Eastern Illinois University Athletics

Position:  Head Baseball Coach
Alma Mater:  Wilmington College, 1979
Years at EIU:  21 seasons (1995-2015) ... 538-576-1 (.483) all-time record

Hired in the fall of 1994, Jimmy Schmitz guided the Eastern Illinois baseball program thru the 2015 season, ending his 21 years with a 538-576-1 all-time Panther coaching mark.

During his Eastern tenure, he won more games than any other EIU baseball coach in addition to taking the program to unprecedented heights.

On Feb. 28, 2014, he won his 500th game as the EIU head coach.
 
The three-time Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year has won four regular-season titles – most recently in 2009 – and has taken the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament on two occasions, both in 1999 and 2008. In addition to the OVC titles, Schmitz won back-to-back west division championships when EIU played in The Summit League (formerly the Mid-Continent Conference) from 1995-96.
 
Schmitz has seen the on-field accomplishments of his players come to fruition as 72 players have earned all-conference accolades including 36 players who have earned first-team distinction. Three players have also earned player of the year honors in Matt Marzec (1998), Pete Pirman (2002) and Jordan Kreke (2009) during his tenure. John Larson also captured pitcher of the year honors in 1999 while Ben Duke (2001) and Brant Valach (2012) earned newcomer of the year recognition.
 
Under the tutelage of Schmitz, 21 players have been taken in Major League Baseball’s First-Year Players Draft since taking the helm of the program in 1995. A total of 10 players have been drafted in the last five seasons, most recently Matt Borens in the 2014 draft. When Tyler Kehrer went 48th overall in the 2009 MLB Draft, he became the highest Panther picked since 1988.
 
The 2012 season saw the Panther pitching staff post the best earned run average in the OVC for the third consecutive season. EIU has posted the best ERA in the OVC in four of the last seven seasons. The Panthers ranked second in ERA during the 2009 season and fourth in 2013, respectively.
 
In addition to the individual and team accomplishments over the years, Schmitz has reached levels of success unseen before his arrival in Charleston. In 1999, the Panthers advanced to the NCAA Division I Tournament for the first time in school history. EIU finished third in the Waco Regional and upset No. 21 Arizona in the process. Schmitz also guided the Panthers to back-to-back 30-win seasons in 1998 and 1999 for the first time in school history.
 
Schmitz inherited a program in 1995 without any returning starting pitchers and captured the west division of the conference, posting a 28-19 record (.596 winning percentage) – the best winning percentage since 1988. Schmitz would go on to win the west division title the following year, igniting the start of a successful tenure as the Panther skipper.
 
Off the field, Schmitz believes in giving back to the community as his team participates in a service program every fall and spring. Each fall the team assists with local Habitat for Humanity projects that benefit the underprivileged. His teams have also participated in Lake Land College’s Friends for a Day service program.
 
Prior to EIU, Schmitz was an assistant coach under former Chicago Cub Don Kessinger at the University of Mississippi from 1991-94. Schmitz assisted in landing the nation’s No. 17 recruiting class in 1993 – as ranked by Collegiate Baseball.
 
Schmitz was head coach at the University of Cincinnati from 1987-90 where he guided the 1987 squad to a program-best 31 wins and back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in the Metro Conference. Nine of his Bearcats signed professional contracts.
 
Schmitz landed his fist head coaching job at Wilmington (Ohio) College where he led the program from 1984-86. He guided the program to its first 20-win season and its first appearance in the NAIA Tournament in 1986.
 
Schmitz earned his undergraduate degree from Wilmington in 1979 and a master’s in sports administration from Ohio State University in 1986. He and his wife Kathy have three daughters, Abigail, Casey and Hannah.