Cincinnati announces Jordan Bischel as baseball coach

CINCINNATI University of Cincinnati athletics director John Cunningham announced the hiring of Jordan Bischel as the Bearcats’ head baseball coach on Sunday.

Bischel, who signed a six-year contract, becomes the 33rd head coach in program history.

A press conference to introduce Bischel will be held early this week, with more details to come.

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Welcome to Cincinnati, @BischelJordan!

: https://t.co/00aJK1GvsB pic.twitter.com/iOjKc8kkvG

Cincinnati Baseball (@GoBearcatsBASE) June 18, 2023

The Green Bay, Wis., native comes to UC from Central Michigan, where he was the head coach for five seasons. He also spent four seasons as the head coach at Northwood, an NCAA Division II program in Midland, Michigan, and two seasons at the helm of NAIA program Midland University in Fremont, Neb.

Overall, he has a 314-156 record (.668) as an NCAA coach, including nine winning seasons and eight conference championships (four at Central Michigan, four at Northwood).

“Jordan Bischel is the perfect fit to lead the University of Cincinnati baseball program, and we are excited to welcome him and his family to the university,” Cunningham said. “As a head coach, he has won conference championships and consistently guided his teams to the postseason. He is a proven program builder and winner who has achieved success at every level. He is a leader who demands the best on and off the field. Our student-athletes. We could not be happier to have him our head coach.”

Bischel led the Chippewas to four Mid-American Conference (MAC) championships – two regular season and two tournament – and three NCAA Regionals. The Chippewas went 177-80 (.689) in Bischel’s season.

“I couldn’t be happier and more excited to become the head coach at the University of Cincinnati,” Bischel said. “I am honored to be a part of this incredible athletic department. I look forward to building this program and competing for a Big 12 championship. John Cunningham’s overall vision immediately impressed me and I have always loved everything about this city. It was going to be an incredibly special opportunity for our family to leave central Michigan.”

“I can’t wait to start working with student-athletes on and off the field.”

In five seasons as CMU’s head coach, Bischel had a 102-32 MAC record and posted three consecutive 40-win seasons for the first time since 1986-88. Bischel’s teams won a combined 132 games in 2019, ’21 and ’22, the winningest three-year stretch in program history.

From the MAC preview
(Presented by @NetingPros) @CMUBaseball has enjoyed unparalleled success under Jordan Bischel, averaging 44 wins per season and representing the MAC in the NCAA Tournament three straight years.

https://t.co/rh1mMKnwhm pic.twitter.com/E21oIgiypI

D1Baseball (@d1baseball) February 7, 2023

Bischel’s CMU teams went a combined 31-8 against five other Michigan Division I programs, Michigan, Michigan State, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan and Oakland, and Bischel led his Chippewas to 12 wins over opponents in Power 5 conferences.

In 2022, the Chippewas were 43-19, including 30-7, and second in the MAC. They made a remarkable run to the league tournament crown, starting 1-1 and then winning three straight playoff games, the last two against the host and regular season champion Ball State.

That put the Chippewas in the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season, where they went 1-2 and bowed out against No. 13 seed Florida at the Gators’ home stadium in Gainesville.

The Chippewas posted a 42-18 record in 2021 with a 2-2 record at the NCAA Regional in South Bend, Ind. The Chippewas were the fourth seed in the four-team tournament and beat No. 2 Michigan. and No. 3 UConn.

Bischel electrified CMU baseball from the start in 2019, leading it to its first MAC Tournament Championship and first NCAA Tournament berth since 1995. The 2019 team went 47-14, an 18-win improvement over the 2018 squad and a dramatic 6-5 record. of Miami (Fla.) in NCAA regional play in Starkville, Miss. It was CMU’s first NCAA Tournament win since 1988.

Chippewa earned its first MAC regular season title since 2015, tied the program record for wins in a season (47) and posted a .770 hitting percentage that was fifth best in the nation.

IGNITE!

First-year head coach at Central Michigan @BischelJordan has been named MAC Coach of the Year after leading Chippewa to a 43-12 record (22-5 MAC). #MACtion pic.twitter.com/B2HYywpQWM

#MACtion (@MACSports) May 21, 2019

Prior to his time at CMU, Bischel was the head coach at Northwood from 2014-2018. The Timberwolves posted a combined record of 137-76 and won two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) championships as well as two GLIAC Tournament titles. Over the last two seasons, Northwood won 84 games in the best two years before Bischel’s arrival and had 55 wins (1989-90).

Prior to Northwood, Bischel coached at Midland University in Fremont, Neb., for two seasons, leading the Warriors to a combined 74-45 record. In their first year in Midland, the Warriors won 31 games, an 18 win improvement over the previous year.

Bischel also coached in the Northwoods League for five seasons, four with the Green Bay Bullfrogs and one with the Wisconsin Woodchucks. He also served as the pitching coach for three seasons at Northwest Missouri State and was an assistant coach at John Carroll University in Ohio and St. Norbert College in Wisconsin.

Bischel was an academic all-conference first baseman and pitcher at St. Norbert from 2000-2003. He earned all-conference honors and served as team captain as a senior.

Bischel and his wife Katie have three sons, twins Luke and Parker and Chase.