Mark P. Wasikowski (born March 24, 1971) is an American college baseball coach, currently serving as head coach of the Oregon Ducks baseball team.[1]

Mark Wasikowski
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamOregon
ConferenceBig Ten
Record164–90
Biographical details
Born (1971-03-24) March 24, 1971 (age 53)
Seal Beach, California, U.S.
Alma materPepperdine University
Playing career
1990Hawaii
1991Santa Ana College
1992–1993Pepperdine
Position(s)Third baseman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1994Pepperdine (undergrad)
1997–1998Southeast Missouri State (assistant)
1999–2001Florida (assistant)
2002–2011Arizona (assistant)
2012–2016Oregon (assistant)
2017–2019Purdue
2020–presentOregon
Head coaching record
Overall251–172
TournamentsBig Ten: 3–3
Pac 12: 6–5
NCAA: 10–8
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Pac 12 Conference Tournament (2023)
Awards

Wasikowski was a third baseman at Hawaii, Rancho Santiago and Pepperdine and was on the team that won the 1992 College World Series. He later earned All-West Coast Conference honors twice and was a team captain as a senior in 1993. Following the 1993 season, Wasikowski was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers,[2] but he opted to stay at Pepperdine to complete his bachelor's degree. Beginning in 1997, Wasikowski was a graduate assistant at Southeast Missouri State University. Upon completion of the 1998 season, Wasikowski was named an assistant at Florida, where he was reunited with his former coach, Andy Lopez. Wasikowski would go with Lopez to Arizona, where he spent 10 season with the Wildcats. In 2012, Wasikowski was hired to be an assistant at Oregon.

On July 24, 2016, Wasikowski earned his first head coaching job at Purdue.[3] On February 17, 2017, Wasikowski won his first ever game as a college coach.[4]

Early life

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Wasikowski attended Los Alamitos High School in Los Alamitos, California.[5] Wasikowski was a three-year starter at shortstop on the school's baseball team. On April 25, 1989, Wasikowski signed with the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors baseball team.[6]

Playing career

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Wasikowski lettered for the Rainbow Warriors during the 1990 season.[7] He transferred to the Rancho Santiago Community College District and played for the Santa Ana College Dons. His play for the Dons earned him a scholarship to Pepperdine University.[8]

As a sophomore in 1992, Wasikowski batted .311 with a .466 SLG, 4 home runs, and 31 RBIs and lead the team with 18 doubles. He was named second team All-West Coast Conference.[9] Pepperdine went a perfect 4–0 en route to a victory in the 1992 College World Series.[10]

In the 1993 season as a senior, the Waves had almost an entirely new roster.[11] He was named first team All-WCC.[12] Wasikowski lead the team in at bats (224) and hits (70),[13] but the Waves were eliminated in the West Regional.[14]

During the 1993 MLB Draft, Wasikowski was selected in the 35th round by the Milwaukee Brewers.[15]

Coaching career

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Southeast Missouri State

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In 1997, Wasikowski was hired as a graduate assistant under head coach Mark Hogan. In 1998, Wasikowski helped the RedHawks qualify for their first ever NCAA Regional appearance.[16]

Florida

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In 1999, Wasikowski joined the Florida Gators baseball staff under his former Pepperdine head coach, Andy Lopez.

Arizona

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When Lopez was hired at Arizona, he brought Wasikowski with him on his staff.[17] During Wasikowski's 10 years on the staff, the Wildcats earned 7 Regional berths and a trip to the 2004 College World Series.

Oregon

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In 2012, Wasikowski was hired by the Oregon Ducks baseball program.[18]

Purdue

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Wasikowski inherited a team that went 10–44 in 2016 finishing last in the Big Ten Conference. Wasikowski guided the Boilermakers to a 29–25 regular season, clinching the 8th seed in the 2017 Big Ten Conference baseball tournament.[19] Purdue's 19 win improvement in 2017 from 2016 was the largest improvement in NCAA Division I baseball during the 2017 season.[20]

Oregon

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On June 11, 2019, Wasikowski returned to Oregon as the head coach.[21]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Purdue Boilermakers (Big Ten Conference) (2017–2019)
2017 Purdue 29–27 12–12 8th Big Ten tournament
2018 Purdue 38–21 17–6 2nd NCAA Regional
2019 Purdue 20–34 7–16 12th
Purdue: 87–82 (.515) 36–34 (.514)
Oregon Ducks (Pac-12 Conference) (2020–202r)
2020 Oregon 8–7 0–0 Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021 Oregon 39–16 20–10 2nd NCAA Regional
2022 Oregon 36–25 18–12 4th NCAA Regional
2023 Oregon 41–22 16–14 6th NCAA Super Regional
2024 Oregon 40–20 19–11 3rd NCAA Super Regional
Oregon Ducks (Big Ten Conference) (2025–present)
2025 Oregon 0–0 0–0
Oregon: 164–90 (.646) 73–47 (.608)
Total: 251–172 (.593)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Wasikowski Named Head Baseball Coach". www.purduesports.com. Purdue University. June 24, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  2. ^ "Mark Wasikowski". www.baseball-reference.com. Baseball-Reference. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  3. ^ Nathan Baird (June 24, 2016). "Purdue hires Oregon assistant as baseball coach". www.jconline.com. Lafayette Journal & Courier. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  4. ^ "Purdue baseball rolls to season-opening win". www.wlfi.com. Lafayette TV LLC. February 18, 2017. Archived from the original on February 25, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  5. ^ Bill Robertson (May 5, 1988). "Empire League Baseball : Los Alamitos Breaks Out of Slump Against Esperanza With 7–4 Win". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  6. ^ "College Signings : Two Women Gymnasts to Attend Fullerton". Los Angeles Times. April 25, 1989. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  7. ^ "All-Time Baseball Letterwinners". www.hawaiiathletics.com. 2018 University of Hawai'i Athletics. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  8. ^ "Scholarship Winners". www.sacdons.com. Santa Ana College. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  9. ^ "Former County Players Earn First-Team Honors". Los Angeles Times. May 16, 1992. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  10. ^ Gary Klein (June 7, 1992). "'89 Wave Recruits Are Class of '92 : College Series: Pepperdine wins first national championship in baseball with a 3–2 victory over Fullerton". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  11. ^ Gary Klein (October 31, 1992). "Still a Hit : Pepperdine Continues to Benefit From the Exposure Gained Last Season in Winning the NCAA Baseball Championship". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  12. ^ "The Pepperdine baseball history and records book" (PDF). www.cstv.com. Pepperdine University. July 7, 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  13. ^ "2008 Pepperdine Waves Media Guide" (PDF). www.cstv.com. Pepperdine University. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  14. ^ "COLLEGE BASEBALL : Pepperdine, UCLA and Northridge Lose". Los Angeles Times. May 30, 1993. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  15. ^ "Waves in the MLB Draft" (PDF). www.cstv.com. Pepperdine University. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  16. ^ "Redhawks Welcome Boilermakers of Purdue to Capaha". www.gosoutheast.com. Southeast Missouri State University. March 2, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  17. ^ "Andy Lopez Hired As Arizona's Head Baseball Coach". www.pac-12.com. Pac-12 Conference. July 16, 2001. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  18. ^ Aaron Fentress (May 11, 2012). "Oregon baseball: Assistant coach Mark Wasikowski raises Ducks' intensity". www.oregonlive.com. Oregon Live LLC. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  19. ^ "Big Ten berth completes Purdue baseball turnaround". www.jconline.com. Lafayette Journal & Courier. May 20, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  20. ^ "Baseball Remains Nation's Most Improved". www.purduesports.com. Purdue University. May 1, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  21. ^ James Crepea (June 11, 2019). "Oregon Ducks hire Purdue's Mark Wasikowski, former UO assistant, as baseball coach". www.oregonlive.com. Oregon Live LLC. Retrieved June 12, 2019.
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