Brian O'Connor (baseball coach)

College coach infobox


Name = Brian O'Connor
Sport = Baseball
College = University of Virginia
Title = Head Coach
Awards = 2004 ACC Coach of the Year
2004 Atlantic Region Coach of the Year
2006 College Baseball Foundation Coach of the Year
CurrentRecord = 132-50 (.725), 53-29 ACC (3 seasons)
DateOfBirth = April 21, 1971
Birthplace = Omaha, Nebraska

Brian O'Connor is the head coach of the University of Virginia baseball team. Previously serving as an Associate Head Coach at Notre Dame, he was hired on July 8, 2003 to replace the retiring Dennis Womack (who moved on to assistant athletic director of facilities management and operations). In his first four years at the helm, O'Connor has taken the Virginia baseball team to four consecutive NCAA baseball tournaments compiling an overall record of 177-66 (.728).

Playing career

Creighton

O'Connor graduated from Creighton University in 1993 where as a pitcher he posted a career record of 20-13 with seven saves and a 3.78 ERA. He was an integral cog in Creighton's 1991 College World Series team.

Phillies

O'Connor was selected in the 29th round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. He posted a 4-2 record with a 4.03 earned run average for the Martinsville Phillies of the Appalachian Class A League in 1993.

Coaching

Creighton University

After his brief stint with the Phillies organization, O'Connor rejoined his college team as their pitching coach from 1993 to 1995.

University of Notre Dame

At Notre Dame under head coach Paul Mainieri, O'Connor served as an assistant coach for the Fighting Irish from 1995-2001 before being promoted to associate head coach in 2001. He was named the 2001 National Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Baseball America, and was also named the AFLAC National Assistant Coach of the Year in 2003. O'Connor worked with the Fighting Irish's pitchers and also served as the program's recruiting coordinator.

University of Virginia

2004

O'Connor was named the head baseball coach at Virginia on July 8, 2003. In his first season as head coach, he guided UVa to one of the most successful seasons ever in the history of the baseball program. He led the Cavaliers to a 44-15 overall record and an 18-6 mark in the ACC. The 18 wins were the most ever by a Cavalier team in league play at the time. For the first time in school history, Virginia hosted an NCAA Regional in its own backyard when Davenport Field at the UVa Baseball Stadium played host to the Charlottesville Regional. It was Virginia's fourth NCAA appearance in school history. O'Connor directed the Cavaliers to a second place finish in the league in 2004. Virginia swept five three-game series over conference foes for the first time ever, including a three-game sweep over ACC-favorite Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia., for the first time in school history. The Cavaliers also swept Clemson in three games for the first time in 32 years (since 1972).

2005

O'Connor followed up the 2004 season by going 41-20 overall and 14-14 in the ACC in 2005. As the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament, he led the Cavaliers to the championship knocking off three ranked opponents along the way including two wins over No. 12 Clemson and a win over No. 18 NC State. During the 2005 season, Virginia posted nine wins over ranked opponents including a three-game sweep of No. 4 Georgia Tech in Charlottesville, which was his second straight sweep of the Yellow Jackets during the regular season. The Cavaliers led the ACC in team ERA (2.74) for the second straight year.

2006

The Cavaliers topped the old school record for wins by winning 47 games on their way to a 47-15 mark. UVa also topped its record for conference wins going 21-9 in a tough ACC finishing third overall and just one game behind divisional champion, North Carolina. Virginia hosted the second NCAA Charlottesville Regional in 2006. Four players were named All-ACC led by Doolittle, who was the ACC Player of the Year. The end result was the best regular season finish ever at Virginia by turning in a mark of 45-11 overall. The Cavaliers set a school record for best winning percentage in a single season (.758), ranked third nationally in team ERA (3.04) and 19th nationally in batting average (.322).

2007

Virginia went 19-9 in the ACC and 45-16 overall before losing to eventual national champions Oregon State in the NCAA regional at Davenport Field. The Cavaliers led the league in ERA for the fourth consecutive year at 2.81. Jacob Thompson has a league-best 1.50 ERA and was a consensus first-team All-American, while Sean Doolittle was a second-team All-American. Virginia had a number of impressive road wins, including wins over #1 North Carolina and their first-ever series win at Clemson.

Personal

O'Connor was born on April 21, 1971 in Omaha, Nebraska. He graduated high school in 1989 from Saint Albert H.S. in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He married the former Cindy Petratis of Council Bluffs, Iowa. The couple has two daughters, Ellie and Maggie, and a son, Dillon.

See also

* Virginia Cavaliers
* Virginia Cavaliers baseball
* Notre Dame Fighting Irish
* Creighton University

External links

* [http://www.virginiasports.com Official Virginia Athletics Site]