MAC Regular season: 1995, 2002, 2008, 2009 Division: 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2010 MAC tournament: 1998, 1999, 2013
Awards
MAC Coach of the Year: 1994, 1995, 2009
Danny Schmitz is an American baseball coach and former second baseman. He played college baseball at Eastern Michigan for coach Ron Oestrike from 1974 to 1977 before playing professionally from 1977 to 1984. He then served as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan (1988–1990) before becoming the head baseball coach of the Bowling Green Falcons (1991–2020).[1][2][3][4]
Playing career
Schmitz was a four-year letterman at second base for Eastern Michigan, which he helped to a pair of College World Series appearances including the 1976 final. After his senior season, in which he batted .339 and served as a co-captain, he was drafted in the 20th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft by the New York Yankees. Schmitz would go on to play six seasons in the minors, reaching Class AAA in his second season but never reaching the majors. He spent brief time in the New York Mets and Minnesota Twins systems, including a season as a player-coach with the Toledo Mud Hens before retiring and turning full-time to coaching.[1][4]
Coaching career
Immediately after ending his playing career, he served as manager of the Twins' class-A affiliate Visalia Oaks. He served in that position for three years before returning to Eastern Michigan as an assistant coach. While back with the Hurons, he helped lead EMU to a pair of second-place finishes in 1988 and 1990. He was hired at Bowling Green for his first head coaching job at the collegiate level, just the Falcons ninth coach and fifth since 1928.[1][2]
While with Bowling Green, the Falcons have claimed four Mid-American Conference regular season titles, seven division titles, and three Mid-American Conference baseball tournament championships. Schmitz has seen 29 players sign professional contracts, while his teams have amassed over 600 wins.[1][3] Following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Bowling Green State University announced the termination of the baseball program due to budget cuts during the pandemic,[5] just weeks later, the school announced that it had fund-raised enough money to revive the program effective immediately.[6] On June 3, 2020, it was announced that Schmitz would step down from head coach and step into an advisory role with the program.[7]
Head coaching record
This table shows Schmitz's record as a college coach.[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
^The top four of the MAC's ten teams qualified for the tournament in 1994.
^The top four of the MAC's ten teams qualified for the tournament in 1995.
^The top six of the MAC's thirteen teams qualified for the tournament in 2001.
^The top six of the MAC's thirteen teams qualified for the tournament in 2002.
^The top six of the MAC's thirteen teams qualified for the tournament in 2005.
^The top eight of the MAC's twelve teams qualified for the tournament in 2008.
^The top eight of the MAC's twelve teams qualified for the tournament in 2009.
^The top eight of the MAC's twelve teams qualified for the tournament in 2010.
^The top eight of the MAC's twelve teams qualified for the tournament in 2011.
^The top eight of the MAC's twelve teams qualified for the tournament in 2014.
