Doug Schreiber helped elevate the Boilermakers to a position in which they became a major force in the Big Ten Conference while also making big strides on a national level. He was named Purdue's head baseball coach on May 29, 1998 and served as the leader of the program through the end of the 2016 campaign.
As the head coach at Purdue for 18 seasons, Schreiber posted a 485-511 overall record and a 227-260 Big Ten mark. Both win totals rank first in Purdue history.
Early in the 2013 season, Schreiber coached his 793rd game at Purdue to break yet another record formerly held by Dave Alexander, whom Schreiber played for from 1983 to 1986. Alexander won 407 games while coaching 792 over 14 seasons. Schreiber coached the Boilermakers for 996 games before stepping down at the end of the 2016 season. Including his four-year Purdue playing career, he was involved in 1,222 games with the Boilermakers.
Purdue unveiled its new Alexander Field stadium and facilities during the 2012-13 school year, but the inaugural season at the new ballpark turned out to be a rebuilding year for the Boilermakers after losing 15 seniors and three junior MLB draftees from the 2012 Big Ten championship team. As of July 2014, 10 members of the 2012 championship team have signed with Major League Baseball organizations at some point in their post-college careers. Kevin Plawecki, the 2012 Big Ten Player of the year and Purdue Male Athlete of the Year, spent the majority of the 2015 season at the MLB level with the New York Mets.
Purdue had 13 freshmen and 17 new players see action in 2013, ranking among the national leaders in both categories. The Boilermakers failed to qualify for the six-team Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2007. Purdue's five-year Big Ten Tournament streak entering the season had been the longest in program history and best active run in the conference. The Boilermakers' records of 172-110 in all games and 75-51 in conference play were the best in the Big Ten from 2008 through 2012.
After playing six NCAA Regional qualifiers throughout the season, including four opponents that were among the 16 Regional hosts, Purdue's strength of schedule in 2014 ranked among the Top 25 nationally for much of the year, including as high as No. 2 in the country for much of non-conference play. The Boilermakers' eight extra-inning affairs were the most in Schreiber's tenure as well as the most in the Big Ten during the regular season. Purdue also played in 17 one-run games. Four-year letterwinner and Johnny Bench Award semifinalist Sean McHugh was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Jordan Minch was also picked as a draft-eligible sophomore, marking the sixth time since 2006 that multiple Boilers were selected in the same draft.
The 2015 Boilermakers won their final five games and six of their last seven, posting their third longest season-ending win streak in program history. The Big Ten was as competitive as ever, and in terms of the record-number of NCAA Regional bids it received (five), enjoyed its finest season in the modern era of college baseball. And it was Purdue that helped keep bubble teams Michigan State and Nebraska out of the NCAA Tournament by posting road wins in East Lansing and Lincoln during its season-ending hot stretch. Kyle Wood won the team triple crown in 2015, becoming the first hitter to do so since 2007 and the 11th Boilermaker position player since 1970 to accomplish the feat.
2012 Big Ten Champions
During its historic 2012 season, Purdue won a program-record 45 games, captured a pair of Big Ten titles, earned the right to host an NCAA Regional and closed out Lambert Field in thrilling fashion. Schreiber was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading the Boilermakers to the most wins by a Big Ten team since 2008. He won his 400th and program-record 408th career games at Lambert in the spring of 2012. His 408th victory as the leader of the program, April 15 in the finale of a series sweep of Illinois, made him Purdue's all-time wins leader.
The Boilermakers began the 2012 season 14-1, won 10 consecutive games twice, posted their 20th win before April 1 for the first time, reached the 30-win mark at the earliest date (April 20) in program history and won their first Big Ten title since 1909. In its 16 games during the final year at Lambert, the home of the program since 1965, Purdue won three times in walk-off fashion and locked up the Big Ten title May 12 in front of a large group of program alumni. The Boilermakers enjoyed six undefeated weekends and went 9-0 in midweek action, extending their midweek win streak to 17 dating back to March 2011. Purdue won the opening game of each of its eight Big Ten series and was pushed to a rubber game only twice. The Boilermakers had a losing record in only three of their 16 weekends.
Purdue was also a perfect 8-0 against fellow teams from the state of Indiana in 2012, beating the rival Hoosiers twice at the Big Ten Tournament after the two teams finished one-two in the final conference standings.
Kevin Plawecki and Joe Haase teamed up to give Purdue a sweep of Big Ten Player and Pitcher of the Year honors, respectively. They were the program's first recipients of the awards. Plawecki hit a pair of go-ahead home runs at the Big Ten Tournament to also win Most Outstanding Player honors. The junior catcher became the fifth player since 1981 to sweep Big Ten Player/Pitcher of the Year and Tournament MOP in the same season.
Headlined by Plawecki's selection 35th overall by the New York Mets, Purdue had a program-record seven players picked in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Juniors Plawecki, Cameron Perkins and Nick Wittgren were each selected in the first 10 rounds to give the Boilermakers three players drafted in the first 300 picks for the first time.
As a team, Purdue led the Big Ten in team batting average (.316), hits (665) and earned run average (3.16). The Boilermakers struck out the fewest number of times at the plate and issued the fewest number of walks on the mound. New school records were established in wins, batting average, hits, ERA, innings, fewest walks per nine innings and WHIP.
By clinching the title on May 12, 2012, with a win in the 20th conference game of the season, the Boilermakers became the earliest team to clinch the title since the Big Ten schedule moved from 32 to 24 games in 2009. As the No. 1 seed at the Big Ten Tournament, Purdue won three consecutive games to win the six-team event for the first time.
A Consistent Force in the Big Ten from 2005-11
Purdue's 37 overall wins in 2011 tied a program record and were the most in the Big Ten. Despite being picked eighth in the preseason coaches' poll, the Boilers finished third in the league with a 14-10 conference record and reached the Big Ten Tournament. Purdue led the Big Ten in numerous statistical categories, highlighted by runs scored, doubles, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, sacrifice flies, saves and strikeouts. The Boilermakers drew the most walks at the plate and issued the fewest number of free passes on the mound. Six Boilers were recognized as all-conference performers, representing the core of the team that would lead Purdue to the Big Ten title a year later. With Barrett Serrato, Tyler Spillner and Stephen Talbott all honored as outfielders, it marked the first time 1991 that three Purdue outfielders were named all-conference in the same season.
The 2010 season saw the Boilermakers post 33 victories, the program's most at the time since 2000. Purdue navigated a hotly-contested Big Ten race in which all six league tournament-qualifying teams finished within three games of first place. At the Big Ten Tournament, Purdue eliminated Northwestern and Indiana before bowing out. The Boilers have won at least one game at the Big Ten Tournament in nine of their 10 appearances under Schreiber. The 2010 Boilermakers posted new school records for hits (636, since eclipsed by the 2012 team) and runs per game (7.2) at the plate and led the Big Ten in strikeouts (435) and batting average against (.276) on the mound. Purdue went 15-6 at home and 9-2 in midweek action, compiling a 32-18 mark after opening the season 1-6. Individually, Matt Bischoff was honored as a First Team All-Big Ten starting pitcher and newcomers Plawecki, Perkins and Brad Schreiber were recognized for standout freshman seasons. Bischoff led the Big Ten with 10 wins and 95 strikeouts and in the process became the first player in program history to be a four-time All-Big Ten honoree. He established new single-season and career strikeout marks in his final season as a Boilermaker. Bischoff and fellow pitcher Kevin Cahill were both selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft.
Despite battling numerous injuries and bad weather during the 2009 season, Schreiber's squad earned another Big Ten Tournament berth. Highlighted by the unanimous First Team selection of Brandon Haveman to the All-Big Ten Team, five Boilermakers were recognized with league awards. Eric Charles also garnered Freshman All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball. Dan Black, Haveman and Matt Jansen were all selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft.
The 2008 campaign marked the third time in his first eight seasons that Schreiber's Boilermakers were on the verge of winning a Big Ten championship. Purdue finished second in the Big Ten regular season after winning a school-record 21 conference games. The Old Gold and Black also finished second at the Big Ten Tournament, losing a nail-biting 3-2 game to host Michigan in the championship round. Six Boilermakers were recognized by the league office with All-Big Ten honors at the end of the year, including first-team members Ben Wolgamot and Matt Bischoff, while Josh Lindblom became the second highest (now third) drafted player in Schreiber's tenure at Purdue when he was selected in the second round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft.
The 2005 Boilermakers narrowly missed claiming their first conference title since 1909, finishing second in the conference and one game out of first place for the second time under Schreiber. Purdue continued its trend of playing one of the best schedules in the nation -- one that was ranked as the toughest in the country through the spring break trip. After opening the season at Florida Atlantic, Purdue played Texas, the eventual national champion, and NCAA Super Regional qualifiers Mississippi and Rice.
Schreiber's Early Years at Purdue
In 2001, Schreiber and his Boilermakers were on the brink of winning the Big Ten Conference championship. Purdue finished the Big Ten season in second place at 19-7, just half a game behind champion Ohio State and its 20-7 record. Purdue ended the season with a 32-24 overall mark, set a school record for most conference wins (19, eclipsed in 2008) and had the highest finish of any Purdue team since 1928. The Boilermakers had the top pitching staff and defense in the Big Ten in 2001, leading the conference with a team ERA of 3.67 in conference games and a .977 fielding percentage in all games. A staple of Schreiber baseball, the Boilermakers led the Big Ten in fielding three years in a row, from 2001 to 2003.
Purdue finished the 2000 season in third place in the Big Ten with a 17-11 record, which included a dominating 9-3 mark against the other top three teams in the conference. The Boilermakers had a four-game series sweep against then-league-leader and No. 25 Illinois, and finished the Big Ten regular season winning three out of four games at No. 25 and conference champion Minnesota. Purdue earned road wins at No. 6 Alabama, No. 16 East Carolina and No. 24 Notre Dame, helping the Boilers finish the year with an RPI ranking of 45th in the country. That RPI ranking was the second-best in the Big Ten that season, just one spot behind conference champion Minnesota (44th). The Boilermakers ended the season with a 35-23 overall record and owned the top pitching staff in the Big Ten, with a team ERA of 4.12 in all games.
Three of Schreiber's Purdue teams were ranked in the Top 25 in the country. The 2012 team was nationally ranked in at least one of the national polls in 13 of the 16 weeks (all but the first three) of its season. The Boilermakers finished the year nationally ranked in all four major national polls.
Baseball America ranked Purdue No. 25 in the nation after the Boilermakers opened the 2001 season with upset wins over No. 1 Rice and No. 24 Wake Forest while capturing the championship of the Coca-Cola Classic in Houston, Texas. It was the baseball program's first national ranking since 1993. Later that season, after posting a 13-game winning streak, the Boilermakers were ranked No. 29 by Collegiate Baseball. The 13-game streak was the nation's longest winning streak at that point in the season.
The 2002 squad entered the season ranked No. 24 in the country by the NCBWA and No. 27 by Collegiate Baseball. It was the first time in school history that the baseball program started a season nationally ranked. In 2001, Baseball America named Schreiber as one of the nation's top young Division I head coaches on the rise.
Career Accomplishments & His Road Back to Purdue
Schreiber coached 63 All-Big Ten Conference selections, including 22 who were named to the conference's first team, and had players selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on 33 occasions. One of Schreiber's Boilermakers led the Big Ten in hitting four times from 2005 to 2010.
Schreiber believed in playing a challenging non-conference schedule each year against some of the nation's elite baseball programs. Purdue faced national powers Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, Baylor, Central Florida, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Connecticut, East Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Long Beach State, Louisville, Louisiana-Lafayette, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Rice, San Diego, San Diego State, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and Wichita State.
Prior to becoming the head coach at Purdue, Schreiber spent four seasons (1995-98) as the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under Pat Murphy at Arizona State University. Schreiber helped guide Arizona State to the College World Series and the national championship game in 1998. A year earlier, the Sun Devils finished as regional runners-up to Miami, and were two outs away from going to the College World Series. All four of Schreiber's recruiting classes at ASU were nationally ranked, including the 1995 class which was ranked No. 1 in the country and the 1996 class, which was tabbed the third best in the nation.
Before going to ASU, Schreiber served as an assistant coach for Murphy at the University of Notre Dame in 1994. That season, the Fighting Irish finished 46-16 and ended the season just two wins shy of Omaha, finishing as regional runners-up to Auburn.
Schreiber began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Pat Quinn at Ball State University for two seasons (1991-92) and spent one year (1993) as an assistant at Butler University.
A native of La Porte, Indiana, Schreiber was a four-year starter (1983-86) at second base for the Boilermakers. During his career, Purdue posted a 120-112-2 mark and established a school-record 37 victories his senior season when he was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection. Schreiber still ranks among Purdue's career leaders in a variety of categories, including first all-time in walks (132), tied for first in games played (226), sixth in runs scored (159) and tied for eighth in triples (9). He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and has completed some course work towards a master's in education.
Schreiber played for the Adray Sound of the Detroit Adray Summer League in 1983, where he started in the infield alongside future Major Leaguers Barry Larkin (shortstop) and Jim Leyritz (third base). Schreiber also played for the Cotuit Kettleers of the prestigious Cape Cod League, helping the team win the league championship in the summer of 1985.
Born Aug. 25, 1963, Schreiber is the son of legendary La Porte High School baseball coach Ken Schreiber, a three-time National Prep Coach of the Year who retired in 1998. The elder Schreiber guided La Porte to an Indiana-record seven state championships, including the 1982 season when Doug was a senior co-captain and starting shortstop. Schreiber was also named the recipient of the prestigious L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award presented by the IHSAA following his team's state championship run.
Schreiber and his wife, the former Sarah Piper, reside in Lafayette.
As the head coach at Purdue for 18 seasons, Schreiber posted a 485-511 overall record and a 227-260 Big Ten mark. Both win totals rank first in Purdue history.
Early in the 2013 season, Schreiber coached his 793rd game at Purdue to break yet another record formerly held by Dave Alexander, whom Schreiber played for from 1983 to 1986. Alexander won 407 games while coaching 792 over 14 seasons. Schreiber coached the Boilermakers for 996 games before stepping down at the end of the 2016 season. Including his four-year Purdue playing career, he was involved in 1,222 games with the Boilermakers.
Purdue unveiled its new Alexander Field stadium and facilities during the 2012-13 school year, but the inaugural season at the new ballpark turned out to be a rebuilding year for the Boilermakers after losing 15 seniors and three junior MLB draftees from the 2012 Big Ten championship team. As of July 2014, 10 members of the 2012 championship team have signed with Major League Baseball organizations at some point in their post-college careers. Kevin Plawecki, the 2012 Big Ten Player of the year and Purdue Male Athlete of the Year, spent the majority of the 2015 season at the MLB level with the New York Mets.
Purdue had 13 freshmen and 17 new players see action in 2013, ranking among the national leaders in both categories. The Boilermakers failed to qualify for the six-team Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2007. Purdue's five-year Big Ten Tournament streak entering the season had been the longest in program history and best active run in the conference. The Boilermakers' records of 172-110 in all games and 75-51 in conference play were the best in the Big Ten from 2008 through 2012.
After playing six NCAA Regional qualifiers throughout the season, including four opponents that were among the 16 Regional hosts, Purdue's strength of schedule in 2014 ranked among the Top 25 nationally for much of the year, including as high as No. 2 in the country for much of non-conference play. The Boilermakers' eight extra-inning affairs were the most in Schreiber's tenure as well as the most in the Big Ten during the regular season. Purdue also played in 17 one-run games. Four-year letterwinner and Johnny Bench Award semifinalist Sean McHugh was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Jordan Minch was also picked as a draft-eligible sophomore, marking the sixth time since 2006 that multiple Boilers were selected in the same draft.
The 2015 Boilermakers won their final five games and six of their last seven, posting their third longest season-ending win streak in program history. The Big Ten was as competitive as ever, and in terms of the record-number of NCAA Regional bids it received (five), enjoyed its finest season in the modern era of college baseball. And it was Purdue that helped keep bubble teams Michigan State and Nebraska out of the NCAA Tournament by posting road wins in East Lansing and Lincoln during its season-ending hot stretch. Kyle Wood won the team triple crown in 2015, becoming the first hitter to do so since 2007 and the 11th Boilermaker position player since 1970 to accomplish the feat.
2012 Big Ten Champions
During its historic 2012 season, Purdue won a program-record 45 games, captured a pair of Big Ten titles, earned the right to host an NCAA Regional and closed out Lambert Field in thrilling fashion. Schreiber was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading the Boilermakers to the most wins by a Big Ten team since 2008. He won his 400th and program-record 408th career games at Lambert in the spring of 2012. His 408th victory as the leader of the program, April 15 in the finale of a series sweep of Illinois, made him Purdue's all-time wins leader.
The Boilermakers began the 2012 season 14-1, won 10 consecutive games twice, posted their 20th win before April 1 for the first time, reached the 30-win mark at the earliest date (April 20) in program history and won their first Big Ten title since 1909. In its 16 games during the final year at Lambert, the home of the program since 1965, Purdue won three times in walk-off fashion and locked up the Big Ten title May 12 in front of a large group of program alumni. The Boilermakers enjoyed six undefeated weekends and went 9-0 in midweek action, extending their midweek win streak to 17 dating back to March 2011. Purdue won the opening game of each of its eight Big Ten series and was pushed to a rubber game only twice. The Boilermakers had a losing record in only three of their 16 weekends.
Purdue was also a perfect 8-0 against fellow teams from the state of Indiana in 2012, beating the rival Hoosiers twice at the Big Ten Tournament after the two teams finished one-two in the final conference standings.
Kevin Plawecki and Joe Haase teamed up to give Purdue a sweep of Big Ten Player and Pitcher of the Year honors, respectively. They were the program's first recipients of the awards. Plawecki hit a pair of go-ahead home runs at the Big Ten Tournament to also win Most Outstanding Player honors. The junior catcher became the fifth player since 1981 to sweep Big Ten Player/Pitcher of the Year and Tournament MOP in the same season.
Headlined by Plawecki's selection 35th overall by the New York Mets, Purdue had a program-record seven players picked in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Juniors Plawecki, Cameron Perkins and Nick Wittgren were each selected in the first 10 rounds to give the Boilermakers three players drafted in the first 300 picks for the first time.
As a team, Purdue led the Big Ten in team batting average (.316), hits (665) and earned run average (3.16). The Boilermakers struck out the fewest number of times at the plate and issued the fewest number of walks on the mound. New school records were established in wins, batting average, hits, ERA, innings, fewest walks per nine innings and WHIP.
By clinching the title on May 12, 2012, with a win in the 20th conference game of the season, the Boilermakers became the earliest team to clinch the title since the Big Ten schedule moved from 32 to 24 games in 2009. As the No. 1 seed at the Big Ten Tournament, Purdue won three consecutive games to win the six-team event for the first time.
A Consistent Force in the Big Ten from 2005-11
Purdue's 37 overall wins in 2011 tied a program record and were the most in the Big Ten. Despite being picked eighth in the preseason coaches' poll, the Boilers finished third in the league with a 14-10 conference record and reached the Big Ten Tournament. Purdue led the Big Ten in numerous statistical categories, highlighted by runs scored, doubles, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, sacrifice flies, saves and strikeouts. The Boilermakers drew the most walks at the plate and issued the fewest number of free passes on the mound. Six Boilers were recognized as all-conference performers, representing the core of the team that would lead Purdue to the Big Ten title a year later. With Barrett Serrato, Tyler Spillner and Stephen Talbott all honored as outfielders, it marked the first time 1991 that three Purdue outfielders were named all-conference in the same season.
The 2010 season saw the Boilermakers post 33 victories, the program's most at the time since 2000. Purdue navigated a hotly-contested Big Ten race in which all six league tournament-qualifying teams finished within three games of first place. At the Big Ten Tournament, Purdue eliminated Northwestern and Indiana before bowing out. The Boilers have won at least one game at the Big Ten Tournament in nine of their 10 appearances under Schreiber. The 2010 Boilermakers posted new school records for hits (636, since eclipsed by the 2012 team) and runs per game (7.2) at the plate and led the Big Ten in strikeouts (435) and batting average against (.276) on the mound. Purdue went 15-6 at home and 9-2 in midweek action, compiling a 32-18 mark after opening the season 1-6. Individually, Matt Bischoff was honored as a First Team All-Big Ten starting pitcher and newcomers Plawecki, Perkins and Brad Schreiber were recognized for standout freshman seasons. Bischoff led the Big Ten with 10 wins and 95 strikeouts and in the process became the first player in program history to be a four-time All-Big Ten honoree. He established new single-season and career strikeout marks in his final season as a Boilermaker. Bischoff and fellow pitcher Kevin Cahill were both selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft.
Despite battling numerous injuries and bad weather during the 2009 season, Schreiber's squad earned another Big Ten Tournament berth. Highlighted by the unanimous First Team selection of Brandon Haveman to the All-Big Ten Team, five Boilermakers were recognized with league awards. Eric Charles also garnered Freshman All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball. Dan Black, Haveman and Matt Jansen were all selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft.
The 2008 campaign marked the third time in his first eight seasons that Schreiber's Boilermakers were on the verge of winning a Big Ten championship. Purdue finished second in the Big Ten regular season after winning a school-record 21 conference games. The Old Gold and Black also finished second at the Big Ten Tournament, losing a nail-biting 3-2 game to host Michigan in the championship round. Six Boilermakers were recognized by the league office with All-Big Ten honors at the end of the year, including first-team members Ben Wolgamot and Matt Bischoff, while Josh Lindblom became the second highest (now third) drafted player in Schreiber's tenure at Purdue when he was selected in the second round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft.
The 2005 Boilermakers narrowly missed claiming their first conference title since 1909, finishing second in the conference and one game out of first place for the second time under Schreiber. Purdue continued its trend of playing one of the best schedules in the nation -- one that was ranked as the toughest in the country through the spring break trip. After opening the season at Florida Atlantic, Purdue played Texas, the eventual national champion, and NCAA Super Regional qualifiers Mississippi and Rice.
Schreiber's Early Years at Purdue
In 2001, Schreiber and his Boilermakers were on the brink of winning the Big Ten Conference championship. Purdue finished the Big Ten season in second place at 19-7, just half a game behind champion Ohio State and its 20-7 record. Purdue ended the season with a 32-24 overall mark, set a school record for most conference wins (19, eclipsed in 2008) and had the highest finish of any Purdue team since 1928. The Boilermakers had the top pitching staff and defense in the Big Ten in 2001, leading the conference with a team ERA of 3.67 in conference games and a .977 fielding percentage in all games. A staple of Schreiber baseball, the Boilermakers led the Big Ten in fielding three years in a row, from 2001 to 2003.
Purdue finished the 2000 season in third place in the Big Ten with a 17-11 record, which included a dominating 9-3 mark against the other top three teams in the conference. The Boilermakers had a four-game series sweep against then-league-leader and No. 25 Illinois, and finished the Big Ten regular season winning three out of four games at No. 25 and conference champion Minnesota. Purdue earned road wins at No. 6 Alabama, No. 16 East Carolina and No. 24 Notre Dame, helping the Boilers finish the year with an RPI ranking of 45th in the country. That RPI ranking was the second-best in the Big Ten that season, just one spot behind conference champion Minnesota (44th). The Boilermakers ended the season with a 35-23 overall record and owned the top pitching staff in the Big Ten, with a team ERA of 4.12 in all games.
Three of Schreiber's Purdue teams were ranked in the Top 25 in the country. The 2012 team was nationally ranked in at least one of the national polls in 13 of the 16 weeks (all but the first three) of its season. The Boilermakers finished the year nationally ranked in all four major national polls.
Baseball America ranked Purdue No. 25 in the nation after the Boilermakers opened the 2001 season with upset wins over No. 1 Rice and No. 24 Wake Forest while capturing the championship of the Coca-Cola Classic in Houston, Texas. It was the baseball program's first national ranking since 1993. Later that season, after posting a 13-game winning streak, the Boilermakers were ranked No. 29 by Collegiate Baseball. The 13-game streak was the nation's longest winning streak at that point in the season.
The 2002 squad entered the season ranked No. 24 in the country by the NCBWA and No. 27 by Collegiate Baseball. It was the first time in school history that the baseball program started a season nationally ranked. In 2001, Baseball America named Schreiber as one of the nation's top young Division I head coaches on the rise.
Career Accomplishments & His Road Back to Purdue
Schreiber coached 63 All-Big Ten Conference selections, including 22 who were named to the conference's first team, and had players selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on 33 occasions. One of Schreiber's Boilermakers led the Big Ten in hitting four times from 2005 to 2010.
Schreiber believed in playing a challenging non-conference schedule each year against some of the nation's elite baseball programs. Purdue faced national powers Alabama, Arizona State, Auburn, Baylor, Central Florida, Clemson, Coastal Carolina, Connecticut, East Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Long Beach State, Louisville, Louisiana-Lafayette, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Missouri, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Rice, San Diego, San Diego State, South Carolina, Southern Miss, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest and Wichita State.
Prior to becoming the head coach at Purdue, Schreiber spent four seasons (1995-98) as the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under Pat Murphy at Arizona State University. Schreiber helped guide Arizona State to the College World Series and the national championship game in 1998. A year earlier, the Sun Devils finished as regional runners-up to Miami, and were two outs away from going to the College World Series. All four of Schreiber's recruiting classes at ASU were nationally ranked, including the 1995 class which was ranked No. 1 in the country and the 1996 class, which was tabbed the third best in the nation.
Before going to ASU, Schreiber served as an assistant coach for Murphy at the University of Notre Dame in 1994. That season, the Fighting Irish finished 46-16 and ended the season just two wins shy of Omaha, finishing as regional runners-up to Auburn.
Schreiber began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Pat Quinn at Ball State University for two seasons (1991-92) and spent one year (1993) as an assistant at Butler University.
A native of La Porte, Indiana, Schreiber was a four-year starter (1983-86) at second base for the Boilermakers. During his career, Purdue posted a 120-112-2 mark and established a school-record 37 victories his senior season when he was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection. Schreiber still ranks among Purdue's career leaders in a variety of categories, including first all-time in walks (132), tied for first in games played (226), sixth in runs scored (159) and tied for eighth in triples (9). He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in communications and has completed some course work towards a master's in education.
Schreiber played for the Adray Sound of the Detroit Adray Summer League in 1983, where he started in the infield alongside future Major Leaguers Barry Larkin (shortstop) and Jim Leyritz (third base). Schreiber also played for the Cotuit Kettleers of the prestigious Cape Cod League, helping the team win the league championship in the summer of 1985.
Born Aug. 25, 1963, Schreiber is the son of legendary La Porte High School baseball coach Ken Schreiber, a three-time National Prep Coach of the Year who retired in 1998. The elder Schreiber guided La Porte to an Indiana-record seven state championships, including the 1982 season when Doug was a senior co-captain and starting shortstop. Schreiber was also named the recipient of the prestigious L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude Award presented by the IHSAA following his team's state championship run.
Schreiber and his wife, the former Sarah Piper, reside in Lafayette.