John Baines recently completed his inaugural season as the University of St. Francis head men's basketball coach. The Fighting Saints finished the year with a 21-10 record. The 21 wins were an improvement of 13 games from the previous season, which ranked as the second-biggest win turnaround in the entire NAIA this past winter. The .677 winning percentage also ranked as one of the best in the 39-year school history of the program (sixth-best) and marked USF's best record in 21 years. With the great season, the Fighting Saints also gained national recognition by being ranked as high as No. 24 in the NAIA Division I coaches' poll during the year.

Baines became just the third head men's basketball coach in the 39-year history of the University of St. Francis program. He replaced 34-year veteran Pat Sullivan who retired at the conclusion of the 2009-10 season.

"To come out of this searchas the top candidate out of the better than 320 that applied is a pretty big accomplishment in itself, especially considering how experienced the committee was and how diligent and thorough they werethroughout the process," said USF director of athletics Dave Laketa. "It speaks loudly for the person that John is both from a coaching and values standpoint."

Baines, 35, is a native of Bloomington, Ill., and played basketball at Illinois Wesleyan University for Hall of Fame coach Dennie Bridges. He was a forward on the Titans' 1997 NCAA Division III national championship team. As a four-year player for Bridges and the Titans, he was part of teams that compiled an overall record of 103-14, participated in two NCAA Division III Final Fours, three Elite Eights and four Sweet Sixteens. The Titans had placed third in the nation one year earlier in 1996.

He began his coaching career in 1998 as the sophomore basketball and baseball coach at Bloomington (Ill.) High School. He moved to Elmhurst two years later where he began a 10-year association with Bluejays' head basketball coach Mark Scherer. During his 10 seasons under Scherer, Baines helped the Bluejays compile a 160-99 record. Additionally, Elmhurst posted the five best won-lost records in school history, captured its only College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) title and reached the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division III tournament in one of two national tourney appearances during that time.

In his first season at Elmhurst in 2000-01, Baines helped Scherer direct the Bluejays to a school-best 22-5 record and the only CCIW title in the program's 63-year history. The team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen round of the NCAA Division III tournament that year and was ranked as high as sixth nationally during the course of the season.

That marked just the first of six times in a 10-year span when Elmhurst placed either first or second (five times) in the prestigious CCIW. The Bluejays added two more seasons with 20 or more wins - 21-6 in 2006-07 and 20-8 in 2008-09 - and returned to the national tournament again following the 2008-09 campaign.

"If the success with former Elmhurst College coaches at the University down the road (neighboring Lewis University in Romeoville who hired former Elmhurst coaches Jim Whitesell and Scott Trost) is any indication," added Laketa, "the future of the men's basketball program here at St. Francis is very bright. Elmhurst hasserved as a tremendousentry point in the coaching careers of many young assistant and head coaches that have gone on to do great things in the profession."

As the chief recruiter on Scherer's staff, Baines helped lure 16 Illinois All-State players to Elmhurst. All of his four-year and transfer recruits either graduated or are on track to earn their degrees from Elmhurst. Emphasizing academics as well as basketball, Baines helped to oversee an Elmhurst team that posted a cumulative 3.00 grade point average for most of his tenure.

"No matter who we talked to in the coaching and recruiting circles," said Laketa, "to a man they said that they always saw John Baines in the gym recruiting, whether it was during the season or over the summer. The guy certainly does his homework."

Baines' duties at Elmhurst were not limited to coaching basketball. During his decade at EC, Baines has served at various times as Assistant to the Athletic Director (2006-2010), head women's golf coach (2003-06) and head men's tennis coach (2000-04). He coached a pair of All-CCIW golfers in his three seasons with the women's golf program and directed the men's tennis squad to its second-best record in school history in 2004.

Baines has been a part of successful high school and small college basketball programs ever since he enrolled at University High School in Normal, IL. Over the course of the last 20 years, Baines has a record of 330-111 as a player, assistant coach, and head coach.

"In closing," said Laketa, "The program Bob Penosky started here in 1972 and the one Pat Sullivan built onthatbecame respected both in and outside the arena is in good hands with John Baines."

Baines graduated from Illinois Wesleyan in 1998 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a minor in secondary education. He earned a Master's in sports administration from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2003.

Baines is single and resides in Chicago.

Steve Kollar joined the St. Francis coaching staff in 2010-2011, where he was reunited with then-new USF head coach John Baines.

Kollar played guard from 2001-04 at Elmhurst College during Baines' 10-year run as an assistant coach. He played high school basketball at Wheaton North High School before moving on to Elmhurst.

Kollar began his coaching career in the fall of 2005 as the freshman "B" team baseball and basketball coach at Wheaton North, his alma mater. He spent the next year coaching football at Wheaton North, tutoring the freshmen quarterbacks and serving as the frosh's assistant offensive coordinator.

He then moved on to South Elgin High School where he coached both the freshman "A" team and the sophomore squad over the next two seasons. He coached the freshmen at West Aurora High School in 2009-10.

Kollar earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Elmhurst and his Master's in education from Aurora University.