Brian Schmack joined the Crusaders’ coaching staff as the team’s pitching coach prior to the 2007 season.  Prior to the 2011 season, Schmack was promoted to associate head coach.

In 2010, Schmack saw starting hurler Bryce Shafer earn Horizon League Pitcher of the Year honors after he posted a 7-4 record with 121 strikeouts for the Brown and Gold.  Shafer went on to be drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 2010 Major League Baseball draft.  Left-hander Jon Gulbransen was also signed by the Chicago White Sox organization as a free agent following the 2011 campaign.

In his third season with the Crusaders, he guided a pitching staff which led the Horizon League in earned run average at 4.47.  In addition, closer Jarad Miller has become the school’s save leader in just two years, while earning Third Team All-America accolades in 2009.  

In 2008, Schmack saw another of his young pitchers named to the Horizon League’s All-Newcomer Team.

In his first season with the Crusaders, one of Schmack’s starting pitchers earned Second Team All Mid-Continent Conference honors.  His staff’s earned run average was 4.66 in 2007, the team’s lowest since 2004, and second lowest ERA in the last 20 years. In addition, closer Dallas Cawiezell was selected in the Major League Baseball draft and signed with the Cleveland Indians in the summer of 2007.

Schmack pitched in professional baseball from 1995-2004 in the Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, and Detroit Tigers organizations after breaking in with the Newark Bison of the Frontier League.  In 2003, Schmack broke into the big leagues with the Tigers, appearing in 11 games and posting a 1-0 record with a 3.46 ERA.  He earned his first major league victory against Cleveland on September 2, 2003.

At Erie, Schmack was named to TOPPS’ AA all-star squad in 2003, leading the Eastern League with 29 saves.  In 2000, he tied for third in the International League (AAA) with 11 victories for Charlotte.

Schmack was the pitching coach at Elk Grove High School (Ill.) during the 2005 season and has also provided pitching instruction for many years to individuals throughout his career.

Schmack pitched collegiately at Northern Illinois University from 1992-1995.  He earned his bachelor’s degree in sports management from Valparaiso University in 2009.  He and his wife, Cari, have three children, Kyle born in 2001, and twins Ella and Riley born in 2004.