By Catherine Laroche
University of Louisville baseball head coach Dan McDonnell accomplished more in his first season than some coaches achieve in their entire career.
McDonnell was the first rookie head coach to lead his team to the College World Series in 27 years. He coached the Cardinals to a school-record 47 wins last season, which included their first trip ever to the CWS, and was named National Coach of the Year by Rivals.com.
However, McDonnell is not one to brag about his achievements.
“The award should really be ‘Program of the Year’, because there was a lot done to this program before I got here,” McDonnell said. “The stadium, commitment, how much work our assistants do, and the players are the ones who actually play and do it. It’s nice that they give me the honor, but it should really be ‘Program of the Year’.”
Although McDonnell would rather the recognition go to the program, the team believes that he was deserving of the award.
“I think he’s great,” senior pitcher B.J. Rosenberg said. “He’s very positive and a great motivator. He gets the team fired up and ready to go every day. He keeps us all positive and going.”
McDonnell said he believes the trip to Omaha for the CWS has helped both the baseball program and U of L due to the national recognition, adding he was especially impressed with the positive response from the community.
Although the growth of the baseball team has certainly progressed quickly, McDonnell said he’s grown as a coach as well.
“I feel like I learned a lot from the group we had last year,” McDonnell said. “We had All-Americans on and off the field. They were just a talented group. I learned a lot from them and I’m confident that they’ll be successful in whatever they do. I was able to take a lot from the group last year.”
Many people may think McDonnell feels pressure to do even more than last season, but he said he’s not pressured at all. In fact, he said he doesn’t feel any more pressure this year than he did last year. Due to his competitiveness, McDonnell said that he’s the only one putting pressure on himself.
“I hope for the program’s sake that you want to keep it going in the right direction,” McDonnell said. “We’re not going to die every year as to going to Omaha. Though, without a doubt it’ll be on our wish list, but it won’t be something that we’ll solely count on. We’ll worry more about playing well, improving and competing in the Big East Championships. We’ve got to keep the goals very realistic and attainable.”
The team has noticed McDonnell’s will to sustain from pressure.
“[The best thing about him is] his mannerism and how he handles himself,” sophomore pitcher Justin Marks said. “You never see him really upset, even after the games. He’s always a positive guy.”
McDonnell doesn’t have much to be mad about when it comes to the Cardinals. At the beginning of last season, the Cards weren’t ranked. But this season, it’s a different story. U of L is ranked No. 22 by Rivals.com and No. 23 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers and Collegiate Baseball polls. They’ve also been picked to win the Big East conference.
“If you’re going to be one of the top 25 teams in the country, then you have to get used to that,” McDonnell said. “Honestly, I want to be picked preseason No. 1 in the country. When you’re picked preseason No. 1 in the country it shows that you’ve done some really special things, not over one year but over a period of time, like five years.”
Students can expect to see plenty from this preseason-ranked team when it comes to pitching. Big East Pitcher of the Year, senior Zack Pitts, will be returning; as will as last season’s Big East Freshman of the Year Justin Marks. Rosenberg will be expected to do big things after redshirting last season as are senior Jimmy Belanger and junior Gavin Logsdon.
“We have five guys with a lot of experience on the mound,” McDonnell said. “So, we’re excited about that. Offensively, we lost seven of our nine hitters. [Sophomore third baseman Chris] Dominguez and [senior catcher Derrick] Alfonso are our only returning everyday starters in our line-up. But I still think we’re going to be very offensive this year.”
The team will kick off their season against Cleveland State University Friday in a three-game series at Jim Patterson Stadium. The first game will start at 2 p.m.
