ST. LOUIS – The Missouri Valley Conference announces the 2025 Outdoor Track and Field coaching honors and programs of the year. Angela Martin of Indiana State has been named the 2025 MVC Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Coach of the Year. Deshaun Jordan of Illinois State and Julian Harvey of Indiana State have been named Outdoor Assistant Coaches of the Year. Indiana State and Illinois State have been named Programs of the Year.
Indiana State earns the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country Program of the Year and Illinois State earns the Men’s Track and Field Program of the Year. The Indiana State women claimed second at the 2024 MVC Cross Country Championships, earning their highest team placing since 1997, when the Sycamores placed second in Peoria. The women also saw their first MVC individual champion in Emma Gresham in women’s cross country since 2003’s Jessica Crowder. The Indiana State women also claimed the 2025 Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field Titles completing a four-peat after earning both championship titles in 2024.
The Illinois State men earned second in the 2024 MVC Cross Country Championships, for the highest place since the 2021-22 championship with their first individual title in William Sinclair since Kevin Koski's first place finish in 2021. The Redbird men placed third in the 2025 Indoor Track and Field Championships with 130.5 points, and second in the 2025 Outdoor Championships with 151 points.
Angela Martin earns the men’s and women’s outdoor track and field head coach of the year honors in a vote by the leagues head coaches. Martin led the Sycamores to both the men’s and women’s outdoor championship titles as the men’s team recorded 208 points and the women’s team recorded 140.5 points. The Sycamore women claimed their ninth program outdoor title with four MVC individual champions in the Discus, Triple Jump, Pole Vault, and 100-meter hurdles. The Sycamore men earned their fourteenth program title with six champion titles in the Discus, 100-meter dash, 110-meter hurdles, 200-meter dash, 3000-meter steeplechase, and 4x100 meter relay. Martin led the men to their fourth-consecutive outdoor championship title and the women’s second-consecutive outdoor championship title. This is Martin’s seventh MVC Outdoor Track and Field Head Coaches honors in her tenure (3 women, 4 men), and fifteenth combined indoor and outdoor head coach of the year award (8 women, 7 men). Martin is also etched in MVC track and field history as one of only three head coaches in the league (Chris Bucknam, UNI ’08 and Steve Rainbolt, Wichita State ’17) to claim both the men’s and women’s team champion titles at both the indoor and outdoor championships in the same year in 2024 and the first to do so since 2017.
DeShaun Jordan of Illinois State earns the Women’s Assistant Outdoor Coach of the Year Honors after leading the Redbird women’s sprint squad to an MVC champion title in the 100-meter dash from Lindsey Miller, runner-up in the 100m hurdles in Erin Starks, and runner-up honors in the 4x100 meter relay. Jordan’s squad totaled 55 points for the Redbirds with a total of five all-conference honoree events. This is Jordan’s second consecutive Women’s Assistant Coach of the Year honors after earning the indoor title and third honors overall after earning the title in 2024 indoors.
Julian Harvey of Indiana State earns the Men’s Assistant Outdoor Coach of the Year Honors after leading the Sycamore men to 41 total points. Harvey’s sprint squad earned champion titles in the 4x100 meter relay, 100-meter dash, and 200-meter dash. Harvey’s sprints squad totaled four all-conference honoree events. Harvey also coached Casey Hood Jr. to earn the Most Outstanding Track Athlete with a top 20 NCAA mark in the 100m dash and Most Valuable Athlete at the 2025 Outdoor Track and Field Championships.