Jack Marder, a catcher and infielder during his playing career at the University of Oregon and in the Seattle Mariners organization, joined Purdue baseball as its volunteer assistant coach in July 2016.
Marder was the first new addition to Mark Wasikowski's coaching staff at Purdue. Wasikowski and Marder worked together at Oregon in 2015 and 2016 after Marder returned to Eugene to finish his bachelor's degree in political science while serving as an undergraduate assistant with the Ducks.
Marder was drafted twice during his career, getting selected after his senior year of high school by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2009 MLB First-Year Player Draft and later by the Seattle Mariners in 2011 as a draft-eligible sophomore at Oregon. He moved up from a 30th-round pick to the 16th round after his two collegiate seasons under Oregon head coach George Horton.
The Calabasas, California, native played four professional seasons (2011-14) in the Mariners system, compiling a .289 career batting average. He was an All-Star in the California League (High A) in 2012 and ranked among the Mariners' top-20 prospects during multiple seasons. He earned Defensive Player of the Month honors in the Mariners system at both catcher (2012) and second base (2014) during his career.
Marder has been an assistant coach for the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod League the last two summers. He also played for Falmouth in the summer of 2011. With Oregon, he served as the first base coach and worked extensively with the catchers. He also coached in USA Baseball's National Team Identification Series, a tournament held in Cary, North Carolina.
As a two-year starter and team captain at Oregon, Marder was an Academic All-District and Pac-10 Conference All-Academic Team honoree as a sophomore. He split time as a first baseman and outfielder in 2010 and then moved behind the plate for his sophomore season. He had an eight-RBI game in a win against Nevada as a freshman and was hit a by a pitch an Oregon-record 32 times over his two years. The versatile performer had 11 doubles, 10 sacrifice bunts and a .997 fielding percentage as a freshman. The following season, he stole 10 bases and remained an active part of the team as a pinch runner even after suffering a broken thumb in early May. The Ducks won 40 games and qualified for an NCAA Regional in 2010, just the program's second season after being relaunched.
In September 2012, Marder played for Israel at a World Baseball Classic qualification round tournament in Florida. His sister Sam was a a three-time All-American catcher and at Ohio State (2007-10), played professionally in the National Pro Fastpitch League, and is currently an assistant coach with the softball program at Texas Tech. She was inducted into the OSU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.
Marder will spearhead the expansion and organization of Purdue baseball's summer camps and indoor winter camps at the Mollenkopf Athletic Center. More information about camps can be found at PurdueSportCamps.com.