On a mild May afternoon, Kyree Alexander and the Western Illinois baseball team walked into Coaches Stadium for the regular season finale against Eastern.
While the Panthers were chasing a regular season title in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Leathernecks aimed to secure the eighth and final spot of the OVC tournament.
This would end up being Alexander’s last season as a Leatherneck, and he was trying to help them reach the postseason for the first time since he arrived.
Both teams needed a win to achieve their goals.
“During the game, I was just trying to beat [Eastern],” Alexander said. “I was trying to knock them out from being champions.”
But despite Alexander’s three hits and three runs scored, he and the Leathernecks fell short to Eastern 9-7. It crowned the Panthers as regular season champions for the first time and eliminated Western Illinois from postseason contention.
Alexander, with one year of eligibility remaining, entered the transfer portal following the conclusion of the season and made Eastern his new home.
Alexander was drawn to Charleston because of the Panthers’ pitching coach. Max Fecske and Alexander knew each other dating back to Feske’s time on the Western Illinois coaching staff.
Fecske’s wife and Alexander’s mom are from the same town, and that was one of the many things that drew the two close to each other
“Him and I have a really good connection,” Alexander said. “It’s part of the reason why I’m here now.”
Alexander fit the profile of the type of player that EIU was looking to bring in from the transfer portal following its loss in the OVC championship game, according to Fecske.
Alexander’s experience in the batter’s box and versatility at multiple positions were big positives for Eastern, which was looking not only for a utility player with a good bat but also someone that can steal bases.
The coaching staff believed that Alexander would be a good fit for the team with the goal of retooling to make another deep postseason run.
Graduate left fielder Brett Stanley was second in the OVC in stolen bases last season at 28. With the addition of Alexander, who was a perfect 14-for-14 on stolen base attempts in 2025, the Panthers have three of the top 20 base stealers in the OVC from last season.
At Western Illinois, Alexander had a .274 batting average in his final season with the Leathernecks. His 14 stolen bases in his final year is more than the number he picked up in his previous two seasons combined.
“He’s a unique talent in the sense that I think he fits our brand a little bit,” Fecske said. “He fits the way we like to play the game.”
When scouting him in the transfer portal, Fecske says that the personal connection between him and Alexander and the fact that they had just seen him play in person were both still fresh on the coaches’ minds.
Fecske said he also knew that off the field, the Panthers would get a quiet and consistent person that would fit with the returning players and other newcomers.
“I’ve always been impressed with him and his skill set,” Anderson said. “But coach Feske really vouching for him and talking about his personality and how he’d fit with our group and what we’ve built here is really the thing that kind of put us over the edge.”
Fecske said he had built up belief in Alexander while on the Western Illinois coaching staff. He says its something that comes with going through a season together.
Alexander is slated to start in centerfield as things currently stand, but it’s possible, according to Anderson, that Eastern might move him somewhere else on defense.
As a Leatherneck, Alexander started almost every game at third base.
“We’ll have injuries and we’ll have matchups,” Anderson said. “His ability to be able to hit [while playing in different spots on defense] I think will really come into play and help us.”
Eastern opens the season with a four-game series against Florida A&M.
The first game is set for a 3 p.m. start on Friday.
Gabe Newman can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].
