Dave Schmotzer
Dave Schmotzer
Title: Head Baseball Coach
Phone: 843-383-8105
Email: dschmotzer@coker.edu

Dave Schmotzer has served as the head coach of the Coker College baseball team since 1993, becoming the programs first and only coach. During his time at Coker he has compiled a record of 624-493-2, while his overall coaching record is 709-533-2.

2016 ends the Dave Schmotzer era for Coker baseball, and the Cobras made the most of the final chapter. The team went 28-20 and 12-12 in conference earning a berth in the South Atlantic Conference Baseball Championship. Under Schmotzer, four players received All-Conference accolades as Will Winslow, Jack Leech and Dallas Baldwin were named to the All-SAC second team and Clint Allen received the gold glove award for left field. Winslow was also named to the ABCA all-region team. Schmotzer's Cobras led the SAC with a team .319 batting average, while Winslow’s .381 batting average was fifth-best in the conference. AJ Strnad was second in the league in stolen bases with 29, and Dallas Baldwin’s 3.31 earned run average was fifth in the conference.

The 2015 season saw Schmotzer earned his 700th win on 2/21 with an 8-7 extra-innings victory over Seton Hill. In all, the Cobras won 15 games in 2015 and senior Sammy Song earned All-SAC honors. 

In 2014, Schmotzer's team compiled 21 wins in their first season in the South Atlantic Conference. Seniors Ernie Kirkwood and T.J. Giczkowski earned All-SAC honors

In 2013 Schmotzer and the Cobras advanced to the NCAA DII National Championship for the first time in the history of the program. The Cobras finished the season ranked No. 3 in the nation with a record of 38-16. They won the 2013 Conference Carolinas Tournament Championship and the 2013 NCAA Southeast Region Baseball Tournament. Coker was one of the final eight teams to advance to the NCAA DII Baseball National Championship in Cary, N.C.

Schmotzer led the Cobras to the NAIA World Series in 1994, earning NAIA Mideast Region Coach of the Year honors. Under Schmotzer, the Cobras have captured seven conference titles, three conference tournament titles, and have finished as tournament runner-up twice.

He has also coached two MLB Draft picks, John Crowther (1994, 2nd Rd.) and Zach Loraine (2013, 21st Rd.), while numerous players have gone on to sign free agent and independent league contracts during his time at Coker.

Before coming to Coker, Schmotzer was the Athletic Director and Head Baseball Coach at Union College in Barbourville, KY. In his final of three seasons at Union, Schmotzer led the Bulldogs to 36 wins, a school record at the time.

Schmotzer began his coaching career at Trinity High School in Cleveland, Ohio where he led the team to an overall record of 87-44 including several sectional championships in five seasons. Schmotzer was inducted into the Trinity High School Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996. In 2010, Schmotzer and twin brother Dan, were inducted into the Padua Franciscan High School Hall of Fame. The Schmotzers were both exceptional basketball and baseball players for Padua from 1966-70. Upon graduation from Padua, the brothers attended St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. At St. Edward’s they were both star two-sport athletes for the basketball and baseball teams.

In 1980, Schmotzer hit the college coaching ranks as Assistant Coach for the Texas Christian University baseball squad. At TCU, Schmotzer helped guide teams that set school records for wins in a season and consecutive win streak. Schmotzer spent 10 seasons as the top assistant with TCU, a time span in which he coached numerous nationally ranked teams and sent over 45 of his players into professional baseball.

Schmotzer, a 30+-year veteran of coaching with over 600 victories to his credit. He ranks among the NCAA’s winningest coaches all-time.