Tom Winske

Tom Winske just completed his second season as an assistant coach with Cincinnati. He works with the Bearcat catchers and outfielders as well as overseeing bunting and baserunning.

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.

Cincinnati reached the 30-win plateau for the second straight season, the first time the program had won at least 30 games in consecutive seasons since doing it three straight years from 1999-2001. UC also captured six ranked wins, the most in a season in school history.

Under Winske’s tutelage, Cincinnati 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 steals broke the previous single-season school record set in 2008.

Outfielder Landyn Vidourek earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors and was an incredible 39-for-40 on stolen bases, leading the Big 12 and ranking third among Power Four players in steals.

Catcher Jack Natili had a terrific season as well, earning Second Team All-Big 12 honors and Big 12 All-Tournament Team distinctions. Natili hit .338 with nine home runs, 53 RBI, 14 doubles, and a .451 on-base percentage.

In 2024, Winske’s first with the Bearcats, 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.
 
Winske helped mentor one of the most exciting offenses in the Big 12 in 2024. 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.
 
His work with outfielder Josh Hegemann led to an honorable mention all-conference accolade for the senior, one of seven Bearcats to earn All-Big 12 honors in 2024.
 
Winske was hired as an assistant coach on July 11, 2023, resuming his longtime affiliation with head coach Jordan Bischel when the latter was named to lead the Cincinnati baseball program.
 
Winske came to Cincinnati from Central Michigan, where he served as a volunteer assistant coach from 2019 to 2023. He combined with Bischel to lead the Chippewas to four Mid-American Conference (MAC) championships -- two regular season and two tournament – and three NCAA Tournament berths.
 
With Winske on the coaching staff, the Chippewas compiled an 102-32 MAC record and posted three consecutive 40-win full seasons for the first time since 1986-88. They won a combined 132 games in 2019, '21 and '22, marking the winningest three-year stretch in program history.
 
Winske came to CMU after a highly successful two-decade run as the head coach at NCAA Division III St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis. He amassed a 444-287-1 career mark from 1999 to 2018 and is the Midwest Conference's all-time leader in both conference and overall wins. In January 2025, he was inducted into the St. Norbert College Athletics Hall of Fame.
 
Winske was named the Midwest Conference North Division Coach of the Year nine times in his 20 years at St. Norbert and led the Green Knights to four conference championships and five NCAA Tournament berths. His 2017 team won 30 games, the most victories in a season by any men's athletics team in St. Norbert history.
 
Bischel, a pitcher, played for Winske at St. Norbert from 2000 to 2003 and served as an assistant under his mentor from 2007-09.