WATCH: Bret Bielema sings 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game' at Chicago Cubs game
One of the great baseball traditions is singing the seventh inning stretch at Wrigley Field. Illinois head coach Bret Bielema joined that group on Thursday, singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” as the Chicago Cubs took on the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Bielema, wearing the No. 91 he wore as a player at Iowa, serenaded the Wrigley Field faithful as the Cubs fell to the Diamondbacks 3-1. The Prophetstown, Illinois native did a pretty good job, too.
Illinois gearing up for Year 2 of the Bret Bielema Era
Bielema is getting ready for his second year as the Fighting Illini head coach after going 5-7 overall, including 4-5 in Big Ten play, last season. It was his first season back in the Big Ten since he left Wisconsin, where he won three Big Ten titles from 2010 to 2012. He also coached at Arkansas from 2013 to 2017.
He got to work this offseason to revamp the roster, landing former Syracuse quarterback Tommy DeVito from the transfer portal. DeVito will likely compete with former Rutgers quarterback Art Sitkowski for the starting job after he started some games last season in place of Brandon Peters.
Top 10
- 1Hot
Quinn Ewers
Texas QB not sitting out the rest of season despite erroneous Instagram report
- 2Breaking
Back to Arnold
OU names Jackson Arnold starting QB
- 3
Not alright, alright
McConaughey admonishes Texas fans
- 4
CBB All-Americans
The AP reveals preseason All-America team ahead of 2024-25 season
- 5Trending
Heisman Trophy talk
Ashton Jeanty responds to Travis Hunter
On the recruiting trail, Bielema didn’t land any particularly big names, but continued to work toward his goal of keeping players from Illinois close to home. Illinois has 23 three-star players committed for the 2022 season, led by linebacker Jared Badie — the No. 9 prospect in Illinois, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. All told, Illinois has 11 in-satte recruits coming in.
The Fighting Illini also bring back some key players from last year, including running back Chase Brown, who led the team with 1,005 rushing yards. Last season’s leading receiver, Isaiah Williams, is also due back in the fold. On defense, leading tackler Sydney Brown is returning after totaling 81 tackles in 2021.