Oberacker to be inducted into TTU Sports Hall of Fame Friday night
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Along with teammate and 2020 TTU Sports Hall of Fame inductee A.J. Kirby-Jones, Chad Oberacker was a key cog in the beginning stages of the most dominant era of Golden Eagle baseball, dominating at the plate and contributing on the mound from 2008-11.
By TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Along with teammate and 2020 TTU Sports Hall of Fame inductee A.J. Kirby-Jones, Chad Oberacker was a key cog in the beginning stages of the most dominant era of Golden Eagle baseball, dominating at the plate and contributing on the mound from 2008-11.
In four seasons, the Erie, Pa. native established himself among the all-time greats to don the purple and gold, guiding the Golden Eagles to the 2009 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament title and an OVC regular-season crown in 2010. Playing 179 games with 166 starts, Oberacker set eight program records and littered his name among the Golden Eagle record books throughout his career.
He is one of five inductees into the 47th class of the Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame. After forgoing last year's induction ceremony due to the ongoing factors surrounding COVID-19, the Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame returns in 2021 and will hold its 46th and 47th inductions during Homecoming weekend, Nov. 12-13. In addition to the Class of 2020 being recognized, the Class of 2021 will also be honored and officially inducted, with Oberacker, Frank Harrell (men's basketball head coach/administration, 1980-present), Morris Irby (baseball, 1968-71), Leah Meffert Turner (volleyball, 2007-10), and Ashley Potts Williams (softball, 2004-07) all set to join last year's class, consisting of A.J. Kirby-Jones (baseball, 2008-10), Stephanie Place Buchanan (women's cross country/track & field, 2005-10), Thomas Squires (football, 1985-87), and Borja Zarco (men's tennis, 2005-08), as the newest members of the TTU Sports Hall of Fame.
An outfielder and left-handed pitcher, Oberacker delivered one of the most complete and utterly dominant single seasons in program history during the team's 2010 run to the OVC title, setting three single-season marks and finishing in the top-three in six more categories. He set three program records that still stand to this day, including hits (108 – also an OVC record), doubles (29), and multi-hit games (36). He hit a whopping .452 on the year for the fourth-best average in school history (and best since 1988) and finished in the top-three with five triples (tied for second), a .527 on-base percentage (sixth), 165 total bases (sixth now, second then), 67 runs scored (tied for ninth now, third then), and 70 RBI (10th now, third then).
With his eye-popping 2010 campaign, he became the Tech program's fifth-ever All-American earning First-Team honors from Collegiate Baseball, Second-Team accolades from the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Ping! Baseball, and a Third-Team nod from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA).
During his career, Oberacker set school records with 253 hits (fifth now), 73 multi-hit games (seventh now), and 179 games played (10th now). He also cracked the top-10 with 11 triples (tied for second), a .374 batting average (sixth and best since 1988), 49 doubles (tied for sixth now, second then), 390 total bases (sixth now, second then), 169 runs (seventh now, second then), 42 stolen bases (seventh and best since 1990), 158 RBI (eighth now, second then), a .459 on-base percentage (eighth), 97 walks (tied for ninth now, fourth then), a .577 slugging percentage (12th now, seventh then), 166 games started (12th now, second then), and 22 home runs (tied for 17th now, eighth then).
In 2011, he showed off his versatile skill set by setting two more single-season marks without a bat in his hands. He became just the third pitcher since 1982 to pitch at least 30 innings without surrendering a home run, tossing 46.1 with 47 strikeouts and a career-best 4.08 ERA in 13 total appearances and five starts. He also tied the program's fielding percentage record, becoming one of 11 players since 2000 to post a perfect 1.000 mark with at least 100 chances.
Oberacker led the Golden Eagles in stolen bases three times, one of just two Golden Eagles ever to do so, twice led Tech in batting average, hits, and triples, and led his team in doubles, home runs, runs, walks, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage once each.
Batting .325 or better three times and finishing his career with a slash line of .374/.459/.577 with 253 hits, 169 runs, 49 doubles, 11 triples, 22 runs, and 42 doubles, he also put in four years of work on the mound. He made 46 appearances and 18 starts on the hill for head coach Matt Bragga, compiling eight wins and 127 strikeouts in 125.0 innings of work.
In both 2009 and 2010, Oberacker compiled a slew of honors, including selections to the All-OVC First Team, OVC All-Tournament Team, and ABCA All-South Region Team. A standout in the classroom as well, he became the first Tech baseball player to earn both All-American honors and Academic All-District honors in the same season (2010). He went on to earn a spot on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll six times and the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll twice.
He shared Tech's Male Athlete of the Year honors with teammate A.J. Kirby-Jones in 2010 and was also named to the John Olerud Two-Way Player Award watch list. In 2011, he was honored as the baseball team's President's Award winner.
One of two players in program history to be drafted twice, Oberacker first heard his name called in the 19th round of the 2010 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals. Opting to return to Cookeville for his senior campaign, he was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 25th round of the 2011 MLB Draft.
An outfielder throughout his professional career, Oberacker played six seasons across four levels of minor league baseball, including the first five with the A's organization. During that stretch, he played three seasons with the team's Double-A affiliate Midland Rockhounds, winning the 2014 and 2015 Texas League Championships. He was named to the 2015 Texas League All-Start Team and was an organizational All-Star in both 2012 and 2015.
He completed his professional career in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, selected by the team in the Rule 5 Draft in 2015. In his six years of pro ball, Oberacker posted a .261 batting average and .332 on-base percentage in 518 games. He totaled 505 hits, 278 runs, 106 doubles, 34 triples, 29 home runs, 197 RBI, and 92 stolen bases.
Oberacker graduated from Tennessee Tech in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in EXPW/Pre-Physical Therapy. Following his professional baseball career, he attended Baylor University and earned his doctorate of physical therapy in 2019. He currently works as a physical therapist for NW Sports Physical Therapy in Gig Harbor, Wash.
The Hall of Fame Dinner will be held on Friday, Nov. 12, at 6:30 p.m. CT in the Multipurpose Room of the University Center. Tickets are available through the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office by calling 931-372-3940 or by visiting TTUSports.com. Both groups will also be recognized at the Homecoming football game on Saturday afternoon against UT Martin, which features a 1:30 p.m. CT kickoff.
