Ilsley was born on April 9, 1964, in Alpena, Michigan. He was drafted in the 4th round by the Montreal Expos in the 1985 amateur draft after three seasons at Indiana State University.

Illsley gained notice as a future big league prospect when he won 20 games in the minors during the 1986 season. Subsequent arm injuries hurt his career and he was released by the Houston Astros organization.

Ilsley spent seven seasons in the Astros farm system being signed as a free agent by the St. Louis Cardinals in December 1991. In the fall of 1992 Ilsley again became a free agent and signed with the Cubs in October of that year.

Ilsley was on the Cubs 1994 Opening day roster and appeared in 10 games that season. After being demoted to the minor leagues on July 7, 1994, Ilsley played four more years of professional baseball but never made it back to the Major Leagues.

Ilsley spent 14 seasons in the minor leagues, accumulating an overall record of 113-73; winning 3 AAA Championships (1991 - Tucson Toros, 1993 - Iowa Cubs and 1997 - Buffalo Bisons). He finished his career by winning the Northern League championship with the 1998 Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks

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