ESU head baseball coach #33 Bob Fornelli walks to the mound to make a pitching change in Sunday’s home game against Central Missouri at the Trusler Sports Complex. The Hornets defeated the Mules 9-8.
Players on the Emporia State baseball team know what it’s like to be successful, and it’s not hard to see where they get it.
“I’m a competitor,” said ESU head baseball coach Bob Fornelli. “I want to win at everything I do. There’s nothing we do here that we don’t try to win at.”
That competitive mindset has allowed Fornelli to accomplish feats many coaches could only dream of.
Coach Fornelli is currently the winningest active coach in the MIAA and fifth winningest in the country. This season marks his 21st year as a head baseball coach and 14th for the Hornets. He currently owns a record of 858-350, good for a 0.71 winning percentage.
“Having a coach that has a competitive and winning mindset keeps this program in the right direction” said Alex White, senior third baseman. “He influences me to take that mindset into my personal life. There’s a reason why Coach Fornelli is very successful.”
According to Fornelli, it’s all about the little things he and his players do that contribute to their success.
“Just getting the kids to believe in each other and playing hard each and every day is huge,” Fornelli said. “I’ve got the best job in the world. To me, I think I’m a big brother to 38 guys, I’m not their dad. I’m old enough to be their dad, but I want be their big brother. If we can get our guys to believe in one another, play hard, and become a family, then we’ll be successful.”
Fornelli’s journey to becoming one of Division II’s best coaches began with a long playing career.
After graduating high school, Fornelli continued his career at Butler Community College for two years.
“I got an opportunity to play college baseball and felt like that’s what I really wanted to do the rest of my life,” Fornelli said.
Fornelli was then recruited to Emporia State, but opted to play at William Jewell for a larger scholarship.
After only two weeks there, Fornelli realized that it wasn’t the place for him. He called then head coach, Dave Bingham, who allowed Fornelli to come and play for the Hornets.
Due to NCAA transfer rules, Fornelli had to sit out for a semester, but went on to become an honorable mention All-Central States Intercollegiate Conference catcher for the Hornets as a senior.
Fornelli then returned to Butler Community College as a pitching coach from 1991-1996, a period which included a third-place finish in the NJCAA World Series.
The next step was a move to Fort Hays State, Fornelli’s first head coaching job. He coached there for seven years.
“I had a lot of good times there, we did a lot of neat things,” Fornelli said. “We got to play for the national championship there as well, but just didn’t get it done.”
That’s when Fornelli got the call to come back to his alma mater.
“That was kind of a dream to come back and get this thing rolling again,” Fornelli said.
His time with the Hornets has included 11 trips to the NCAA Tournament, two World Series appearances and a national runner-up finish. Just this past season, Fornelli picked up his 800th win, a milestone reached when the Hornets beat the Newman Jets, 3-1. When asked how that moment felt for him, Fornelli had his perspective focused more on his team.
“I’m just glad we won,” Fornelli said. “Every day you’re trying to win. You don’t calculate wins and losses, you’re just trying to win each and every day. The wins are because of the players, it’s not because of Bob Fornelli. It’s because of the kids we have here every year.”
Even after multiple seasons and enough wins to last him a lifetime, Fornelli knows exactly why he continues to coach.
“It’s the only thing I’m smart enough to do, number one,” Fornelli said. “But I love it, I enjoy it every day. I love coming to work every day in shorts, being a little kid, getting to live through those guys and getting them to understand how hard you have to work each day to win the day.”
Not only has Coach Fornelli put an emphasis on his team’s play on the field, but also their character off of it. His players respect him for shaping them in not only the game of baseball, but in life.
“He has pushed me to be a better player and person by giving me high expectations,” said B.J. Dean, senior right fielder. “He’s helped me learn how to overcome failure on and off the field.”