University of Cincinnati Director of Athletics John Cunningham announced on Sunday the hire of Jordan Bischel as the Bearcats' head baseball coach.
Bischel, who signed a six-year contract, will be the 33rd head coach in program history.
A press conference introducing Bischel will be held early this week, with more information to follow.
The Green Bay, Wis., native comes to UC from Central Michigan, where he served as head coach for five seasons. He also spent four seasons as head coach of Northwood, an NCAA Division II program in Midland, Mich., 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 thrilled to welcome he and his family to UC," Cunningham said. "As a head coach, he has won conference championships and consistently guided his teams to the postseason. He's a proven program builder and winner who has found success at every level. He is a leader who will demand the best on and off the field of our student-athletes. We couldn't be happier to have him as 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) during Bischel's tenure.
"I couldn't be happier and more excited to be the head baseball coach at the University of Cincinnati," Bischel said. "I'm honored to be part of this incredible athletic department. I'm looking forward to building this program and contending for championships in the Big 12. I was impressed right away by John Cunningham's overall vision and have always loved everything about this city. It was going to take an incredibly special opportunity for our family to leave Central Michigan. This is that opportunity.
"I can't wait to get started working with our student-athletes on and off the field."
In five seasons as head coach at CMU, Bischel had a 102-32 MAC record and posted three consecutive 40-win full seasons for the first time since 1986-88. Bischel's teams won a combined 132 games in 2019, '21 and '22, marking the winningest three-year stretch in program history.
Bischel's CMU teams went a combined 31-8 against the five other Michigan Division I programs, Michigan, Michigan State, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan and Oakland, and Bischel led his Chippewas to 12 victories over opponents from Power 5 conferences.
In 2022, the Chippewas finished 43-19, including 30-7 and in second place in the MAC. They made a remarkable run to the league tournament crown, starting 1-1 and then winning three consecutive elimination games, the final two against 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 to No. 13-ranked Florida in the Gators' home stadium in Gainesville.
The Chippewas posted a 42-18 ledger in 2021, capped by a 2-2 finish in the NCAA Regional in South Bend, Ind. The Chippewas were the No. 4 seed in the four-team tournament and posted victories over No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 UConn.
Bischel electrified CMU baseball from the word go in 2019, leading it to its first MAC Tournament championship and its first NCAA Tournament berth since 1995. The 2019 squad posted a 47-14 mark – an 18-win improvement over the 2018 squad – and a dramatic 6-5 victory over Miami (Fla.) in an NCAA Regional game in Starkville, Miss. It was CMU's first NCAA Tournament victory since 1988.
The Chippewas earned their first MAC regular season title since 2015, tied the program record for victories in a season (47), and its .770-win percentage was fifth best in the nation.
Prior to his time at CMU, Bischel was the head coach of Northwood from 2014 to 2018. The Timberwolves posted a combined 137-76 record and won two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championships as well as two GLIAC Tournament titles. Over his last two seasons, Northwood won 84 games – the best two-year stretch prior to Bischel's arrival featured 55 wins (1989-90).
Before Northwood, Bischel coached at Midland University in Fremont, Neb., for two seasons, leading the Warriors to a combined 74-45 record. In his first year at Midland, the Warriors won 31 games, an 18-victory 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 at St. Norbert College in Wisconsin.
Bischel was an academic all-conference first baseman and pitcher at St. Norbert from 2000 to 2003. He earned all-conference honors and served as the team captain as a senior.
Bischel and his wife Katie have three sons, twins Luke and Parker, and Chase.
