Illinois Wesleyan senior first baseman/designated hitter Matthew Mardis (Bloomington, Ill., Bloomington HS) was named to second team of the 2015 all-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin baseball squads and was also elected to Capital One/CoSIDA all-District 7 Academic team as a junior. He batted .356 with 57 hits, including 10 doubles and one homer. He also scored 32 runs and had 30 runs batted in.
Majoring in mathematics at Illinois Wesleyan, Matthew is the son of Steve and Cheryl Mardis.
Why you chose Illinois Wesleyan: Gave me a chance to continue playing baseball, be close to my family and girlfriend, and get a great education…couldn’t ask for much more
IWU class you’re most qualified to teach: Film Aesthetics
The hardest challenge about being a Division III student-athlete is: Too much Nike gear, never know what to wear
Worst grade in a class you ever got – what and when? Differential Equations – I’d rather not talk about it
I’m deathly afraid of ... : Gerard Butler in "Law Abiding Citizen"
Worst habit: A couple of my best friends turned me into a sneaker head
Most expensive traffic ticket: Don’t jinx me
Language I’d like to learn: Always wanted to be fluent en Español
The longest I could survive without my cell phone: Not long, I’m kind of a social butterfly
One word your mother or father would use to describe you: Favorite-twin
Favorite sports figures: Derek Jeter (G.O.A.T.), JJ Redick (wet ball)
My greatest moments in sports were: Making it to state in the high school 3-point contest and winning the conference tournament my sophomore year here at IWU
The best player I ever faced was: Dylan Johnson, to this day the best hitter I have ever seen
Worst dresser on my team: Gotta be Matt Banaitis, although I definitely need to add a Marvel Avengers bucket hat to my wardrobe
Thing that’s been in my fridge the longest: Broccoli, who was I kidding
Person I’m dying to have dinner with: Mark Cuban
Favorite food: Chocolate devotion from Cold Stone
Vegetable I won’t eat: The green ones
Pepsi or Coke? Pepsi
Favorite TV shows: "Friends", "Breaking Bad"
Favorite musical groups: Barden Bellas, Florida Georgia Line
Favorite movies: Don’t get me started ... "Coach Carter", "Lord of the Rings", "Rambo", "A Few Good Men", "The Godfather", "Pitch Perfect", "Psycho", "The Patriot", "The Deer Hunter", "Harry Potter"
If a movie were made of my life, I would like the following person to play me: Chandler Bing
If my life were on TV as a reality show, I’d call it: "Not Good Enough Mawwdis"
The person in history I would most like to meet is: Heisenberg
My dream job would be: Shortstop for the New York Yankees…unfortunately, it’s not looking good
Place I’d most like to live: The Shire
Two things that are tops on my “bucket list”: Travel the world and do something right for Coach Martel just one time
My possession that would fetch the most on eBay: Authentic replicas of the knives from the first and second Rambo movies
Who is the luckiest person in the world? Justin Theroux – still don’t know what Jennifer sees in him
What I miss most about being in the third grade: Rocket Power and kickball, it was a simpler time
