On Tuesday, Lindenwood baseball head coach PJ Finigan announced the addition of Chandler Purcell to his staff as an assistant coach.

Expressing his enthusiasm about the hire, Finigan stated that "We are thrilled to be adding Chandler to our staff and to welcome he and his wife, Olivia, to the family at Lindenwood. Chandler's long history of offensive success as both a player and a coach, along with his ties to the St. Louis area, made this a home run hire. Chandler is the exact type of person that we were looking for in this interview process and I cannot wait to see his impact on and off the field."

Purcell comes to Lindenwood after spending last season on the staff at Saint Leo University as the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach. During his lone season on the Lions' staff, Purcell coached two All-conference hitters.

Prior to his time at Saint Leo, Purcell was the recruiting coordinator at Quincy University for five seasons. With the Hawks, he worked primarily with the hitters, outfielders, and infielders over the course of his tenure. His teams at Quincy compiled a 151-83 record, a conference championship, three regional appearances, and two super regional appearances. He went on to coach 16 All-Conference award winners, the 2023 Midwest Region Player of the Year / GLVC Player of the Year – Luke Napleton, the 2024 GLVC Freshman Player of the Year – David Broughton, 10 All-Region Award winners, and four All-Americans. 

From 2021-2024 the Hawks hit a combined .317 as a team with 423 doubles, 368 home runs, and averaged 8.2 runs per game in that span. In the 2023 season, he helped the Hawks to a program record of 47-11, where he led one of the most explosive offenses in the country that led the nation in numerous statistical categories while setting a handful of program records along the way, including new marks for runs scored (529), runs per game (9.1), slugging percentage (.610), on base plus slugging percentage (1.037), and home runs (131) which also lead the nation and tied the All-Time D-II record for home runs in a season.  

Purcell played all four years at Quincy University from 2016-2019. As a mainstay in the lineup during his playing days, he was a part of four straight regional appearances, two conference titles, a regional championship, and a D-II World Series appearance in 2017. Purcell compiled a career .307 average with 163 hits, 23 doubles, 16 home runs, and 90 RBI. The left-handed hitter also proved to be tough to strike out. Purcell posted a career strikeout percentage of just 10 percent over his four-year career and was a First Team All-GLVC Selection in 2018.  

Speaking on Purcell, Quincy head baseball coach Matt Schissel stated that "Chandler was a big part of the success at QU over the past decade – as both a player and a coach. He brings energy and experience to the field every day and will hit the ground running this fall. Chandler has coached and recruited some very successful student athletes and knows what it takes to win baseball games. He is well connected in the St. Louis area and the entire Midwest, and his impact will be felt immediately at Lindenwood."

According to Quincy Athletic Director Josh Rabe, "Lindenwood is getting a winner, plain and simple. Chandler Purcell was a winner as a player in high school, for us in college at Quincy University, and as a coach for us. Chandler is going to do great things for Lindenwood baseball, and I look forward to watching him leave an impact on current and future student athletes at Lindenwood."

Purcell is a native of Waterloo, Ill. and earned his Bachelor's degree in sports management and obtained his Masters degree in educational leadership from Quincy University.