June 13, 2007

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - University of Memphis head baseball coach Daron Schoenrock has agreed in principle to a contract extension and salary increase that will keep the successful skipper in the Tiger dugout through the 2011 season. Memphis Athletic Director R.C. Johnson made the announcement during a quarterly supporters' luncheon on Wednesday.

"We are very proud of what Coach Schoenrock and his staff have been able to accomplish with our baseball program," Johnson stated. "He has done a masterful job of turning a struggling program around in a short period of time. I truly believe that if we can continue to help him upgrade his program, he will have the Tigers contending for the conference championship and the NCAA Tournament each season."

Schoenrock's 2007 Tiger team posted a 36-25 record through the Conference USA Tournament and received its first invitation to the NCAA Regional Baseball Tournament in 13 years. During the regular season, Memphis had impressive wins over such nationally-ranked teams as Clemson, Tulane, Southern Miss and Rice.

In three short seasons, Schoenrock has changed the face of Memphis baseball. After his inaugural season, Schoenrock confirmed what many in the coaching world believed to be true when he was hired--that he was one of the top new head coaches in the business and that he could turn around a once successful Memphis baseball program. He has accomplished that, transforming a 13-42 program in 2005, into a 36-27 NCAA Nashville Regional participant in 2007.

He wasted little time working to get the Tiger baseball program back on track, signing 25 newcomers for the 2006 season, including four four-year transfers, a National Junior College Player of the Year honoree and five major league draftees. Schoenrock brought those additions together and led the Tigers to a 32-win season in just his second campaign. The 32 wins were the most wins for Schoenrock in his three years as a head coach and the most by a Memphis baseball club since 2001. The 19-game turnaround tied for the second-best winning turnaround in the country in 2006 and also tied for the best turnaround in Tiger baseball history--tying that of the 2001 team. Along with that 32-28 mark came Memphis' first appearance in the Conference USA semifinals since the 2001 season.

Schoenrock was not satisfied with just one season of success and, along with his staff and student-athletes raised the bar, setting the NCAA Regionals as its goal.

For a talented 2007 Tiger squad, Schoenrock put together a solid national schedule that included the likes of Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Clemson in a strong non-conference slate. Under Schoenrock, the Memphis Tigers knocked off its first top-10 opponents since 2003, when it downed then-No. 6 Clemson and No. 2 Rice. Coupled with its national non-conference schedule and its strong C-USA ledger, the NCAA goal was realized on May 28, when Memphis was selected to play in the Nashville Regional as the No. 3 seed.

In Schoenrock's third campaign, the Tigers showed even more improvement, posting the most regular-season wins (33) since 1994 in its first consecutive 30-win years since the 1994-95 seasons. The Tigers proved to be one of C-USA's top programs as they won a program-high, three C-USA Championship contests en route to its second consecutive tournament semifinal appearance. Schoenrock led Memphis to a 36-27 finish, marking the most victories for a Tiger baseball team in 13 years.