Program alumnus John Madia rejoined Purdue baseball in the fall of 2015, establishing the program's operations role. He transitioned to director of player development in December 2019. The 2023-24 school year will be his fifth as director of player development and ninth overall as part of the team's staff.
Madia continues to provide guidance to the coaching staff and mentorship for the student-athletes. Skill refinement and identifying areas for growth are the focus of his statistical and video analysis. He continues to lead the program's alumni relations and outreach while also assisting with on-campus recruiting and coordinating community service activities. In coordination with Purdue Athletics' EMPOWER staff that oversee student-athlete development, Madia has led the way as baseball annually compiles the most service hours in the community among the department -- totaling over 600 hours during the 2021-22 school year. The Boilermakers had also reached the 500-hour mark prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Madia maintains his regular presence at practice, games and on road trips -- providing the staff a comprehensive perspective from the dugout. He also works to cultivate relationships with high school and summer league coaches/organizations.
Prior to returning to Purdue in his operations role, Madia worked in industry as an executive with Dow Chemical and CH2M as a global business and HR leader. Throughout his career, Madia has served on the Purdue Athletic Advisory Board and held various advisory roles to the College of Agriculture. In addition, he has been active with amateur baseball as a former coach and member of the Indiana Bulls Baseball executive board. Prior to that, Madia was an associate scout for the Baltimore Orioles organization.
As a student-athlete, Madia played first base for the Boilermakers under Joe Sexson and Dave Alexander. As a sophomore, he was second on the team hitting with a .291 batting average and led all regulars with a .981 fielding percentage. He was the first Boilermaker player selected as recipient of the Clyde Lyle Award (top player who began his career as a walk-on).
As the director of baseball operations, Madia was responsible for baseball alumni outreach, player and staff professional/career development, and other general marketing/operations duties to advance the program.
A native of Utica, New York, Madia earned a bachelor's degree from Purdue and has been honored by the School of Animal Sciences and the College of Agriculture as a Distinguished Alumnus in 2006 and 2007, respectively. In 2014, Madia was selected as a Purdue Old Master.
John and his wife, Jean, also a Purdue graduate, have four children and Boilermaker graduates, Megan ('05), Kate ('07), Drew ('10), a former Boilermaker Baseball player and Dan ('11).
MADIA’S AREAS OF EMPHASIS AS DIRECTOR OF PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
• Assists/provides guidance to head coach and staff
• Video coordination and statistical analysis
• Mentorship of student-athletes
• Student-athlete discussion focusing on personal development and identifying areas for growth
• Leads alumni relations and outreach
• Assists on-campus recruiting
• Practice and game planning with coaching staff
• Coordinates community service activities
• Cultivates relationships with high school and summer league coaches/organizations
John Madia