A 20-year veteran of the coaching ranks, Mike Zandler is in his second season as the head baseball coach at Illinois Springfield.
In his first year at the helm of the Prairie Stars he guided the team to a program-best nine wins. UIS also bosted a second team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference West Division performer in Nate Blessman.
Zandler came to UIS after spending five seasons as an assistant coach at Davidson College where he worked primarily with the pitching staff and served as the recruiting coordinator. During his tenure, Wildcat pitchers had shown consistent improvement, posting a declining team ERA and opponent's batting average in each of his five seasons. In addition to the development of the Davidson pitching staff, Zandler’s recruiting efforts have yielded consecutive selections to the Louisville Slugger D-I Freshman All-America Team with third baseman Andrew Barna selected in 2010 and outfielder Forrest Brandt in 2011. During Zandler’s tenure at Davidson, three student-athletes were named to the All-Southern Conference Freshman Team and 27 Wildcats garnered academic all-conference selections.
During the 2011 season, the Wildcat pitching staff ranked among league leaders in ERA, finishing with a team ERA of 4.64 — Davidson's best since 1977 and led the SoCon in fewest walks per nine innings. Additionally, Zandler coached a pair of Wildcats selected in the 2011 Major League Baseball draft in left-handed pitcher Chris Lamb (11th round, 346th overall) and right-handed pitcher Andy Bass (18th round, 570th overall). Lamb, who earned national and SoCon Pitcher of the Week honors with an 11-strikeout, 1-0 complete-game shutout of Furman, became the highest pitcher drafted in Davidson history, while Zandler also coached Mike Frongello to the all-time SoCon appearance record (136) in 2011.
Individually, several Wildcat pitchers have prospered under Zandler's tutelage. Matt Webb, named to the All-Southern Conference Second Team in 2007, finished his Wildcat career with a 3.49 career ERA, ranking seventh on Davidson's all-time list and tied for third on the career saves list. His eight saves in 2007 ranked the third most by a Davidson pitcher in a single season. Mike Frongello led the SoCon in appearances with 34 in 2009, setting the new standard for single-season appearances at Davidson as well. Frongello earned Southern Conference Pitcher of the Week honors in 2009, the first Wildcat pitcher to earn the honor since Jay Haefner in 2006, and in 2010, he became the Wildcat's all-time appearance leader as a junior.
Prior to arriving at Davidson, Zandler spent four years as the pitching coach at Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C. His Quaker staff in 2006 year posted its lowest ERA (4.32) in the previous 13 seasons. One of his pitchers, Logan Collier, was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 37th round, becoming Guilford’s first pick in the MLB First-Year Draft since 2000. During his four years with Guilford, the team posted a record of 95-68.
Zandler spent nine seasons coaching and teaching at the high school level before joining the Quakers, serving as the head coach at Page High School in Greensboro.
A 1991 graduate of Bridgewater College in Virginia with a degree in political science, Zandler went on to earn a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction at Virginia Tech. Zandler and his wife Kimberley, have a daughter, Caroline and a son, Matthew.
