OTTAWA — A former Putnam County resident has earned unique honors among the baseball legends of the state. Todd Hopkins has been inducted into the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association (IHSBCA) Hall of Fame.

Hopkins is currently the athletic director at Ottawa Marquette High School. He is the head coach of the boys baseball program as well as the head coach of the girls varsity basketball program at the school. Don Sutherland of the IHSBCA noted that Hopkins is one of a select group.

“Each year the Illinois High School Baseball Coaches Association takes nominations from all over the state for the Hall of Fame. The criteria includes years of coaching, team success, and other criteria to pick the most deserving people.  Each year we choose between four to six of the best qualified for this distinguished honor…Coach Hopkins, and all that he has accomplished at Ottawa Marquette is a great example of what our HOF represents,” Sutherland said.

As head baseball coach at OMHS he has compiled a record of 399 wins and 149 losses in the last 17 years which translates into a 728 winning percentage. During Hopkins’ tenure at Marquette, the school has won seven regional and four sectional titles. OMHS has also made four appearances in the Illinois High School Association Elite Eight and placed fourth in the state in 1999 during his coaching career.

Over the years, the school has nurtured and developed four Division One baseball players and many others have played or are currently playing in the college ranks.

Hopkins’ accomplishments include success in girl’s basketball as well. He and his teams have earned a 337-98 record that includes five regional championships, two sectional championships and two trips to the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) sweet 16. Hopkins was named district coach of the year four times.

He credits a couple of coaches for his passion and success in coaching.

“It started when I was a little kid in McNabb. We had a manager named Ted Morganson. He was handicapped and had a passion for baseball. Had George Bacchio as a junior high coach. He was great as well. I learned a lot from him,” Hopkins said. “My freshman year I had Ed Schwingle. I wish I could have got to play with him a little longer, but they needed a shortstop and Coach (Ken) Jenkins bought me up to the varsity. I learned a lot from him.”

In college Hopkins had another hall of fame coach in Jim Schmidt. Hopkins noted that he handled his players well.

“I probably learned the most from him on how to handle players,” he said. “I pretty much knew the x’s and o’s, but he was one heck of a motivator. When I transferred to Eureka I had John Tully. We would have 5 a.m. practices six days a week before we’d start playing. We focused on fundamentals and I learned a lot from him as well.”

The person that he credits learning the most from was his dad, Phil Hopkins of McNabb.

“He (Phil) started four years at St. Bede and four years in college in Florida,” Hopkins said. “He is the one I learned the most from.”

Hopkins is married to wife Katie and has three children, Hunter, Tate and Ty. He is the son of Phil and Nancy Hopkins of McNabb and the grandson of Lois Boyle of McNabb and the late Francis Boyle, and Richard and Marjorie Hopkins.