Jordan Bischel - Baseball Coach - Central Michigan University Athletics

Jordan Bischel

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
bisch1j@cmich.edu
Phone:
(989) 774-1484

Jordan Bischel has rejuvenated Central Michigan Baseball in his three-plus remarkable seasons in charge of the program, returning it to elite status among Midwest programs and making it a fixture atop the Mid-American Conference.

Bischel, named to head the historic program in June, 2018, has led the Chippewas to four Mid-American Conference championships -- two regular season and two tournament -- and three NCAA Tournament berths in three full seasons (the 2020 season was cancelled after just 17 games due to COVID).

The Chippewas are 143-57 during Bischel’s tenure, a .715 win percentage that ranks fifth in the nation behind only Vanderbilt, Tennessee, UC Santa Barbara and Arkansas.

College baseball experts have taken note of what the Chippewas have achieved under Bischel’s direction and have them ranked 26^th nationally in the Collegiate Baseball 2023 preseason poll.

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.

Six Chippewas earned a combined eight All-MAC honors in 2022, led by all-conference first-teamers Andrew Taylor, Mario Camilletti, Justin Simpson and Jakob Marsee.

Bischel made a splash immediately upon his arrival at CMU, leading his 2019 squad to a 47-17 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.

After an 11-6 recording during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, 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 fourth-team tournament and posted victories over No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 UConn.

During Bischel’s tenure, the Chippewas have compiled an 83-21 MAC record and have 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 are a combined 25-4 against the five other Michigan Division I programs, Michigan, Michigan State, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan and Oakland, and Bischel has led his Chippewas to 10 victories over opponents from Power 5 conferences, including Arizona, Notre Dame, West Virginia, Pitt and Iowa along with the aforementioned NCAA Tournament wins over Michigan and Miami (Fla.).

Three of Bischel’s Chippewas were drafted by Major League Baseball organizations in 2022, led by right-handed pitcher Andrew Taylor, who went to the Houston Astros in the second round (80^th overall).

It marked the second time during Bischel’s tenure that a Chippewa has been selected in the top three rounds. Shortstop Zavier Warren was taken by the Milwaukee Brewers in the third round (92^nd overall) in 2020.

Outfielder Jakob Marsee and second baseman Mario Camilletti joined Taylor as Bischel-coached draftees in 2022 when the former went to the San Diego Padres in the sixth round (180^th pick) and the latter went to the Chicago White Sox in the eighth (251^st).

Camilletti earned First Team All-America honors and was named, along with Taylor, to the Midwest All-Region Team.

The trio of Taylor, Camilletti and Marsee brought to eight the number of Bischel-coached Chippewas who have gone on to the professional ranks, further solidifying his track record of success in preparing players for the next level.

Joining that trio and Warren are pitchers Zach Kohn (Yankees), Ian Leatherman (Rays) and Cam Brown (Tigers) along with catcher Griffin Lockwood-Powell (Dodgers). Their ascension to affiliated ball was preceded by three players that Bischel coached at NCAA Division II Northwood from 2015-18.

The cornerstones of Bischel’s formula of success are strong starting pitching and an offense fueled by a high on-base percentage, moving runners, wearing down opposing pitching, and taking full advantage of scoring opportunities.

In each of the past two seasons, the Chippewas have ranked in top 10 nationally in walks and on-base percentage and have led the MAC in runs scored in each of Bischel’s four seasons in charge of the program.

In both 2021 and ’22, the Chippewas ranked 28^th nationally in runs; they were third in the country in sacrifice bunts in 2021 and ranked 14^th in ’22.

The Chippewas ranked 61^st nationally in team earned run average in 2002 after finishing 17^th in 2021. In Bischel’s four seasons in Mount Pleasant, the Chippewa pitching staff has annually ranked among the top three in the MAC in team ERA. Likewise, CMU has ranked among the top three in the league in fielding percentage in the three full seasons in which Bischel has led the program.

The Chippewas have ranked in the top 70 among the 293 Division I teams in the country in hits and walks allowed per nine innings in each of the past two seasons.

Bischel was named the MAC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season in 2021, and six Chippewas earned All-MAC honors. Taylor again headlined that group, earning the MAC Pitcher of the Year and MAC Freshman Pitcher of the Year honors.

In addition, Taylor picked up All-America accolades from every college baseball organization, including the American Baseball Coaches Association, D1 Baseball, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball newspaper, and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

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.

Those major accomplishments came one week after the Bischel-led Chippewas wrapped up their first MAC regular season title since 2015. CMU finished the ’19 season 47-14, tying the program record for victories in a season, and its .770 win percentage was fifth best in the nation.

Included in that 2019 season was a monumental 19-game win streak, the program’s longest since 1980. The Chippewas won their final 14 MAC games after an 8-5 start in league play and they rolled through the MAC Tournament, outscoring their three opponents by a combined 32-11.

The Bischel-led Chippewas ranked in the top 10 nationally in walks, on-base percentage, runs, runs per game, and triples. CMU led the MAC in 13 statistical categories and ranked among the top three in 23 categories.

Warren, the Chippewas’ shortstop, was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-America Third Team, becoming the first Chippewa non-freshman to earn All-America honors since 2007. Warren was one of three Chippewas named to the ABCA/Rawlings Mideast All-Region team.

Six Chippewas earned All-MAC honors including four named to the all-conference first team. The Chippewas had more first-team selections than any other team in the league, and it marked the first time since 1994 that CMU had placed as many as four players on the first team.

Bischel’s league coach of the year award was his fourth consecutive after he had been named the top skipper in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in both 2017 and 2018, when he led Northwood to both the league regular season and tournament championships and subsequent NCAA Division II Tournament berths.

In four seasons at Northwood, Bischel’s Timberwolves posted a combined 137-76 record. Northwood had never won a GLIAC baseball championship before Bischel’s arrival in 2015. In his first season, he led the Timberwolves to a 28-23 finish, a 10-win improvement from the previous year.

In 2017, Bischel led the Timberwolves to a 46-13 finish and, as a result of their GLIAC Tournament title, a program-first berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament. In 2018, Bischel became the first coach in Northwood history to guide the Timberwolves to a fourth straight winning season as they again won the conference title and reached the NCAA Tournament.

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 2000-03. He earned all-conference honors and served as the team captain as a senior.

Bischel and his wife Katie have three sons, 5 1/2-year-old twins, Luke and Parker, and Chase, 3 1/2.