Dave Schrage announced his retirement at the conclusion of the 2022 season. Schrage led the Butler baseball program for six seasons, highlighting a successful 38-year coaching career.
As the head coach at seven different universities over 34 seasons, Schrage registered 865 career wins. Following a standout collegiate playing career at Creighton, Schrage also served as an assistant coach for four seasons before his first head coaching position. Schrage's 133 wins at Butler are fourth-most in program history.
"For 38 years, I have been blessed to wake up every day and do what I love; it never felt like a job," said Schrage. "I want to thank all the players, assistant coaches and administrators for their efforts throughout my career. Those relationships are what it's all about. I will always be grateful to Jim Hendry and Paul Mainieri, who gave me my start in this profession nearly four decades ago. My family has supported me and sacrificed for me, and I love them for that. I look forward to the time we will be able to spend together in retirement."
"For the past six seasons, our baseball program and university have benefited greatly from Dave's leadership," said Butler Vice President/Director of Athletics Barry Collier. "Throughout his career, Dave has mentored young men in a first-class manner while building successful programs. He will certainly be missed in the dugout and at Butler. We wish Dave and his family all the best in retirement."
Schrage took over the Butler baseball program on July 5, 2016. Career highlights while at Butler include the team’s first trip to the BIG EAST Tournament, matching the single-season win record, and sending four players into the MLB.
2022
Butler went 20-35-1 during the 2022 season with a 4-16-1 record against BIG EAST competition. 26 of their 56 games were played at Bulldog Park. BU played well on their home diamond, ending the year at .500 with 13 wins and 13 losses. Out of conference action was challenging with Butler playing at #1 Tennessee and #13 Notre Dame before the start of BIG EAST action. Butler sent head coach Dave Schrage off in style by defeating Seton Hall in a weekend series 2-1 to close out the regular season.
2021
Butler finished the 2021 season with a 14-23 record, and a Big East Conference record of 8-13. The Bulldogs capped off the season by winning three out of four games against Georgetown in the final series of the regular season. Under Schrage in 2021, outfielder James Gargano received All-Big East second team honors. RHP Connor Shultz was tabbed as the preseason Big East Pitcher of the Year, and infielder Kennan Taylor was selected as the preseason Big East Freshman of the Year by Perfect Game. The 2020-21 team also received the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award for averaging a 3.102 team GPA.
2020
Butler ended the 2020 season with an 8-7 record. They became just the second team in program history to open the year 6-0. Coach Schrage took a medical leave of absence on Feb. 21 and pitching coach Ben Norton served as the acting head coach before the season abruptly ended due to COVID-19. Post-season honors were not available for the 2020 campaign, but RHP Connor Schultz was tagged Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
2019
Butler finished the 2019 season with 26 wins and 26 losses. Schrage had two players selected in the MLB Draft with Ryan Pepiot going to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the third round and Harrison Freed going to the San Francisco Giants in round 13. Pepiot and Freed became the first BU teammates to get drafted in the same year since 1998. Each player set multiple school records for Butler before leaving campus. Freed ended 2019 with 82 hits and 149 total bases to set new single-season records in each category. Pepiot struck out 126 batters, moving his career total to 306. His breakout performance helped the pitching staff reach 488 strikeouts to set yet another record. At the plate, the team also set the base on balls record (292) and Kyle Smith would tie the single-season runs scored record (59). After a vote from the conference head coaches, Harrison Freed and Connor Schultz would land on the All-BIG EAST First Team.
2018
Butler opened the 2018 season by winning their first nine games, and ended the campaign by competing in the BIG EAST Conference Tournament as the No. 3 seed. Nine-straight wins tied the longest winning streak in program history and the 2-1 win over Seton Hall in the 13th inning of tournament play marked Butler’s first postseason win since 2009. Butler notched their 34th win of the season in the tournament to tie the program record for most wins in a single-season. Jack Pilcher tied the single-season saves record that year with 10. Connor Mitchell would be selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 27th round of the MLB Draft and teammate Garrett Christman would sign with the San Francisco Giants as a free agent. Ryan Pepiot, Michael Hartnagel, Gehrig Parker, Tyler Houston and Garrett Christman were all recognized as all-conference selections after a vote from head coaches from around the league. Pepiot, Hartnagel and Parker were all selected to the 2018 All-BIG EAST First Team, while Houston and Christman represented Butler on the All-BIG EAST Second Team.
2017
Schrage helped the Bulldogs reach 31 wins during his first year at the helm of the program. The turnaround under his guidance was one of the best in the NCAA with BU winning 17 more games in 2017 than they did in 2016. Improved pitching and great team defense were two huge factors in coming up with 31 wins. Butler posted the highest fielding percentage in program history (.973), committing just 51 errors in 51 games. Schrage gave his group confidence on the diamond, helping them win 16 road games in 2017, while the 2016 club went just 4-22 in away games. One special highlight for the pitching staff came on May 10, 2017 when the Bulldogs no-hit Purdue in West Lafayette. Five different players touched the rubber as BU went on to win 4-2. That game was part of a bigger story as BU went 7-0 against in-state rivals during the 2017 season. The 'Dawgs picked up wins over Fort Wayne (3x), DePauw, Ball State, Indiana and Purdue. BU had not defeated both Indiana and Purdue in the same season since 1995. Individual honors went to Tyler Houston, Jordan Lucio and Jeff Schank in 2017. Houston was recognized as a First Team All-BIG EAST selection while Lucio and Schank were added to the Second Team.
Before Butler
Before joining Butler, Schrage won 732 games during head coaching stops at SDSU, Notre Dame, Evansville, Northern Illinois, Northern Iowa, and Waldorf (Iowa). He coached players who had earned all-conference honors 75 times and 47 of his former student-athletes have gone on to play professionally. Ten of his players have earned Freshman All-American accolades.
Schrage was hired to take over the reins of the Jackrabbit baseball program prior to the 2012 season. After posting an 18-33-1 record in his first season at South Dakota State, Schrage directed a big turnaround in 2013, leading SDSU its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament at the Division I level. The Jackrabbits, who ended the season with a 35-24 overall record, won their inaugural Summit League postseason tournament title and advanced to the Eugene Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
The Jackrabbits again contended for a Summit League title during the 2015 season, posting an overall record of 33-23 and a second-place mark of 18-11 in league play. Schrage led SDSU to Summit League Tournament appearances in four of his five seasons.
Prior to South Dakota State, Schrage was head coach at Notre Dame for four seasons, leading the Fighting Irish to a 119-104-1 record from 2007-10. After posting a .500 record (28-28) his first season in South Bend, Schrage put Notre Dame back in contention for postseason play with a 33-21-1 record in 2008 and a 36-23 mark in 2009.
Schrage has previously found success in building programs, including a four-year stint at Evansville from 2003-06, during which he guided the Purple Aces to a 130-108 record. Evansville improved its win total each of his four seasons, from 24 in 2003 to 43 in 2006. Schrage earned Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors for the third time in 2006 as Evansville won both the regular season and tournament conference titles, earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Purple Aces advanced all the way to the finals of the Charlottesville Regional, knocking off host Virginia before falling to South Carolina in the championship.
A Chicago native, Schrage directed a dramatic turnaround in his home state during a three-year run at Northern Illinois from 2000-02. After inheriting a team that was 4-51-1 the year before he arrived, Schrage’s squad turned in a 20-game improvement with a 24-33 record in his first season and then led the Huskies to a winning season in 2001 with a 28-27 overall mark. He was named runner-up for National Coach of the Year by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper in 2000.
Schrage began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at St. Thomas University (Fla.) in 1984. He later returned to his alma mater, Creighton University, as an assistant coach for two seasons.
From 1986-87, Schrage coached the Queensland Rams club team in Brisbane, Australia, before returning stateside as he gained his first head coaching job at Waldorf College, a junior college in Forest City, Iowa (1988-90).
Schrage then spent nine seasons as head coach at the University of Northern Iowa, where he was named Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1997. His teams improved from two league victories in UNI’s first season in the MVC in 1992 to 18 during the 1997 campaign.
As a collegiate player, Schrage was an all-conference outfielder at Creighton, batting .400 as a junior and .433 his senior season. He also was an Academic All-America honoree during his senior campaign in 1983. Schrage was honored on the MVC’s Centennial Celebration baseball team and is the only person in league history to earn all-conference honors and be named MVC Coach of the Year in baseball.
Schrage is married (wife, Kay), and has two daughters (Katy and Bri) and one stepson (Jason). Katy is a 2013 graduate of Butler.
Coaching Experience
St. Thomas University (Fla.), Graduate Assistant – 1984
Creighton, Assistant Coach – 1985-86
Queensland Rams Club Team (Brisbane, Australia), Player/Coach – 1986-87
Waldorf (Iowa), Head Coach (61-66 Record) – 1988-90
Northern Iowa, Head Coach (211-291 Record) – 1991-99
Northern Illinois, Head Coach (75-92 Record) – 2000-02
Evansville, Head Coach (130-108 Record) – 2003-06
Notre Dame, Head Coach (119-104-1 Record) – 2007-10
South Dakota State, Head Coach (136-144-1 Record) – 2012-16
Butler, Head Coach (133-131-1 Record) – 2017-2022
Career Record as a Collegiate Head Coach (34 Seasons) – 865-937-3
