O'Connor Named ABCA Atlantic Region Coach of Year

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor has been named the American Baseball Coaches Association’s Atlantic Region Coach of the Year, as announced Wednesday (July 6) by the ABCA. The 39 coaches from the Atlantic Region voted on the award.

O’Connor earned ABCA Atlantic Region Coach of the Year honors for the second time in three seasons; he also was the coaches’ pick in 2009. He was named ACC Coach of the Year this season for the third time (2004, 2010, 2011).

Virginia finished the season with a school-record 56 wins while racking up a 56-12 record, including a 22-8 mark in ACC play. UVa won nine of its 10 ACC series during the regular season, including four sweeps. The Cavaliers captured the ACC Coastal Division championship for the second straight year, then won four straight games to claim the ACC Baseball Championship.

Virginia earned the No. 1 national seed in the NCAA tournament. UVa won its third straight NCAA regional title with wins against Navy, St. John’s and East Carolina before downing UC Irvine in a thrilling NCAA super regional to earn a berth in the program’s second College World Series, where the Cavaliers reached the semifinals before falling to eventual national champion South Carolina.

Virginia set seven individual and six team single-season school records this season. In addition to breaking the school wins record, UVa also set records for team winning percentage (.824), fielding percentage (.978), shutouts (16), innings pitched (612.0) and strikeouts (664).

A program-record four Cavaliers were named All-Americans, while seven Virginia players were named to the All-ACC team, which tied a school record.

Virginia also set a program attendance record by averaging 3,298 fans per game. This total ranked 19th nationally. Over 38 dates, UVa drew 125,355 spectators – 14th most in the country.