Chris Iliopoulos enters his third season as an assistant coach and first season as a recruiting coordinator on the Lindenwood softball staff in 2027.
Illiopoulos helped lead the Lions to their first ever OVC Tournament Championship game appearance for the first time in the Division I Era against #1 Eastern Illinois on May 9, 2026. The 2026 squad set several records throughout the season, including winning the most games (32) and stealing the most bases (86) in a single season in the D1 Era. He also coached four All-OVC selections in Kylee Crowder, Tori Hatton, Anna Sanders, and Emily Geary. Sanders set the Lindenwood NCAA Era Record for hits in a single season with 73, while Hatton set the LU NCAA Era record for RBI in a single season with 44. Lindenwood also ranked in the top half of the conference offensively, finishing the season with a team batting average of .305, which also set a D1 Era record.Â
During the 2025 season, Lindenwood finished with a record of 24-25 and a 14-12 mark inside conference play, making another appearance in the OVC Tournament. The Black and Gold ranked third in the OVC in ERA at 3.31 during the year. At the conclusion of the year, the Lions had four players earn All-Conference honors. Avery Wapp, Tori Hatton, and Nicole Henson garnered Second Team honors, while Ryleigh Owens landed on the All-Newcomer team.
Iliopoulos comes to St. Charles after serving as the head softball coach at Wisconsin-Stout for the past three seasons. In that time he posted a 45-70 record but had his best season in the spring of 2024 when the Blue Devils went 22-20, an 11 game improvement from the year before.
An offensive coach, Iliopoulos created offensive workouts to help athletes with bat speed and arm strength. He also handled the pitch calling, offensive and defensive strategies and game management. Over his three seasons as head coach, Iliopoulos had three all-conference selections. In 2022, he coached the conference's stolen base leader, home run leader and the Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Prior to his time as head coach, he was an assistant at Wisconsin Stout for four seasons. Over that time he worked primarily with the hitters and infielders. In 2018, his team batted .316 for the season with 21 home runs and 63 doubles.
A graduate from Truman State in 2017, Iliopoulos played collegiate baseball from 2014-2017 at Truman. During his time, his team made the Division II College World Series in 2015 and won an NCAA Regional. He was also a Second-Team All Conference selection in 2017. Iliopoulos also played at Spoon River College from 2012-2014.
He earned in Bachelor's Degree from Truman State in 2017 in Business Administration and his Master's Degree at Belhaven University in Sports Administration in 2021.
