O’Connor Named ABCA Atlantic Region Coach of Year

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – After leading his team to the 2009 ACC Championship as well as the program’s first appearance at the NCAA College World Series, Virginia baseball head coach Brian O’Connor has been named the American Baseball Coaches Association Atlantic Region Coach of the Year, as voted on by the region’s coaches.

This marks the second time O’Connor has been honored as the ABCA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year. He also earned the distinction in 2004 following his first season at the helm of the Cavalier program.

The honor is yet another this year for O’Connor, who also was named the National Coach of the Year by the National College Baseball Writers Association during the College World Series.

Virginia posted a 49-15-1 record this year, setting a school record for victories. After an impressive regular season, the Cavaliers rattled off wins against Clemson, North Carolina, Duke and Florida State to win the ACC Baseball Championship as the No. 6 seed. 



UVa earned its sixth-consecutive NCAA tournament bid under O’Connor, who then led the Cavaliers across the country to compete as the No. 2 seed at the NCAA Irvine Regional. There, they defeated San Diego State and host and No. 6 national seed UC Irvine twice to advance to the first NCAA Super Regional in school history. 



UVa won two of three games in the NCAA Oxford Super Regional against Mississippi to earn a trip to the College World Series, where the Cavaliers made their first-ever appearance with a loss to eventual national champion LSU, a victory over Cal State Fullerton and a 12-inning defeat to Arkansas.

The Cavaliers led the ACC in batting (.327), ERA (3.23) and stolen bases (119), becoming just the second team in league history to lead the conference in all three categories since Maryland did so in 1954 – the first year of existence for the ACC.


O’Connor has posted a 265-104-1 career record at Virginia. In six seasons as the Cavaliers’ skipper, he has led Virginia to NCAA tournament berths each year with five 40-win seasons during that time.