By Craig Craker
Joe Schaefer had a choice.
He could sit in the dugout, frustrated after losing a game his team seemed destined to win. Or he could do what he has always done as a head coach: be there for his players, no matter the outcome.
He chose the latter.
As the final play unfolded and the winning run crossed the plate, Schaefer rushed onto the field to comfort pitcher Jonathan Zayas, who had just made the throw that allowed the game to slip away.
“Some of those guys didn’t just lose that game, but it was the last game they would ever play,” said Schaefer, NNU head baseball coach. “I was just trying to love on them and let them know that their whole career or season doesn’t come down to one moment. Yes, the pain is going to last, but look back on the accomplishment of making it that far.”
The Nighthawks were just two outs away from reaching the NCAA Division II Baseball National Championship series before the game unraveled in the bottom of the ninth inning.
“In the moment, he just told me, ‘Thank you for being you,’” Zayas said. “He was hugging me and telling me how proud he was of me and that this doesn’t change anything that we accomplished.”
That moment came at the end of what had been the greatest season in NNU’s NCAA history.
The Nighthawks captured the GNAC regular season title, the GNAC tournament championship and the NCAA West Region title. They advanced to the Division II College World Series and won two games there. Their 46 wins shattered the previous program record of 36 and set a new conference record.
Schaefer was named the 2025 ABCA West Region Coach of the Year, and players Ernesto Lugo-Canchola and Cole Calnon earned consensus All-America honors.
There was a lot to celebrate, even in the midst of disappointment.
“In maybe your greatest moment of disappointment as a coach, instead of thinking about that or being frustrated or mad, he was out there giving that pitcher a hug,” said NNU Athletic Director Paul Rush. “He handled that moment the way we all as coaches would like to—picking a kid up instead of focusing on what could have been.”
That steady, grounded leadership didn’t happen overnight.
Schaefer traces it back to his early years at Point Loma Nazarene University, where he played and later served as an assistant coach. At the time, he was known for being fiery and emotional, sometimes letting frustration show when things didn’t go his way.
When he became head coach in 2009, his athletic director and mentor, Caroll Land, challenged him to change.
“He told me I needed to work on being more even-keeled and less emotional,” Schaefer said. “It allows your players to be more relaxed and take on a similar personality.”
That conversation stuck.
“I still remember that conversation vividly,” Schaefer said. “It changed how I approached coaching ever since.”
Schaefer graduated from PLNU in 2003 with a degree in theology and philosophy. At the time, he wasn’t entirely sure what direction his life would take. He spent the summer after graduation working at Home Depot while figuring out his next steps.
Over time, those steps led him into coaching, where his approach to leadership continued to evolve.
Today, his coaching philosophy reflects something deeper than wins and losses. It’s about presence, consistency and care for his players as people first.
Moments like the one on that field—when the season ended in heartbreak—reveal what that leadership really looks like.
It’s not defined by the scoreboard.
It’s defined by how you show up when everything is on the line and how you respond when it doesn’t go your way.
