Williamstown baseball hires Chris Schmitt as head coach
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WILLIAMSTOWN -- Chris Schmitt's tenure as Waterford's varsity baseball coach may be over, but the veteran skipper isn't going far.
Schmitt has been named the new head baseball coach at Williamstown, where he's been an assistant coach in the football program for six years. He replaces Levi Maxwell, who spent six years as the Yellowjackets' head man.
"I knew Levi took the position at South," Schmitt said, "so I knew this was coming open. I'm an assistant football coach at Williamstown, so I knew most of the players and had a relationship with them. I decided to go ahead and apply."
Schmitt began his coaching career at his alma mater, Union Local, when he was just 19 years old. He eventually became the head baseball coach there in 2013.
In 2023, Schmitt accepted the Waterford coaching job. He spent four years with the Wildcats, winning 36 games over the last two seasons, including two district finals appearances and the 2026 district championship.
"I just had some conversations with some of the guys (Wednesday)," Schmitt said. "Waterford was a great place. The athletic program is going in the right direction. I loved seeing the 'Sea of Green' when we made that tournament run. Seeing our players through the last four years -- they all bought into each other. We started out 1-4 last year and ended up winning the district. Adversity -- these guys faced it and battled. That's Waterford."
Schmitt helped develop three All-Ohio players at Waterford -- Zavier Heiss was a second teamer in 2025 while Braun Doak and Hayden Jones were first team honorees last season.
Now, he inherits a Williamstown team that won 20 games last season and fell one win shy of reaching the state tournament.
"Williamstown has a tradition of excellence," Schmitt said. "The standard is championships. I understand that, and it doesn't come by accident. They have great players, great coaches, and the biggest thing is they have a supportive community base. I know there's high expectations going into it. We want to win state championships."
Williamstown graduated five seniors from last year's club in Jenner Burge, Wyatt Powell, Tyler Keiser, Tyler Coleman and Dylan Pucella. Among the key players expected to return are Wyatt Siley, Jackson Fulton, Noah Powell, Ben Raines, Colt Rinard, Daniel Cunningham and Brayden Strcula.
The next step for Schmitt is filling out his coaching staff.
"I have a few guys in mind, just waiting on a yes or no, either way," he said. "The coaching staff has to happen first. Then, I want to meet with the players, parents, get to know each other, build those relationships and start building our program. I'm just excited for the opportunity. I'm excited to get these guys going."
Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@newsandsentinel.com.