Jordan Ball was the kind of teacher students remembered and the kind of coach players hated to let down. Quick with a laugh, full of fire on the court and always building real bonds with kids, the 26-year-old filled Galesburg Junior/Senior High School with energy every day.
He and his wife Alex, a fourth-grade teacher at ROWVA, were raising their 2-year-old son Atticus and eagerly awaiting the arrival of their daughter in April. Jordan, who grew up in Missouri and married his childhood sweetheart in July 2021, often said being Atticus’s dad was the proudest thing he had ever done.
Ball was killed Monday, Dec. 1, in a weather-related traffic accident near Wataga.
‘He became a brother to me’
“He didn’t know a stranger and could put a smile on anybody’s face,” said Jacob Carl, a fellow teacher who coached seventh- and eighth-grade basketball alongside Ball at Galesburg. “He lived his life with passion for every single thing he did. Coaching baseball, coaching basketball (a sport he never even played in high school), teaching his kids, working out, playing baseball, loving his family, and loving his friends. He made the lives of everyone around him more vibrant just by being in the room.
“We only met just over a year ago … but he had already become a brother to me.”
From Monmouth-Roseville to Galesburg
Principal Jeff Ewing first met Ball when the Monmouth College senior interviewed for a job in the spring of 2021. Ewing, then principal at Monmouth-Roseville High School, hired him on the spot to teach and to take over as head baseball coach — a big job for a 21-year-old fresh out of college.
“He was ambitious, had his whole life ahead of him, passionate about baseball, very committed to his fiancée at the time — they weren’t married yet — and just anxious to get started,” Ewing said. “Man, what a competitor. He did really well.”
Ball taught and coached at Monmouth-Roseville for three years before following Ewing to Galesburg in 2024. He started as a long-term substitute in seventh-grade English, then moved into social studies this school year.
District 205 Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources & Student Supports Mindi Ritchie said Ball was “a happy and fun person to be around” who formed strong connections with students and staff alike.
Athletic Director Nick Young said Ball’s dedication as a coach was obvious. “He cared deeply for his athletes and was passionate about their growth on and off the court. That’s easily evident and seen through the relationships he built with them.”
At Monmouth College, where Ball graduated in 2021 with a history degree and tied the single-season record for triples as a Fighting Scots baseball player, President Patricia Draves said he “was, and remains, all that is good about Monmouth College.” Alex is also a 2021 Monmouth graduate.
Community steps up for the Ball family
The outpouring of support since Monday has been staggering. A separate GoFundMe organized by a family friend has raised nearly $75,000, but the family has asked that donations also be accepted directly at Galesburg Junior/Senior High School (front office or athletic office) so 100 percent reaches them without fees. Cash, checks, debit or credit cards are all welcome.
Obituary: Jordan T. Ball ~ December 12, 1998 — December 1, 2025
Neighboring districts — including Wethersfield and Kewanee — have sent flowers, treats and organized their own fundraisers like hats-and-jerseys days. Monmouth-Roseville players and friends are selling T-shirts, as is Monmouth College athletics. The ROE #33 sent cookies and counseling help; Silas Willard Elementary dropped off treats. Saturday’s Knox-Monmouth basketball game will include a pregame tribute.
Inside District 205, students district-wide can wear hats and jerseys Friday with a $1 donation to the family. Coin drives and other fundraisers are planned for next week. High school teachers brought breakfast for the junior high staff earlier this week. One teacher offered to donate benefit time.
Staff are leaning on each other through the grief, with administrators covering classes and extra counselors on hand. “I’ve got a close-knit group of about six individuals that I constantly check in with at night and during the day to make sure they’re good,” Ewing said.
Funeral Sunday in Thiel Gym
When district leaders visited Alex and Atticus this week to deliver gifts and donation information, the family kept asking how the staff and students were doing.
“They were incredibly grateful,” Ritchie said. “They thanked us many, many times and asked that we extend that thank you to you, his #205 family.”
“Jordan gave a lot of his time and energy to us and our students,” Ritchie added. “Supporting Alex, Atticus and their sweet baby on the way is the least we can all do to honor him.”
Visitation will be from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7, followed by the funeral service at 3 p.m., both in John Thiel Gymnasium at Galesburg Junior/Senior High School.
