Kris Jenkins
On Base University Hitting Certified Expert
Current ABCA Member
Driveline Youth Hitting Certification
Coach Jenkins has been coaching/training youth aging from 6 years old to the collegiate level athletes for the past 16 years. As owner of K25 Baseball/Softball and Owner/Director of Top Tier West Baseball, Coach Jenkins has worked with many athletes in the west suburban Chicagoland area. Coach Jenkins also coached at the High School level at Plainfield South High School. Coach Jenkins continues to dedicate himself to giving back to our Baseball and Softball community. Being a member of the ABCA, (American Baseball Coaches Association) and Attendee at the Slugfest Conference in 2019 has also aided in Coach Jenkins’ progressive teachings. Coach Jenkins matches his knowledge with pure intense and positive energy to his players.
As an athlete, Coach Jenkins came up through the ranks of the Aurora Boys Baseball program and due to his contributions to the sport, he was later inducted into the Hall Of Fame. Coach Jenkins’ career blossomed while attending West Aurora High School where he was a 3 Sport Athlete competing in Baseball, Basketball, and Football. Coach Jenkins received All-Conference and All-Area honors in all 3 Sports. He was a sophomore on the 2000 State Championship Basketball Team. As a senior, Coach Jenkins was awarded Athlete of the Year for his contributions to West Aurora High School.
Coach Jenkins decided to join Junior College Powerhouse Triton College to play for legendary coach, Bob Symmonds. While at Triton College, Coach Jenkins was awarded All-Conference and received a scholarship to transfer to Illinois State University. During his time at Illinois State University, Coach Jenkins earned an invite to compete against the top players in the country in the Texas Collegiate Summer League. While in Texas, he led his team to a TCL Championship. As a senior, Jenkins earned All-Conference Honors for his play.
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Benny Collessano
Specialty: Pitching & Arm Care
Benny has been with K25 Baseball for the last 3 years. Coach Benny specializes in Pitching/Throwing & Arm Care. Coach Benny played at baseball powerhouse Lockport Township High School. For his college years, Coach Ben played for Trinity Christian College in Palos Heights, IL, where he led the Trolls to the 2014 NCCAA Baseball National Champions, and was named to the National Championship All-Tournament Team .
Professional Career After college, Coach Benny has been traveling the country pitching for several professional baseball organizations. In 2015, he played for the MRPBL Oregon City Mud Turtles. In 2016, he competed with the Old Orchard Beach Surge of the Empire Professional League. Most recently, he started out the 2017 season in the Thoroughbred league and was promoted to play for the Traverse City Beach Bums in the Frontier League.
Pitching Philosophy I believe that pitching is an art, and in order to achieve success, one must command pitches in and out of the zone, consistently change velocities and eye levels, achieve deception, while throwing strikes and staying ahead of hitters. Pitchers who are successful are in full control on the mound. Pitchers in full control have a presence about them that both teams and spectators recognize. In order to achieve this dominant presence and be successful, a pitcher needs to incorporate an arsenal of well-polished skills. The building blocks of polished skills are; proper mechanics, prehab/injury prevention, strength and conditioning, and IQ. Pitchers need to learn how to use their entire body & mind to deliver every pitch with a purpose.
Jared Liebelt
Specialty: Pitching/Arm Care
High School: I played baseball at West Aurora High School, 3 of my 4 years I was in the starting rotation on varsity. I was voted team captain and team MVP senior year and played well enough to earn a scholarship to play at Villanova University.
College Career: After one semester and a successful Fall season at Villanova I decided to transfer home and play my first two collegiate seasons at Waubonsee Community College. Under Head Coach Brad Unger I made significant strides in my development and earned All Conference honors twice as well as NJCAA pitcher of the week twice. Freshman year I was voted Region 4 tournament MVP which we won earning ourselves a spot in the NJCAA College World Series. After playing a summer with the La Crosse Loggers of the Northwoods League and my two seasons at Waubonsee I earned a scholarship to Mississippi State University. My junior season at MSU was a struggle compared to the rest of my career, but the team still made it to the College World Series. Senior year I was able to improve upon my previous season, leading the SEC in appearances on the mound with 34. I finished the year with a 2.96 ERA, 2 wins, and 5 saves and appeared in the College World Series once again.
Pro Career: I was drafted in the 20th round of the MLB draft in 2019 by the Arizona Diamondbacks and played my first pro season with their Rookie League team the Missoula Osprey. I finished the season with a 1.69 ERA and 27 strikeouts over 21 innings.
Coaching and Education: I have had the privilege of training with multiple pitching philosophies and programs including the National Pitching Association while at Waubonsee, and Driveline Baseball while at MSU and remotely during my pro career. I have played under two esteemed college pitching coaches while at MSU in Gary Henderson and Scott Foxhall, and great pitching minds Brad Unger, Mark Sheehan, and Tom Kinney while at Waubonsee. I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from MSU with a 4.0 GPA and as a member of the Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society.
Bonus Info: I was awarded the @PitchingNinja “College Pitch of the Year award” for 2019. In my 4 years of college baseball I have been to a College World Series 3 times.
Mark Nilles
Specialty: Strength and Mobility
Certifications: ATC, CSCS, CES, PES, USAW
Owner Nilles Strength & Speed
Full time ATC-Dreyer Medical Physical Therapy
TCoach Mark has been training athletes of all ages from grade school through adult for the last 26 years.
Former semi-pro baseball player-14 seasons
Former Asst College Baseball Coach
Current MSBL baseball player
Brianna Lewis
Specialty: Hitting & Slap
High School: Attended Los Amigos High School in Fountain Valley, California where she received 10 varsity letters in volleyball, track and field, and softball. Throughout her softball career, she averaged a .436 batting average in her four years of attending. She received recognition from the Garden Grove School District in 2016 as Female Athlete of the Year. She also received 1st Team All-League and MVP twice, and played a significant role as a captain for her softball team.
College: Currently attends Aurora University as a Graduate student where she is pursuing Criminal Justice. As a freshman, she appeared in 29 games for the Spartans and batted a .194. In 2018, she made 45 game appearances and hit a .308. Her Junior year, she appeared in 44 games hitting a .358. During her senior season, she played in 8 games hitting a .333, but her season finished early due to COVID-19. During her undergrad, she was a four-time Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference Scholar-Athlete. Right now, she is utilizing her extra year of eligibility and is training for the upcoming spring season.
Degrees: Earned her degree in Social Work with a minor in Criminal Justice from Aurora University.
Hannah Tomasko
Specialty: Pitching
High School: Attended North Mac High School in Virden, IL receiving varsity letters in softball, basketball, and volleyball. Throughout her high school softball career, she threw 499.1 innings. Her overall ERA was 2.20 with 50 wins, a .188 opponent batting average, and 772 strikeouts. She received first team all-conference three times as well as MVP three times. She was also All-Area MVP in 2015. She played for The Hitting Center travel ball organization.
College: Currently attends Aurora University as a Graduate student where she is pursuing accounting. Played four years at Aurora University. Freshman year she started 14 games with an 8-8 record. She had an ERA of 3.24 with 90.2 innings thrown. Sophomore year she started 23 games with a 16-4 record and an ERA of 2.0. This past season, 2021, she started in 23 games with a 21-3 record and a 1.04 ERA. She also had two perfect games in the 2021 season. She has been named All-American (2021), All-Region (2021), NACC first team All-Conference (2019,2021) and NACC Pitcher of the Year (2021). She was also also named academic All-American (2021) and Spartan Scholar (2018,2019,2021).
Degrees: Bachelor’s in accounting and Finance with a minor in Coaching from Aurora University.
Stacy Bellack
Specialty: Hitting
High School: Coach Stacy started on her varsity softball team as an outfielder in any of the three positions. She was chosen as first-team All-Conference and All-Area. Stacy led her varsity team in hitting each year and was chosen by her teammates and coaches to be the team captain. While in high school, Stacy was awarded various MVP awards and the Sportsmanship Award in her 18U USSSA National Tournament.
College: Stacy's collegiate career at Aurora University has been hindered due to multiple injuries. She was named as the starting right fielder prior to struggling with an ankle injury that took her out of the end of her sophomore year and her entire junior year. After her senior year being cut short by COVID-19 and having ankle surgery this summer, Stacy has returned to Aurora University as a 5th-year player to finish out her college career without injuries holding her back.
Degree: Bachelor of Science in Marketing, Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Media, MBA (May 2021).
Coaching: Stacy is currently a second-year travel coach for the 16U Elgin Impact softball team where she works primarily with outfielders and hitters.
Angel Guerra
Specialty: Pitching
High School Career: Coach Angel went to Alta Loma High School in Rancho Cucamonga in California. She played her freshman year on Jr Varsity and then went up to play Varsity for the next three years. She was one of the starting pitchers but also played in center and right field.
College Career: Coach Angel played at Aurora University for three years, before starting to work her on a `master’s degree and continue working towards her career. In 2017 had a 2.10 ERA.
Degrees: Angel has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and Criminal Justice and a Master’s in Business Administration from Aurora University.
Derek "Dee" Taylor grew up in Chicago, IL and attended Lakeview Highschool where he played OF. Once done there, he attended Western Oklahoma State and N.C. Missouri.
Coach Dee never had the chance of playing travel ball or ever receiving private instruction, thus, as a hitting instructor, he now finds the little details are the biggest game changers. He enjoys trying to get players to understand the concept of the game. Putting information into words they will understand. Figuring out ques that help trigger better body movement. Teaching kids how to respect the game but also that having fun and expressing excitement during success is totally acceptable. Lastely, getting a player to realise what their abilities are and to trust them, even when the game seems to be getting the better of them.