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CHAMPAIGN — Illinois baseball coach Dan Hartleb is searching for a new pitching coach after deciding not to retain Ken Westray.

Westray, a native of Clinton and a former member of the Philadelphia Phillies player development staff, served as Illini pitching coach for the past six seasons.

Hartleb, who was on the road recruiting Wednesday, confirmed the change in an email to The News-Gazette.

"I have decided to go in a different direction with our pitching coach position," he wrote. "I want to thank Ken Westray for his work and contributions over the past six years, and I wish him well in the future."

Westray joined the UI staff when Hartleb — then a 15-year Illini assistant and himself a pitching coach — was promoted to head coach following the 2005 season.

Westray's dismissal comes after Illinois won a Big Ten co-championship and reached the NCAA regional finals this season. The Illini pitching staff was at its strongest in its three-man starting rotation and at the back end of the bullpen. However, its lack of depth often was exposed, particularly in midweek nonconference games.

The 2011 Illini pitching staff ranked ninth in the Big Ten in team ERA at 4.97, the fifth time in Westray's tenure that Illinois finished seventh or lower in that category. The lone exception was the 2009 staff, which had the No. 5 ERA among Big Ten teams.

Under Westray's direction, the Illini produced four All-Big Ten pitchers — second-teamer Tanner Roark in 2007; third-teamer Kevin Manson in 2008; third-teamer Will Strack in 2009; and third-teamer Wes Braun this year. He also coached two drafted pitchers — Scott Shaw, a 13th-round pick in 2008, and Corey Kimes, an 18th-round pick this month.