Chris Krepline took over the Lawrence University baseball program in September 2018, and the team has quickly become one of the best in the Midwest Conference.
The 2024 team won its second Midwest Conference titles in three seasons and set a school record for victories with a 31-11 record. Krepline was named the 2024 Midwest Conference Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.
Lawrence had a school-record four players named to All-America teams in 2024 with outfielder Jacob Charon earning first-team honors from both D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association. Outfielder Parker Knoll was a first-team pick by the ABCA and a fifth-team choice by D3baseball.com. Pitcher Quinn Berglin was an ABCA fourth-team pick and a fifth-team selection by D3baseball.com. Outfielder Edan Perez was a fifth-team pick by D3baseball.com. Charon was the Midwest Conference Player of the Year, and Berglin was the league's Pitcher of the Year.
The 2022 squad won the Midwest Conference title and set a school record for victories with a 26-13 record. Lawrence swept through the Midwest Conference Tournament to earn their first trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament since 1979. Krepline was named D3baseball.com and American Baseball Coaches Association Region 9 Coach of the Year and Midwest Conference Coach of the Year. Charon was named Midwest Conference Player of the Year, Berglin was Pitcher of the Year and Knoll was Newcomer of the Year. Charon earned American Baseball Coaches Association All-America honors, and Charon, Berglin, Knoll and Taylor Freeman all received all-region accolades.
In 2021, Lawrence finished the season with the third-highest win total in school history. They Vikings more than tripled their win total from the last full season in 2019. On the offensive side, Lawrence finished with a school-record 17 triples and the pitching staff recorded a school-record with 229 strikeouts. Lawrence also posted top-three numbers in school history for home runs, stolen bases, runs scored, runs batted in, walks and fielding percentage.
Since 2019, Krepline has coached 21 All-Midwest Conference players, and the Vikings have captured the Position Player of the Year, the Pitcher of the Year, and Newcomer of the Year awards. During that time, Lawrence has had five All-America selections and 12 All-Region 9 selections.
Krepline also manages the Green Bay Rockers in the prestigious Northwoods League. Krepline led his team to the 2023 Northwoods League title.
Krepline, who earlier served as an assistant coach for the Vikings, returned to Lawrence after serving as an assistant coach at St. Norbert College since 2015. A native of Reedsville, Wis., and former star at Carthage College, Krepline was an assistant for the Vikings in 2013 and 2014 and worked with the pitchers, catchers and infielders.
Before coming to Lawrence, Krepline worked with the pitching staff at St. Norbert College for four seasons. During that time, he coached six All-Midwest Conference and four All-Central Region pitchers. St. Norbert had the Midwest Conference North Division Pitcher of the Year in three separate seasons with the 2018 selection sharing the honor with Lawrence's Chris Shaw. With Krepline on the staff, St. Norbert won three Midwest Conference North Division titles, a Midwest Conference championship and played in the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament.
In addition to his college coaching experience, Krepline is the manager of the Green Bay Rockers of the Northwoods League and has coached in the Beach Collegiate League.
In addition to his college coaching experience, Krepline was the Reedsville High School coach from 2011 to 2013. At Reedsville, Krepline coached his Panthers to a WIAA Regional title and a spot in the sectional tournament in 2012.
A 2009 graduate of Carthage, Krepline has a bachelor's degree in exercise and sport science. He earned a Master's degree in applied exercise science from Concordia University Chicago in 2015. A standout pitcher at Carthage, Krepline was chosen for the All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin first team in 2007. Krepline also earned All-Central Region honors and was named to the All-Central Regional Tournament team.
Krepline played for Carthage in the finals of the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship at Fox Cities Stadium and helped his squad to a fifth-place finish in 2007. A shoulder injury derailed Krepline's pitching career in 2008, but he did return to play for Carthage in 2010.
Also a standout wide receiver for the Carthage football team, Krepline was a starter on the squad that reached the 2004 NCAA Division III semifinals and won the CCIW championship.
Krepline played professional baseball for two years with stints on the Lake County Fielders, Macon Pinetoppers, Saskatchewan Silver Sox and Rockford River Hawks.
Krepline and his wife, Bri, have two sons, Boe and Crewe, and a daughter, Sadie.
