Staff Directory
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- Assistant Coach
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A highly-respected member of the collegiate baseball community, Nick Schnabel enters his first season as an assistant coach at Liberty. Schnabel serves as the Flames’ recruiting coordinator, hitting instructor and third base coach. He also works with the squad’s infielders.
“Coach Schnabel is a high-energy guy who is one of the top young up-and-coming coaches in the country,” states Liberty Head Coach Jim Toman. “He is a man of solid Christian morals and is an asset to both Liberty University and our baseball program.”
Schnabel comes to Liberty after two seasons as an assistant coach at the U.S. Military Academy. He served as the team’s hitting instructor, while working with the Cadet infielders and overseeing the club’s defensive alignment.
In 2006, Schnabel’s first season at West Point, the Black Knights posted their third-consecutive 30-plus victory season, winning 17 out of their last 21 contests to finish the season at 30-20-1 overall. Last season, Army advanced to its third Patriot League title game in four years. Meanwhile, Schnabel gained a reputation as tireless recruiter, leading Army’s national recruiting effort with an emphasis on the East Coast.
As Army’s hitting instructor, Schnabel played a large role in a pair of Black Knight players – Milan Dinga and Cole White – earning All-Patriot League and regional honors.
In 2006, Dinga was named to the Pro-Line Cap All-America Team presented by The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Northeast Region second team. The first-team All-Patriot League outfielder led Army in nine offensive categories, including a .385 batting average and a .621 slugging percentage. Dinga established a new Academy record when he registered a 25-game hitting streak during the season. This past year, the outfielder/relief pitcher closed out his career with 257 hits and 356 total bases, both school and Patriot League marks.
Dinga was one of two Cadets picked in the first 10 rounds of the Major League Draft in June. He was selected in the 10th round by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, while teammate Nick Hill was picked in the seventh round by the Seattle Mariners.
Last season, White was named the Patriot League Player of the Year and to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Northeast Region first team, after capturing the league’s batting title with a .408 average. The outfielder/pitcher also led Patriot League hitters in total bases (103) and slugging percentage (.575). In addition, White was named first team All-Patriot League each of Schnabel’s two seasons at West Point, becoming the first player to earn league honors at three different positions (outfielder, first base and pitcher).
A 2000 graduate of East Carolina University, where he lettered twice as the Pirates’ starting second baseman, Schnabel began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant coach in charge of the infield and assisted with hitting instruction at his alma mater in 2004. That season, East Carolina won 51 games and competed in the NCAA Super Regional in Columbia, S.C. The Pirates finished the season eighth in the country with a .975 fielding percentage and posted a .318 team batting average.
The following summer, Schnabel was named an assistant coach at Chipola College in Marianna, Fla., where he filled the roles of infield instructor, assistant hitting instructor and academic monitor in 2005. On the field that season, the Indians captured the Panhandle Conference Championship and went on to finish second in the state of Florida, reaching the state championship game.
As a player, the first-team Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) selection was named CAA “Defensive Player of the Year” in 1999 and helped the Pirates capture consecutive league championships in 1999 and 2000. East Carolina secured a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Regionals during both seasons. He began his collegiate career at Ohlone College in Fremont, Calif., where he was a first-team all-conference performer and preseason Junior College All-American.
Following graduation, Schnabel spent four years in the Montreal Expos organization (2000-03), navigating his way through five levels of the farm system. He concluded his professional playing career with the 2003 Brevard County Mantees. Schnabel was part of the Double-A Harrisburg Senators, which reached the Eastern League Finals in 2002.
Schnabel married his wife, the former Emily Gail Cox, in December 2007.
