Jordan Bischel

Following the best three-year stretch in program history, Jordan Bischel is entering his fourth season at Cincinnati in 2027. It was announced on August 26, 2025 that Bischel agreed to a contract extension through the 2031 season.

BISCHEL’S FIRST THREE YEARS AT CINCINNATI

In his first three seasons at the helm of the program, Bischel has compiled a record 103 victories and has taken the Bearcats to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons, something that had never been accomplished before in school history.

Bischel took over the program ahead of its first season in the Big 12 Conference, one of the best leagues in all of college baseball. Since then, Cincinnati is one of just five Big 12 teams with at least 50 conference wins since 2024 and one of just three teams with a better than .500 conference record in each of the last three seasons, joined only by Oklahoma State and West Virginia.

Six Bearcats have been selected in the MLB Draft since Bischel’s arrival:

• Josh Kross (2024 sixth round, St. Louis Cardinals)
• Landyn Vidourek (2025 third round, Los Angeles Dodgers)
• Kerrington Cross (2025 seventh round, San Diego Padres)
• Jack Natili (2026 third round, Colorado Rockies)
• Nathan Taylor (2026 third round, Seattle Mariners)
• Dominic Mauro (2026 10^th round, Athletics)

Natili and Vidourek are the third and fifth-highest draftees in program history, respectively.

Under his watch, Bischel’s Bearcats have reclaimed a home field advantage that is hard to ignore. UC is 57-21 at home under Bischel since he took over the program has won 12 of 15 Big 12 series at home since the start of the 2024 season. That includes a home series win vs. 2026 College World Series participant West Virginia.

Cincinnati has won at least 30 games in each of the last three seasons, the first time since 1999-01 that the program has logged three straight 30-win campaigns.

Bischel’s overall record as an NCAA head coach stands at 417-229 (.646) as of the end of the 2026 season.

YEAR-BY-YEAR OVERVIEW

The 2026 season was a remarkable one for Cincinnati, as it won 38 games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. The 38 wins are second-most in a season in program history.

UC also claimed six ranked wins for the second straight year, tying the school record for most in a season. One of the biggest wins of the year came when Cincinnati shut out No. 9 Auburn on the road, 8-0, on Feb. 17, tied for the highest-ranked road win in school history.

Two monumental single-season records fell in 2026, as Quinton Coats his 28 home runs to break the single-season mark and Nathan Taylor recorded a program-record 115 strikeouts. Taylor also ended his career with 22 victories, breaking the UC careers wins record. Coats was named an All-American every major outlet following his outstanding season and was named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy.

In addition to Coats, Taylor was named an All-American as well, the first UC pitcher to receive that honor since 1974. Enzo Infelise was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and was a multi-time Freshman All-American.

Coats, Infelise, and Taylor were three of Cincinnati’s seven All-Big 12 honorees, and all three were named to the first team. Jack Natili and Adam Buczkowski were both second-team picks, while Infelise, Connor Blue, and Ryan Tyranski all were placed on the All-Freshman Team.

UC ended the 2025 season with a 33-26 overall record and earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament, the seventh tournament trip in program history and the first at-large berth since 1974. The Bearcats were the No. 3 seed in the Knoxville Regional and won their opening game against No. 2 seed Wake Forest, 11-6.

Bischel’s preferred style of play has become a calling card for Cincinnati, which led all Power Four programs in bunt hits and ranked second in stolen bases. UC was one of the most successful teams on the bases, posting a 90.5% success rate on stolen bases (134-for-148). The 134 stolen bases broke the previous single-season school record set in 2008, and the pitching staff tallied 496 strikeouts, breaking the single-season mark from 2019.

Individually, Bischel helped mentor 2025 Big 12 Player of the Year and Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist Kerrington Cross to one of the best seasons ever by a Bearcat. Cross was one of six players to earn all-conference honors, joining second-team selection Jack Natili, all-freshman team pick Quinton Coats, and honorable mention winners Landyn Vidourek, Kellen O’Connor, and Nathan Taylor.

The 2024 season was Bischel’s first at Cincinnati, and he led the Bearcats to a terrific year in their inaugural Big 12 campaign. UC posted a 32-25 overall record and a 17-13 mark in conference play, the program’s first 30-win season since 2019. Cincinnati finished the regular season in fifth place in the Big 12 after being picked to finish in last in the preseason coaches poll.
 
The Bearcats claimed six series wins in conference play including series vs. TCU, West Virginia, and UCF, and also posted an 18-8 record at home.
 
Bischel helped coach seven All-Big 12 players in 2024, including first-team selection Josh Kross. Christian Mitchelle was named to the second team while Nathan Taylor, Lauden Brooks, Kerrington Cross, Josh Hegemann, and Tommy O’Connor were all honorable mention.
 
In his first year at UC, Bischel successfully implemented his style of play and saw his players buy in as well. The Bearcats were among the national leaders in walks (320, most in school history) and stolen bases (109) and ranked atop the league in HBP (91). Cincinnati’s ability to get on base and take extra bases led to an average of 7.4 runs per game, which ranked fourth in the league.
 
Bischel was announced as the 33^rd head coach in program history on June 18, 2023.
  
BISCHEL BUILDS CENTRAL MICHIGAN INTO MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE POWER

From 2019-23, Bischel led Central Michigan to four Mid-American Conference (MAC) championships -- two regular season and two tournament -- and three NCAA Regionals. The Chippewas went 177-80 (.689) during Bischel's tenure.

In five seasons as head coach at CMU, Bischel had a 102-32 MAC record and 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 went a combined 31-8 against the five other Michigan Division I programs, Michigan, Michigan State, Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan and Oakland, and Bischel led his Chippewas to 12 victories over opponents from Power 5 conferences.

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.
 
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 four-team tournament and posted victories over No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 UConn.
 
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. The 2019 squad posted a 47-14 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.
 
The Chippewas earned their first MAC regular season title since 2015, tied the program record for victories in a season (47), and its .770-win percentage was fifth best in the nation.
 
BISCHEL’S WINNING WAYS STARTED AT MIDLAND, NORTHWOOD

Prior to his time at CMU, Bischel was the head coach of Northwood from 2014 to 2018. The Timberwolves posted a combined 137-76 record and won two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championships as well as two GLIAC Tournament titles. Over his last two seasons, Northwood won 84 games – the best two-year stretch prior to Bischel's arrival featured 55 wins (1989-90).
 
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.
 
OTHER COACHING STOPS AND PERSONAL INFORMATION

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.
 
A native of Green Bay, Wis., Bischel was an academic all-conference first baseman and pitcher at St. Norbert from 2000 to 2003. He earned all-conference honors and served as the team captain as a senior.
 
Bischel and his wife Katie have three sons, twins Luke and Parker, and Chase.