Carthage College baseball coach Augie Schmidt IV wias inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in January 2014. The 2014 ABCA Hall of Fame/Coach of the Year Banquet took place on Jan. 3 as part of that organization's annual convention at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas.

Joining Schmidt as inductees were Stetson University's Pete Dunn, Minnesota State University's Tink Larson, Jack Leggett from Clemson University, Louisiana State University's Paul Mainieri, Jim O'Brien from Los Angeles Harbor College and Eastern Washington University's Jim Wasem.

A proven winner with Carthage in his blood, Schmidt begins his 27th season as head baseball coach in 2014 (798-344-5, 26 years, a .699 career winning percentage). He continues the winning tradition of his father, Augie Schmidt III, who won 276 games and five College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championships in 18 years at Carthage. The Carthage baseball facility, which underwent a complete renovation this past year, will re-open in March as Augie Schmidt Field, in honor of both coaches.

In 26 seasons, Schmidt has transformed the Red Men from CCIW basement-dwellers to national contenders. Under his tenure, Carthage has claimed eight outright CCIW divisional titles, one divisional-title tie, nine conference crowns, 16 NCAA regional berths, including nine-straight from 1992-2000, six regional titles, third-place finishes in both the 1993 and 1994 NCAA Division III Baseball Championships and fourth place in both 1995 and 1997. For his efforts, Schmidt has been named ABCA/Diamond Sports NCAA Division III Central Regional "Coach Of The Year" nine times (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2009), won the ABCA/Louisville Slugger Conference Award seven times from 1993-99, and has been named CCIW "Baseball Coach of the Year" on 10 occasions (1989, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2007 and 2009).

A native Kenoshan and a 1979 graduate of Bradford High School, Schmidt was drafted by Cincinnati Reds in the ninth round of that year's Major League Baseball draft. Schmidt opted to play collegiate ball at the University of New Orleans, where he was a three-year starter at shortstop. In his junior year of 1982, he batted .372 with 14 home runs and 56 RBI, was named first-team All-America by both the American Baseball Coaches Association and by Baseball America and was honored by the United States Baseball Federation with the "Golden Spikes Award" as amateur baseball's player of the year. In 2005, Schmidt was inducted into the Greater New Orleans Hall of Fame, and a plaque recognizing that honor hangs in the Louisiana Superdome. He will also be inducted into the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2013.

Schmidt was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays as the second pick overall in the 1982 major league draft, one pick behind the Chicago Cubs and Shawon Dunston and ahead of such players as Jose Canseco, Dwight Gooden, Jimmy Key, Bret Saberhagen, Terry Pendleton, Todd Worrell and Mike Greenwell. Schmidt played three seasons in the Toronto farm system before the Blue Jays traded him to the San Francisco Giants system in 1985. He retired as an active player midway through the 1986 season and joined the Carthage coaching staff in 1987. He spent a year as an assistant before assuming head coaching duties in 1988.

"This is a tremendous honor," said Schmidt, "but I'm a little shocked by it. To be included in that group of coaches, I don't know if I quite fit into that category. There are some great coaches in the ABCA Hall of Fame, including some who have coached me. It feels good that people at Carthage and others that I've associated with would think enough of me to nominate me. More than anything else, it's humbling, and it's hard to talk about without getting emotional. We've put in a lot of time at Carthage. We've been lucky along the way and have had a lot of great support from the school, from a lot of assistant coaches and from a lot of great players."

"The name Augie Schmidt is deeply associated with athletic excellence at Carthage College," says Carthage President Gregory Woodward. "The college has been blessed to have this family legacy of excellence, especially in our baseball program. To be recognized by your peers as a member of a hall of fame is an outstanding and singular achievement. This great honor for Augie Schmidt IV continues the lasting legacy of his father, highlights his own incredible career, and makes everyone associated with Carthage extremely proud of our athletes and our coaches."

"Over the past 22 years, I have shared with Augie every professional highlight and challenge in his career," says Carthage Director of Athletics Robert Bonn, "as well as all of the celebrations and tribulations in his personal life. We have been very close. His induction into the ABCA Hall of Fame is not a surprise to me. I have been saying for years that he is one of the best college baseball coaches in the country and throughout history. He is is the only coach that I did not hire at Carthage. How could I fire him? He makes me laugh every day, and his players and teams accomplish amazing things. Augie, Congratulations! Your Mom would be very proud and so is Carthage!"

"In our business, there are few people who can just grab your attention at any level, and Augie is one of them," says Carthage men's soccer coach and former Red Men baseball player Steve Domin. "As a guy who played many sports growing up, and was fortunate to play for Augie, I can say that his style is unique, and it made me want to dig deeper; much like a father who is also your brother. He mentors like no other, and most truly don't get it. He's great at the love/hate thing. He is so hard on you, but he does it in a way that you want to do more. He gets his players to compete for each other, more than for him. And that's what most don't realize. I am tremendously proud that the ABCA has cemented Augie's contribution to his sport and proud of Carthage and the Carthage community for helping Augie achieve this honor."