Few athletes in the history of Illinois College had a more impressive season than James Bogard did in 1996. The standout catcher hit .487 that season and was named Midwest Conference South Division Player of the Year after leading the conference in batting average. The baseball team reached the conference tournament in all three seasons that Bogard was in the lineup and he is a two-time winner of the team’s MVP award. He also won the 1995-96 William J. Downer award as top male athlete at Illinois College.