Jim Schmitz is an American college baseball coach, formerly the head coach at Wilmington (OH) (1984–1986), Cincinnati (1987–1990), and Eastern Illinois (1995–2015).[1][2][3]

Jim Schmitz
Biographical details
Alma materWilmington (OH) '79
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1984–1986Wilmington (OH)
1987–1990Cincinnati
1991–1994Ole Miss (Asst.)
1995–2015Eastern Illinois
Head coaching record
Overall699–742–1
Accomplishments and honors
Championships

Coaching career

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Schmitz earned his first head coaching job at his alma mater Wilmington in Wilmington, Ohio in 1984. He served three seasons and led the program to its first 20 win season and first NAIA Tournament appearance in 1986. He then became head coach at Cincinnati. While with the Bearcats, he led the program to a then-record 31 wins and its first back to back winning seasons in the Metro Conference. Nine Bearcats went on to play professionally. After four seasons, he moved to Ole Miss as an assistant. He served as recruiting coordinator, and his 1993 class was ranked 17th by Collegiate Baseball. He served four seasons with the Rebels before moving to Eastern Illinois. In 21 seasons, his Panthers were regular contenders in the Ohio Valley Conference, winning four regular season titles and a pair of tournament titles while usually finishing in the top half of the league. His 1999 team reached the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship for the first time in program history. He was named OVC Coach of the Year three times. 20 of his players were drafted, including Tyler Kehrer at number 48 overall in 2009. Schmitz holds the record for most wins in program history.[1]

Head coaching record

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The following table reflects Schmitz's record as a head coach at the collegiate level.

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Wilmington Quakers (NAIA) (1984–1986)
1984 Wilmington 18–20
1985 Wilmington 18–20
1986 Wilmington 25–20
Wilmington: 61–60
Cincinnati Bearcats (Metro Conference) (1987–1990)
1987 Cincinnati 31–21 5–8 6th (7)
1988 Cincinnati 28–21 7–10 6th (7)
1989 Cincinnati 21–30 3–14 7th (7)
1990 Cincinnati 23–29 5–10 6th (8)
Cincinnati: 103–101 20–42
Eastern Illinois Panthers (Mid-Continent Conference) (1995–1996)
1995 Eastern Illinois 28–19 15–5 1st Western (5)
1996 Eastern Illinois 25–22 15–3 1st Western (5)
Eastern Illinois (Mid-Continent): 53–41 30–8
Eastern Illinois Panthers (Ohio Valley Conference) (1997–2015)
1997 Eastern Illinois 25–28 13–11
1998 Eastern Illinois 37–16 17–6 1st (9)
1999 Eastern Illinois 33–23 17–7 1st (9) NCAA Regional
2000 Eastern Illinois 22–33 10–13 6th (9)
2001 Eastern Illinois 35–20 19–1 1st (8)
2002 Eastern Illinois 25–26 12–8 2nd (8)
2003 Eastern Illinois 26–31 8–12 6th (8)
2004 Eastern Illinois 26–30 17–9 2nd (10)
2005 Eastern Illinois 17–39 14–13 6th (10)
2006 Eastern Illinois 31–24 17–10 3rd (10)
2007 Eastern Illinois 23–28 12–14 7th (10)
2008 Eastern Illinois 27–30 13–13 4th (10) NCAA Regional
2009 Eastern Illinois 36–14 14–4 1st (9)
2010 Eastern Illinois 18–35 11–12 5th (9)
2011 Eastern Illinois 18–33 9–12 7th (9)
2012 Eastern Illinois 29–29 15–11 4th (10) OVC tournament[a]
2013 Eastern Illinois 22–27 11–17 7th (11)
2014 Eastern Illinois 22–33-1 15–14-1 6th (11) OVC tournament
2015 Eastern Illinois 13-36 9-21 11th
Eastern Illinois (OVC): 492-535-1 253–208-1
Total: 699-742-1

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

  1. ^ The top six finishers of the OVC's 9 eligible teams qualified for the Tournament in 2012.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Staff Directory". Eastern Illinois Panthers. Archived from the original on May 4, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
  2. ^ "Jim Schmitz wins 500th game at Eastern Ill. with 10-5 victory vs. MSU". NCAA. February 28, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2014.
  3. ^ "Brother of EIU baseball coach Schmitz dies". Journal Gazette & Times-Courier. Matoon, Illinois. August 26, 2013. Retrieved May 3, 2014.