in 21 seasons. His team climbed to as high as 24th in the NAIA Division I coaches poll.
Last season, Baines guided the Saints to a 21-12 record and a fourth-place finish in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference. In his three seasons at St. Francis, Baines compiled a 57-38 overall record while coaching six all-conference performers, a conference Freshman of the Year award winner and a pair of NAIA All-Americans.
"I enjoyed my three years at St. Francis and am grateful that they gave me an opportunity to become a head coach. Having said that, I’m very much looking forward to returning to Elmhurst," said Baines. "Elmhurst is a great school with great leadership and plays in one of the marquis conferences in all of Division III. I was a part of some of the best years in men’s basketball history and I feel that we can get the program back to the top again."
Baines began his collegiate coaching career at Elmhurst in 2000-01. In his first year with the Bluejays, he helped the squad to a school-best 22-5 record and its first College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Championship. The team advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and was ranked as high as sixth in the nation.
In Baines’ tenure at Elmhurst the Bluejays compiled a 160-99 record (.618 winning percentage), recorded five conference runner-up finishes, qualified for the CCIW Tournament four times, won over 20 games in three seasons and advanced to the NCAA Tournament twice. The Bluejays were ranked in the D3hoops.com top-10 for three consecutive years from 2007-2009. He also served as the men’s tennis coach (2000-04) and head women’s golf coach (2003-06) while at Elmhurst.
Baines began his coaching career at Bloomington High School in 1998 before joining Scherer’s coaching staff at Elmhurst.
"Mark Scherer brought me to Elmhurst when I was just 23 years old," said Baines. "I was privileged to coach alongside him for 10 years and am honored to succeed him here at the College. I want to thank him for all he did for me and the College."
Baines was no stranger to the CCIW before joining the Elmhurst coaching staff. He played college basketball at Illinois Wesleyan University. He was a part of teams that compiled a 103-14 record, played in the NCAA Tournament four times, reached the Final Four twice and won a national championship in 1997.
Baines earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Illinois Wesleyan in 1998. He received a master’s degree in sports administration from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2013.
Baines currently resides in Chicago. He and his fiancé, Emily, are planning a September wedding.
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