Karl Nonemaker, a former Auburn assistant and All-SEC outfielder at Vanderbilt, was named an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Tigers' baseball program in the fall of 2017 and recently completed his sixth season back on The Plains. He was promoted from assistant coach to associate head coach in July 2023.
Nonemaker spent the previous six seasons as an assistant and recruiting coordinator at Old Dominion University. He was on Auburn's staff from 2005-07, helping the program to a NCAA Regional final in 2005.
During his time on the Plains, Nonemaker has assembled five top-15 recruiting classes, highlighted by the No. 6 class for 2022, and has helped mentor 11 All-SEC honorees, four All-Americans, and three Freshman All-Americans. He was named the 2022 American Baseball Coaches Association Division I Assistant Coach of the Year, becoming the first assistant coach at Auburn to earn the distinction.
Along with his recruiting efforts, Nonemaker's main on-field duty includes working with the Auburn infielders, a group that has highlighted the team's collective .977 fielding percentage in his six seasons on the Plains. Prior to the 2018 season, the Tigers turned in a fielding percentage higher than .971 on just two occasions. Since Nonemaker's arrival, the team has hit that makr in every season and has turned in five of the top seven fielding percentages in program history.
Eleven Auburn infielders have been drafted with Nonemaker on staff, including four in the top five rounds. In the seven years prior to Nonemaker's arrival, seven infielders were drafted and none went in the top five rounds. Following the 2023 season, Cole Foster (3rd round) and Bryson Ware (8th round) became the program's first pair of infield teammates to be selected in the top 10 rounds.
Nonemaker also assists Gabe Gross with the Auburn offense, which has turned in four of the best seasons in nearly a decade and has played an instrumental role in leading the Tigers to the College World Series in two of the last four postseasons, super regionals in three of the last five, and regionals in four of the last five, including back-to-back regional host site bids for the first time in program history in 2022-23.
With Foster as the lone holdover on the infield from 2022 to 2023, Nonemaker again re-hauled the unit that led the team to a .978 fielding percentage primarily led by newcomers Cooper McMurray at first and Caden Green at second along with Foster at short and Ware returning to the infield at third. Foster and Ware led the way with a collective .343 average to go along with 24 doubles, 37 homers and 112 RBI.
Similar to the 2023 season, Auburn had to replace six everyday position players in 2022, but the team's .981 fielding percentage in 2022 was the 10th best in the country and was led by a quartet of infielders in Blake Rambusch, Brody Moore, Cole Foster and Sonny DiChiara, who turned in a .980 fielding percentage in 1,035 chances. All three draft-eligible starting infielders were selected in the top 17 rounds.
Despite moving to a new position, Rambusch went on to be named to the SEC All-Defensive Team, becoming the first Auburn player to earn the recognition since 2018, while DiChiara became the third SEC Player of the Year and sixth consensus All-American in program history.
In 2021, he helped mentor an Auburn defense that led the SEC and ranked third in the country with 53 double plays, 42 of which came on the ground. Headlining Auburn's stellar infield in 2021 was junior shortstop Ryan Bliss, who went on to be drafted 42nd overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks and became the fifth highest position player drafted in program history.
Following the 2021 season, Nonemaker was tabbed by Baseball America among select assistant coaches most likely to become successful head coaches.
Nonemaker's career includes two years playing professionally in the Philadelphia Phillies organization and 11 years coaching at three universities; Old Dominion (2012-17), Monmouth (2010-11) and Auburn. He also spent two years (2008-09) working for Louisville Slugger.
A four-year starter at Vanderbilt from 1999-02, Nonemaker was a freshman All-American in 1999 and first-team All-SEC outfielder in 2000. His .415 batting average as a freshman in 1999 is the 15th best single-season average in SEC history (min. 200 AB) and ninth-best mark in the conference in the last 20 years (min. 200 AB). Nonemaker ranks second in career batting average (.369) and hits (283) for the Commodores.
ODU was 162-124 during his six years, winning 30+ games four times and making an appearance in a NCAA Regional in 2014. During his time at ODU, he was responsible for coaching the hitters, base runners, and outfielders.
In 2017, Nonemaker helped the Monarchs to a 37-21 record, including a 19-11 mark in Conference USA, the best conference win total in the program's four years in C-USA. The program cracked the national polls for the first time in 10 years in 2017.
This season Nonemaker helped tutor three freshman All-Americans and C-USA Newcomer of the Year in infielder Jared Young. He also helped coach shortstop Zach Rutherford, the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year and 2016 Cape Cod League MVP.
In 2014, ODU's first in Conference USA, the program advanced to its first NCAA Regional appearance in 14 seasons.
Eight players, all in the last four years, were taken in the MLB Draft during Nonemaker's tenure at ODU, leading up to this year's draft. Among those drafted include LHP Ryan Yarbrough in the fourth round of the 2014 draft by Tampa Bay and P.J. Higgins, a 12th round pick of the Chicago Cubs in 2015. Higgins is rated the top defensive catcher in the Cubs' organization.
Prior to Old Dominion, Nonemaker served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Monmouth University for two years. In 2011, Monmouth won the NEC regular season title, winning every league series. Nonemaker tutored NEC Player of the Year, and Louisville Slugger/TPX Third Team All-American second baseman Ryan Terry, who was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays.
A 20th-round draft choice of Philadelphia in 2002, Nonemaker went on to be a member of the Phillies Gulf Coast Championship team in 2002, and in 2003, split the year between the Lakewood Blue Claws (Single-A) and the Reading Phillies (Double-A).
A native of Roxbury, N.J., Nonemaker was a four-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection, graduating from Vanderbilt with a degree in Human and Organizational Development in 2002. He and his wife Katie have three daughters, Ellie, Ainsley and Mae.