Danny Schmitz - Baseball Coach - Bowling Green State University Athletics

Danny Schmitz

Title:
Head Baseball Coach
Email:
danjs@bgsu.edu
Phone:
419-372-7065

Danny Schmitz enters his 30th season at the helm of the Orange and Brown in 2020. The three-time Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year has delivered seven conference championships, and is the conference's active leader in all-time wins.

Schmitz has led his Falcons to three NCAA Tournament appearances during his 29 full seasons. The first time came in 1998, when the Falcons won the MAC Tournament and were sent to Coral Gables for the NCAA Regional at University of Miami. The following year, the Falcons once again pulled off the feat, winning the 1999 MAC Tournament. The Falcons were sent to the Ohio State Regional in Columbus, Ohio. In 2013, the Falcons were sent to the Louisville Regional at the University of Louisville’s Jim Patterson Stadium.

Under the most successful coach in Bowling Green State University baseball history, the Falcons – four separate times – have won the MAC’s regular season crown. The Orange and Brown have also claimed seven divisional titles to go along with the three tournament championships.

The 2013 season marked Schmitz’s most improbable run, as the Falcons reached the NCAA Tournament. The Orange and Brown nearly missed the MAC Tournament. On May 18, needing a win just to qualify for the MAC Tournament, the Falcons found themselves trailing visiting Buffalo, 4-0, after two innings. Schmitz, and the Falcons, would pull victory from the jaws of defeat, winning in walk-off fashion to clinch the 6-seed in the MAC Tournament. That walk-off win would propel the Falcons to their winning ways in the MAC Tournament, winning four of five games to clinch the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. That 2013 team compiled a program-best ERA under Schmitz’s guidance, finishing with an earned run average of 3.83—the first sub-4.00 ERA for the program since 1979.

Following a 1993 season which saw the Falcons finish 19-27-1 (11-17 MAC), Schmitz guided the Falcons to the first winning season under his watch in 1994. The Falcons would go 29-18 (16-10) in 1994, completing a 10-game turnaround from the previous season. At the conclusion of the 1994 campaign, Schmitz was named the Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year.

The following year, Schmitz was once again named MAC Coach of the Year, as the Falcons continued to build off their momentum from the previous season. The 1995 version of the Falcons went 34-20 (22-8 MAC), a program-record for wins in a season at the time. The 1995 regular-season championship was the first for the Falcons under Danny Schmitz.

Schmitz won MAC Coach of the Year honors for the third time in his career following the 2009 regular season, which saw the Falcons win their second-straight MAC title. The 2009 Falcons went 28-22 (18-8 MAC) to claim their fourth MAC regular-season crown in program history.

Twice under the tutelage of Danny Schmitz, the Falcons have won a program-record 36 contests in a single season. The first time was in 1999 when the Orange and Brown went 36-24, winning the MAC Tournament to advance to the NCAA Regional. Just two years later, the Falcons finished 36-18, winning the East Division.

In 2001, the Falcons compiled an astonishing offensive season, leading the NCAA in both batting average and slugging percentage.

Additionally, Schmitz has mentored three Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-Americans, including Zac Carey – another member of the 2015 team. Carey went 7-0 over his final 10 outings of the season with a 2.40 ERA in 63.2 innings pitched. Tyler Saneholtz (2002) and Len Elias (1999) also earned the honor under Schmitz.

In 2016, freshman Riley Minorik become the school's first-ever second baseman to be named to the All-Defensive Team in the MAC. Several other players experienced breakout seasons, including Derek Drewes, who set career highs in batting average (.298), hits (28), runs (13), slugging percentage (.330) and on-base percentage (.377).

In 2017, Jake Wilson hit .305 en route to earning Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year honors. Wilson was also named a Freshman All-American by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

In 2019, Schmitz fielded one of the best defensive teams of his tenure, as the Falcons put a MAC-best three players -- Neil Lambert, Riley Minorik and Jake Wilson -- on the league's All-Defensive Team. Additionally, a young Bowling Green pitching staff allowed the second-fewest runs in the conference.

Schmitz came to BGSU with an abundance of baseball experience from almost every conceivable level. His primary goal upon arriving on campus in August of 1990 was to rebuild Falcon baseball’s winning tradition. He and his staff have done just that and more.

A 1973 graduate of Hazel Park High School, Schmitz earned four letters as a second baseman at Eastern Michigan between 1974-77. During his career at EMU, he played a big role in the Hurons (now Eagles) winning back-to-back MAC titles in 1975 and 1976, thus earning the right to host the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships.

On both occasions, the Green and White, which had future big-league pitchers Bob Welch (1990 Cy Young Award winner) and Bob Owchinko on its staff, won the regional tournament to advance to the College World Series. In 1975, the Hurons won their first game in the CWS (2-1 over Florida State in 10 innings), but were eliminated when they fell in their next two contests.

The following year, EMU became one of only two MAC teams to advance to the CWS final. Schmitz and the Hurons won their first three games in the series before losing to Arizona twice, including a 7-1 decision in the title contest, to fall just short of the championship trophy. For his outstanding play, Schmitz was named to the all-tournament squad for the College World Series at second base. He was an honorable mention All-MAC selection his junior season. EMU was ranked third in the final Collegiate Baseball poll, up five spots from its final rating the year before.

Following the CWS, Schmitz played with Team USA, serving as captain of the squad that went to Korea and Taiwan.

At the conclusion of his senior campaign, during which he was co-captain, Schmitz earned team MVP honors, and hit a career-high .339. Schmitz was then drafted in the 20th round by the New York Yankees. He joined the Yankee rookie team in Oneonta right after the draft and helped his new club to a league crown, the first of five teams in a six-year span that would earn titles with the assistance of Schmitz.

The Ferndale, Mich., native then made the big jump to AAA for the 1978 season playing for Tacoma before spending the 1979 year in Columbus under manager Gene Michael. In 1980, Schmitz played in Nashville for former Yankee manager Stump Merrill prior to going back to Columbus for both the 1981 and 1982 seasons.

He completed his eight-year minor league career with stops in Tidewater (Mets affiliate) in 1983 and Toledo (then Twins affiliate) in 1984, where he also began his instructional career serving as player-coach.

In 1985, the Minnesota Twins hired Schmitz to manage their Class-A affiliate, Visalia, in the California League. In his second year at the helm, he led Visalia to the second half Northern Division pennant and a spot in the championship series.

After his stint at Visalia, Schmitz returned to his alma mater, where he spent three campaigns as an assistant coach under Roger Coryell. During that time, the Hurons finished second in both the 1988 and 1990 MAC races. In his final year as an assistant, EMU won more league contests (20) than any other team, but finished one game behind league champion Central Michigan.

Born March 1, 1955, the BGSU skipper earned his undergraduate degree from EMU in 1979 in physical education.

Schmitz and his wife, Cindy, are the parents of two children – Spencer, and Jamie Lynn.