Daron Schoenrock (born November 21, 1961) is an American
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
coach and former
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
. He played
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...
for the
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles are the intercollegiate athletic teams of Tennessee Technological University (TTU), located in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. The TTU athletic program is a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and ...
from 1981 to 1984. He then served as the head coach of the
Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters
The Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters are the athletic teams that represent Lincoln Memorial University, located in Harrogate, Tennessee, in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division II, Division II intercollegiate sports. The Rail ...
(1988–1989) and the
Memphis Tigers
The Memphis Tigers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Memphis, located in Memphis, Tennessee. The teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the American Athletic C ...
(2005–2022).
He is currently the
pitching coach
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...
at
Auburn.
Playing career
Schoenrock was a pitcher at
Tennessee Tech
Tennessee Technological University (commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech) is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie, the name unde ...
, starting games in all four years before earning his degree in 1984.
Coaching career
After completing his studies at Tennessee Tech, Schoenrock became a graduate assistant coach for one season at his alma mater. He then moved to
Murray State where he completed a master's and served as an assistant for two seasons. Schoenrock then earned his first head coaching position at
Division II Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial is a List of national memorials of the United States, U.S. national memorial honoring Abraham Lincoln, the List of presidents of the United States, 16th president of the United States, located on the western end of the Nati ...
. He coached for two seasons with the Railsplitters, leading the team to their first postseason appearance in five years and earning conference coach of the year honors in 1989. During that season, Lincoln Memorial played all of their games on the road due to work on their home stadium.
Following his stint with LMU, Schoenrock became a pitching coach at
Birmingham–Southern, then an NAIA school. In his eight seasons with the Panthers, he became a highly regarded pitching coach, authoring a book on all aspects of pitching, helping the Panthers reach the NAIA
College World Series
The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the ...
, and earning a summer posting as a short-season pitching coach in the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
organization in 1995. He then began a series of short stints as a pitching coach at
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...
schools, working two years at
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
, two years at
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
and three years at
Mississippi State
Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...
. During this time, he coached a series of pro prospects, including
Brandon Webb,
Jonathan Papelbon
Jonathan Robert Papelbon (; born November 23, 1980) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Boston Red Sox, with whom he was an Major League Baseball Al ...
, and
Paul Maholm.
Schoenrock was named head coach of the
Memphis Tigers
The Memphis Tigers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Memphis, located in Memphis, Tennessee. The teams compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the American Athletic C ...
before the
2005 season. After a rough first year, he led the Tigers to 32 wins in his second season, marking the second best improvement in wins in the nation that year. The Tigers appeared in the
2007 NCAA tournament and frequently advance to the
Conference USA baseball tournament under Schoenrock. The team has also performed well in the classroom, posting GPA's well over 3.2 as a team. These successes, as well as strong recruiting, have led to a contract extension for Schoenrock and helped build excitement for the Tigers' entry to the
Big East Conference
The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...
.
Schoenrock was named pitching coach for the Auburn Tigers on August 1, 2022.
Head coaching record
Below is a table of Schoenrock's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.
Personal
Daron is the husband of the former Carol Cawood. They have been married since August 6th, 1988. They have two sons: Erik and Bret. Erik was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 11th round in the 2013 MLB First Year Player Draft after being named the 2013 Conference USA Pitcher of the Year.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schoenrock, Daron
Living people
1961 births
Baseball players from Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles baseball players
Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles baseball coaches
Murray State Racers baseball coaches
Murray State University alumni
Lincoln Memorial Railsplitters baseball coaches
Birmingham–Southern Panthers baseball coaches
Kentucky Wildcats baseball coaches
Georgia Bulldogs baseball coaches
Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball coaches
Memphis Tigers baseball coaches
Auburn Tigers baseball coaches
Baseball coaches from Iowa
20th-century American sportsmen