Purdue Hires Longtime Assistant Wasikowski
Mark Wasikowski, an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Oregon, Arizona, Florida and Southeast Missouri State, was named head coach at Purdue on Friday.
In his 20 years as an assistant, Wasikowski’s teams have reached at least a regional 14 times. As a player, Coach Waz was the starting third baseman for Pepperdine’s 1992 College World Series team. He replaces Doug Schreiber, who resigned on May 21 after 18 seasons at the Big Ten school.
“During the hiring process, Mark’s name immediately rose to the top of our candidate list,” Purdue senior associate athletics director Ed Howat, the sport supervisor for baseball, said in a news release. “He is exactly the type of person and coach we were looking for from the onset. He is a proven winner, who knows what it takes to build a championship program. He has worked for two renowned coaches, so he is well prepared. Additionally, he is a man of great character, who is committed not only to developing our young men as students and athletes, but also as quality people.”
Wasikowski played for Andy Lopez at Pepperdine and worked for him at Florida and Arizona before joining George Horton’s staff at Oregon in 2011.
“I believe Mark Wasikowski is one of the brightest, up-and-coming baseball coaches in the country,” Horton said in a news release. “There is no doubt that Mark will make a huge impact as the new leader at Purdue. We will miss Coach Waz and wish him great fortune.”
Wasikowski is the 20th head coach in Purdue’s 129-year history, but just the fourth full-time coach since 1978.
“I would like to thank Morgan Burke and Ed Howat for the opportunity to become the head baseball coach at Purdue University,” Wasikowski said in a news release. “I have been humbled to serve under great mentors in Mark Hogan, Andy Lopez and George Horton, and am now humbled again to serve such an elite university. There is much work to do but with the great Purdue leadership and resources, I am excited to lead Boilermaker baseball into a new era of success both on and off the field. Boiler up!”
Among the players Wasikowski recruited are major leaguers Nick Hundley of the Rockies and Rob Refsnyder of the Yankees.
“I can’t say enough about (Mark),” Refsnyder said in a news release. “He was a diligent recruiter and true competitor. I have the upmost respect for him. He’s a family man and a family coach. If you give your all as a player, he will give you everything he’s got. Love that guy!”
| 2016 COACHING CHANGES | ||
| School | Departures | Arrivals |
| Alabama | Mitch Gaspard | Greg Goff |
| Appalachian State | Billy Jones | |
| Army | Matt Reid | Jim Foster |
| Butler | Steve Farley | |
| Florida International | Turtle Thomas | |
| Furman | Ron Smith | |
| Jacksonville | Tim Montez | |
| Kentucky | Gary Henderson | Nick Mingione |
| Lamar | Jim Gilligan (ret.) | Will Davis |
| Louisiana Tech | Greg Goff | Lane Burroughs |
| Missouri | Tim Jamieson | |
| Northwestern State | Lane Burroughs | Bobby Barbier |
| Purdue | Doug Schreiber | Mark Wasikowski |
| San Jose State | Dave Nakama | |
| SIU-Edwardsville | Tony Stoecklin | Sean Lyons |
| Texas | Augie Garrido | |
| Villanova | Joe Godri | |
| Youngstown State | Steve Gillispie | Dan Bertolini |
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