COACHING STAFF

Tony Jandron

Northwest Missouri State University Director of Athletics Andy Peterson has announced the hiring of Tony Jandron as the new head coach of the Bearcat baseball program.

"I'm thrilled to get Coach Jandron to campus and turn the keys to the baseball program over to him," Peterson said. "We had a ton of interest and qualified coaches reached out about running our team, and Tony quickly separated himself as a top candidate. As an assistant he has been a part of successful teams at every stop in his career and I'm excited to see what he can do as a head coach in building off the foundation here at Northwest Missouri State. We're excited to get Tony and his wife, Gabby, to town and start the next chapter of Bearcat baseball."

Jandron becomes the 10th head coach in school history, and only the fourth different leader in the last 42 seasons of Bearcat baseball. This is the first head coaching job for Jandron after previously serving as an assistant coach at Illinois State, Central Michigan, Northwood and the College of DuPage.

"I'm thankful to Andy for this opportunity," Jandron said. "I was impressed by the vision of the program and enjoyed getting to know more about the Bearcat culture. There is a commitment to the student-athlete experience and I'm excited to meet the standard of success both on and off the field. I'm looking forward to building relationships, sharing my experiences, and motivating players to become the best version of themselves. My wife Gabby and I are beyond excited to be in Maryville and join the Bearcat family."

At Illinois State in 2024, Jandron served as the third base coach and ran the offense for the Redbirds. Illinois State gained its first winning season since 2019 when it posted a mark of 30-27 and went 16-11 in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2024. As a squad, the Redbirds batted .291 with 76 home runs and 54 stolen bases.

Prior to Illinois State, Jandron spent five seasons (2019-2023) as an assistant at Central Michigan and amassed a 177-80 (.689) record as a Chippewa. In Jandron's time at Central Michigan, the Chippewas earned their first NCAA berth since 1995, tied the program record for victories in a season (47), and broke the programs stolen base record in a season (133). The 2019, 2021, 2022 teams won 132 games, marking the winningest three-year stretch in program history. Central Michigan was in the NCAA Tournament three straight times (2019, 2021, 2022) during Jandron's time in Mount Pleasant. The dramatic 6-5 victory over Miami (Fla.) in an NCAA Regional game in Starkville, Miss. was CMU's first NCAA Tournament victory since 1988.

Jandron coached three seasons (2016-2018) at NCAA Division II Northwood. The Timberwolves won their first GLIAC title in their program's history and had a combined two-year total of 84 victories (2017, 2018) was the fifth-highest total in Division II. Both squads were ranked in the top 20 nationally and appeared in the NCAA Regionals.

He began his coaching career at College of DuPage, a junior college in Glen Ellyn, Ill. At DuPage, Jandron helped lead a 16-win improvement as the Chaparrals finished 39-20 in 2015, their first winning season in five years.

Jandron is a 2011 graduate of St. Norbert College in DePere, Wis., with a degree in business administration. Jandron was a two-sport athlete in college as he competed in baseball and basketball. The former All-American at St. Norbert College (De Pere, Wis.) led the NCAA in batting average .511 his senior campaign and is the program's all-time wins leader on the mound. Jandron played every position but catcher for the Green Knights

Jandron gained a master's of science degree in organizational leadership from Northwood in 2019. Jandron is a native of Negaunee, Michigan, and will be making the move to Maryville with his wife, Gabby.

Theo Bartolomeo will serve as an assistant baseball coach at Northwest Missouri State University.

Prior to Northwest, Bartolomeo worked two seasons as an assistant coach for the Charleston Golden Eagles. He worked primarily with the infielders and hitters, as well as assisting with recruiting, formulating scouting reports and summer ball placement.

In 2023, Golden Eagle hitters achieved incredible success. Notably, the Golden Eagles set school and conference records in runs scored, runs batted in, stolen bases, extra base hits, and home runs. The Golden Eagles finished with MEC regular season and tournament championships, and an appearance in the Millersville NCAA Atlantic Regional.

Bartolomeo came to Charleston after spending four years at Division I mid-major Central Michigan. He worked in various capacities for the Chippewas, beginning as a student manager in 2018-2019 and ascending to Director of Baseball Operations by 2021-2022. There, he was responsible for managing the behind-the-scenes operations of the program, such as assisting the coaches with practice planning and execution, equipment, travel logistics, small group sessions and scouting reports. Bartolomeo also played key roles in developing the student manager program and data analytics team at Central Michigan.

During his four years at Central Michigan, the Chippewas won two MAC regular season championships, two MAC conference championships, and appeared in three NCAA Regionals. The Chippewas won 40 games or more in the three full seasons that were played when Bartolomeo was on staff, and each regional team won at least one game in the NCAA Tournament, including making it to the Regional Finals against Notre Dame in 2021. The Central Michigan program saw 8 Chippewas move on to affiliated professional baseball from 2019 to 2022.

In previous summers, Bartolomeo has ventured out to the Cape Cod Baseball League in Massachusetts. In 2021, he served as a scouting/general manager intern for the Bourne Braves, who made it to the league championship series that year. In 2022, Bartolomeo served as an assistant coach for the Wareham Gatemen. For both teams, Bartolomeo was responsible for generating scouting reports, assisted with coaching the hitters, and assisted with player acquisitions. In his two years on the Cape, Bartolomeo has worked with a total of 46 MLB draft picks.

Bartolomeo hails from White Bear Lake, Minnesota. He graduated Central Michigan University in 2022 with his undergrad in Sport Management and is pursuing his Master’s in Strategic Leadership from Charleston.