ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – Lewis University Director of Athletics Dr. John Planek announced on Tuesday (Dec. 13) the fourth class of the Lewis Academy of Coaches. The five-member class will be honored during halftime of the men's basketball game against Indianapolis on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 3 p.m.
This year's class includes Pat Higgins (Class of 1969), Don Markelz (Class of 1976), Joe Rodeghero (Class of 1976), Paul Stevens (Class of 1982), Mike Matkovich (Class of 1986).
Pat Higgins (1969)
Higgins was at Lewis from 1964-1969. Prior to his time at Lewis, Higgins was a student-athlete at Brother Rice High School in Chicago where he played varsity basketball and baseball.
He participated in freshman basketball in his first year at Lewis and he also played baseball the entire time he attended Lewis under Coach Gordie Gillespie and Tom Kennedy. In the 1968-69 season he wrestled for Lewis while it still had the sport.
Higgins graduated from Lewis in 1969 then became a teacher and coach at various grammar and high schools in Chicago and its suburbs. He coached thousands of athletes in football, basketball and baseball.
Higgins had 70 baseball players go onto college ball and twelve players sign professional contracts. He managed and coached baseball teams that won five regional championships, seven conference championships, and two city lower division championships.
Over the years Higgins had 519 high school baseball wins along with 241 summer baseball wins. In basketball he had 381 junior high wins, 28 basketball conference championships and 12 undefeated seasons.
Don "Butch" Markelz (1976)
Markelz pitched at Lewis on three national championship teams during 1974, 1975 and 1976 and was on the team from 1972-1976. Markelz pitched 8 and 2/3 innings in the 1974 championship game as the Flyers beat Sam Houston State, 3-2.
Markelz also pitched nine complete innings in the 1975 championship game in a 2-1 victory over Sam Houston State. Markelz was chosen Most Valuable Player in the 1975 World Series, one of only four Flyers ever to receive the honor.
He has the enviable distinction of never having lost a game that he pitched in post season tournament play, compiling a perfect 11-0 record over a four-year period.
Markelz was Associate Dean of Students at Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox from 1978-1991. He also served as assistant football and assistant baseball coach. The Celtics were class AA baseball champs in both 1978 and 1982.
In addition to coaching baseball, Markelz was also a football coach at Providence for 19 years.
Markelz was the pitching coach at Lockport High School from 1991-2017 where he was also the Dean of Students, where he helped lead the team to 14 SICA West Conference Titles, six regional titles, four sectional titles, a super sectional title and a state championship in 2005.
He is currently a volunteer coach for Lincoln Way West High School.
As a player, Markelz was inducted into the Providence Catholic Hall of Fame in 2005.
Joe Rodeghero (1976)
Joe Rodeghero has over 46 years coaching with 23 years as head baseball coach at Joliet Catholic, Providence Catholic and Lemont High School. Rodeghero has a 582-214 overall record.
He was elected into the Illinois High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 2005 and to the East Suburban Catholic Conference Hall Of Fame in 2014.
In 1994, he led Joliet Catholic to the Class AA State Championship. In 2013, he led Joliet Catholic to the Class 3A State Championship.
Rodeghero was an assistant coach in 2022 where the team won the Class 2A State Championship. He is a three-time East Suburban Catholic Coach of the Year, three-time Chicago Catholic League Coach of the Year and two-time South Suburban Conference Coach of Year.
In football, Rodeghero won the 1987 Class 4A State Championship with Providence Catholic as the assistant coach. He was an assistant coach for Joliet Catholic in 1990 where the team won the 1990 Class 4A State Championship. He had numerous players receive college scholarships and had 20 baseball players who signed professional contracts.
He has been married 43 years to wife Debbie and has two children Christa and Zach and has six grandchildren.
Paul Stevens (1982)
Stevens played baseball for the Flyers form 1974-1976 after transferring from the University of South Alabama. Stevens established himself as one of the finest second baseman in Lewis baseball history.
During those two years, he is listed in seven all-time career leading categories at Lewis. His .346 lifetime batting average ranks 19th all-time among Lewis hitters.
In 1975, Stevens drew 70 walks, a mark that ranks him first all-time. He was part of a double-play combination that also set a Lewis team mark during the 1975 season.
Stevens played on two National Championship teams for Lewis during 1975 and 1976. In 1975, he won the National Tournament Charlie Hustle Award and in 1976 season he was named team captain, while receiving First Team All-American honors and was awarded the National Tournament Golden Glove Award.
Stevens was named to the United States Pan American Team and represented the USA in Mexico City during the 1976 season. Later that year, Stevens was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 16th round.
He played three years of minor league baseball with the Royals before being traded to the Oakland Athletics in 1979. Stevens became a major league scout after his playing career where he was with the New York Mets during the 1981 and 1982 seasons.
In 1983, he was named assistant baseball coach at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Stevens was an assistant coach for three years before getting promoted to head coach at Northwestern, where he was at for 28 years and won Big Ten Coach of the Year three times while recording 674 career victories, a program high.
Stevens had 67 players drafted by a Major League Baseball club or signed to a professional contract, including his oldest son, Trevor, who joined the professional ranks in 2013. Overall, Stevens coached 94 All-Big Ten selections including former New York Yankees manager and four-time World Series champion Joe Girardi, two-time Major League Baseball All-Star Mark Loretta and recent major leaguers J.A. Happ, George Kontos, Jake Goebbert, Bo Schultz and Eric Jokisch.
Also during his time in Evanston, the Wildcats excelled in the classroom. Since 1985, 215 student-athletes earned Academic All-Big Ten honors, while eight were named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.
Following his retirement at Northwestern, Stevens became an assistant coach for the University of Chicago where he has been for the last seven seasons.
Mike Matkovich (1986)
Matkovich has over 30 years of soccer coaching experience across the international, professional and youth levels. He is currently the Sporting Director for FC Central Illinois, a youth program based in Normal.
Matkovich began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Lewis and as a coach at Bolingbrook High School. In 1987, he founded the Chicago Magic Soccer Club building it into one of the most elite youth programs in the country. Matkovich was recognized as the NSCAA National Youth Coach of the Year in 2000 and his club was named the nation's top youth program for 2005-2007.
Matkovich began his professional coaching career with the Chicago Power of the indoor National Professional Soccer League from 1990-1994, leading them to the league title in 1990. He later served as an assistant coach in Major League Soccer with Toronto FC, Chivas USA, Chicago Fire and the Columbus Crew.
It is player development where Matkovich has been most successful having helped develop players such as US National team players Brad Guzan, Jay Demerit, Jonathan Spector and Chris Rolfe. In addition to his coaching with the Magic, Matkovich guided the Chicago Fire Reserves of the Premier Development League (PDL) to a 71-8-7 record from 2000-2006.
He coached in the US Men's National Team system including a stint as the US Men's U-18 Head Coach from 2009-2011. Mike served as Director of Operations / Coaching for the Chicago Fire Juniors Soccer Club from 2011-2018 and coached the Des Moines Menace of the PDL from 2015-2016.
