Bio

Jim Schurr is a 31-year coaching veteran of softball, baseball, and football, and joins the Carnegie Mellon University softball staff for his first season in 2024.

Schurr is an Illinois native who played college baseball at Western Kentucky University and Harper Junior College where he was a first-team all-region selection and received honorable mention All-American recognition. Schurr played in the Midwest Region All-Star game, serving as team captain, and earned MVP honors.

Schurr began his coaching career at Elk Grove High School (Illinois) where he served as an athletic trainer, assistant football coach, and head baseball coach from 1990 to 1994.

Schurr had a four-year stint at Niles North High School (Illinois) from 1995 to 1999 as the assistant baseball and football coach before heading the football program for the final two years.

A move to Libertyville High School (Illinois) positioned Schurr as a varsity football coach from 1999 to 2015 while simultaneously serving as the head baseball coach from 2002 to 2015. The football program won the state championship in 2004 and were runner-up in 2003 and 2016 with Schurr controlling the quarterbacks and receivers.

As head baseball coach at Libertyville, Schurr's 2013 team played for the state championship and he was honored as the Illinois High School Baseball Coach of the Year. Schurr coached many players who continued their careers in college with 24 playing Division I ball and six players reaching the pro level. He also coached the 2014 Gatorade Player of the Year.

Two other honors were bestowed on Schurr, as he was selected to coach the East team in the 2014 Power-Showcase National High School All-American game at Miami Marlins Stadium and he was named the 2015 Chicagoland Coach of the Year by the Keep Swinging Foundation and the Chicagoland Professional Scouts Association. He concluded his high school coaching career with a 343-158-1 record.

In 2016, Schurr was appointed State Coordinator of Illinois and the Great Lakes Region for USA Baseball National Team Identification Series (NTIS) and in 2017 he pivoted to become a managing partner of Classic Baseball/Softball and helped form the Academic Achievement Games (AAG). The AAG is a premier college softball showcase for high academic student-athletes.

Schurr has additional coaching experience after serving as a volunteer assistant coach for the softball team at Ball State University in 2021. While with the Cardinals, Schurr worked with the infielders and assisted with hitting. The Cardinals set a program record with 31 Mid-America Conference (MAC) wins, including the longest single-season MAC winning streak in program history at 16 games.  The team, which finished the year with a 37-18 overall record, broke the program's single-season doubles record with 101 and finished the campaign with single-season program records for batting average (.329) and on base percentage (.415). The defense also proved to be a strength, as the team ended the season ranked sixth nationally with an average of 0.55 double plays per game. The Cardinals turned 29 doubles plays, the third-most in a single season for the program.

Schurr moved to Pittsburgh in 2023 with his wife, Lacy. who is the associate head softball coach at the University of Pittsburgh. Schurr has two sons, Austin (A.J.) and Nicholas.