View source for Keith LeClair

{{Short description|American athlete and baseball coach}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Keith LeClair
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| contract = 
| birth_date = 
| birth_place = 
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| alma_mater = 
| coach_years1 = 1992–1997
| coach_team1 = [[Western Carolina]]
| coach_years2 = 1998–2002
| coach_team2 = [[East Carolina]]
| overall_record = 440–231–3
| bowl_record = 
| tournament_record = 
| championships = 1992 Southern Conference regular season and tournament championships<br> three Colonial Athletic Association championships <br> one Conference USA title
| awards = 1988 MVP of the Southern Conference Tournament<br>1992, '94 and '97 SoCon Coach of the Year<br>1999 and 2001 East Region Coach-of-the-Year
| coaching_records = 
}}

'''Keith Aaron LeClair''' (February 26, 1966 – July 16, 2006)<ref>{{cite web
 |url= http://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14965459 |title=Keith A. LeClair (1966-2006) |last= Reed |first= Elizabeth |date= |website= Find A Grave |publisher= |access-date= June 7, 2019 |quote= }}</ref> was an American athlete and later head baseball coach at [[Western Carolina University]] (Player, 1985–88 and Coach 1992–97).  During his playing days, LeClair played for former [[Clemson University|Clemson]] head baseball coach [[Jack Leggett]] at Western Carolina. He was an All-Southern Conference selection in 1988 while earning SoCon Tournament MVP honors the same season. The former walk-on established Catamount baseball records for hits and total bases in a season. LeClair played on four consecutive [[Southern Conference]] championship Baseball teams (1985–88).  He ranked in the top 10 in six different WCU hitting categories while posting a career .375 batting average and was named MVP of the 1988 Southern Conference Tournament (batted .600/12 RBI).

LeClair signed with the [[Atlanta Braves]] after completing his collegiate career and spent the summer of 1988 as an outfielder for Idaho Falls in the Pioneer League. After a spring training stint with the [[San Francisco Giants]] in 1989, he was offered a student assistant coaching position at Western Carolina, which led to full-time responsibilities shortly thereafter.

He became Western Carolina's head coach in 1992 and coached the Catamounts to three [[Southern Conference]] tournament titles and three Southern Conference regular season titles. LeClair was a three time Southern Conference Coach of the Year with a career record at WCU of 228–135–2.

LeClair became the head baseball coach at [[East Carolina University]] in 1997,<ref>[https://ecupirates.com/sports/2017/11/17/keith-leclair-classic.aspx East Carolina Official Athletic Site]</ref> coaching there until he was forced to step down by illness in 2002.  LeClair became the second-winningest baseball coach in East Carolina history in just five seasons, compiling a 212–96–1 (.688) record.  He guided the Pirates to four straight NCAA Regional appearances, three Colonial Athletic Association championships and one Conference USA title. He won the American Baseball Coaches Association's East Region Coach-of-the-Year award in both 1999 and 2001.

He was inducted into both the East Carolina University and [[Western_Carolina_Catamounts#Hall_of_Fame | Western Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame]] in the fall of 2002.<ref>[https://ecupirates.com/honors/ecu-athletics-hall-of-fame/keith-leclair/82 ECU Athletics Hall of Fame]</ref><ref>[https://catamountsports.com/honors/western-carolina-athletics-hall-of-fame/keith-leclair/61 Western Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame ]</ref> LeClair was honored as the first recipient of the [[Conference USA]] Student-Athlete Advisory Committee's (SAAC) Coaches Choice Award. In addition, the Conference USA Baseball Coach-of-the-Year Award was named in honor of LeClair. [[Clark-LeClair Stadium]] opened on the campus of East Carolina University on March 4, 2005 and was named in honor of Coach LeClair and ECU alumnus Bill Clark.<ref>[https://ecupirates.com/facilities/lewis-field-at-clark-leclair-stadium/3 Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium]</ref> The Keith LeClair Classic has been played annually at East Carolina since 2004.<ref>[https://ecupirates.com/sports/2017/11/17/leclair-classic-all-time-results.aspx Keith LeClair Classic All-Time Results]</ref>

LeClair battled amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly referred to as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease, for five years until his death on July 17, 2006.<ref>[https://bonesville.net/Articles/KeithLeClair/022704_LeClair.htm From The Dugout with Coach Keith LeClair]</ref><ref>[https://news.ecu.edu/2006/07/17/keith-leclair-former-ecu-baseball-coach-dies-after-extended-illness/ Keith LeClair, Former ECU Baseball Coach, Dies After Extended Illness]</ref>

''Coaching Third: The Keith LeClair Story'' by Bethany Bradsher was published in 2010 (Whitecaps Media, {{ISBN|978-0-9826353-0-8}}).

==Head coaching record==
The following is a table of Keith LeClair's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.<ref name="2019recordbook">{{cite web | title=2019 Catamount Baseball Record Book | url=http://www.catamountsports.com//attachments1/files/12100/637851.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=12100 | work=2019 Catamount Baseball Record Book | publisher=Western Carolina University | accessdate=June 6, 2019}}</ref><ref name="2019factbook">{{cite web | title=2019 ECU Baseball Fact Book | url=http://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/ecupirates.com/documents/2019/2/14/2019BBCFB.pdf | work=2019 ECU Baseball Fact Book | publisher=East Carolina University Department of Intercollegiate Athletics | accessdate=June 6, 2019 | archive-date=September 6, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906170206/https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/ecupirates.com/documents/2019/2/14/2019BBCFB.pdf | url-status=dead }}</ref>

{{CBB yearly record start|type=coach}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[Western Carolina Catamounts]]
 | conference= [[Southern Conference]]
 | startyear = 1992
 | endyear   = 1997
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = confboth
| season       = [[1992 NCAA Division I baseball season|1992]]
| name         = [[Western Carolina Catamounts|Western Carolina]]
| overall      = 44–21–1
| conference   = 17–4
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason   = [[1992 NCAA Division I baseball tournament|NCAA Regional]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = conference tournament
| season       = [[1993 NCAA Division I baseball season|1993]]
| name         = Western Carolina
| overall      = 34–28
| conference   = 15–6
| confstanding = 2nd
| postseason   = [[1993 NCAA Division I baseball tournament|NCAA Regional]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = conference
| season       = [[1994 NCAA Division I baseball season|1994]]
| name         = Western Carolina
| overall      = 44–18
| conference   = 19–4
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason   = [[1994 NCAA Division I baseball tournament|NCAA Regional]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[1995 NCAA Division I baseball season|1995]]
| name         = Western Carolina
| overall      = 32–24
| conference   = 13–11
| confstanding = 3rd
| postseason   =
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship =
| season       = [[1996 NCAA Division I baseball season|1996]]
| name         = Western Carolina
| overall      = 32–24–1
| conference   = 17–7
| confstanding = 2nd
| postseason   =
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = confboth
| season       = [[1997 NCAA Division I baseball season|1997]]
| name         = Western Carolina
| overall      = 42–20
| conference   = 18–6
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason   = [[1997 NCAA Division I baseball tournament|NCAA Regional]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record subtotal
| name       = Western Carolina
| confrecord = 99–38
| overall    = 228–135–2
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[East Carolina Pirates]]
 | conference= [[Colonial Athletic Association]]
 | startyear = 1998
 | endyear   = 2001
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = 
 | season       = [[1998 NCAA Division I baseball season|1998]] 
 | name         = [[East Carolina Pirates baseball|East Carolina]]
 | overall      = 30–29
 | conference   = 10–11
 | confstanding = Tie–4th
 | postseason  = 
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference tournament
 | season       = [[1999 NCAA Division I baseball season|1999]] 
 | name         = East Carolina
 | overall      = 46–16
 | conference   = 14–6
 | confstanding = 2nd
 | postseason  = [[1999 NCAA Division I baseball tournament|NCAA Regional]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = confboth
 | season       = [[2000 NCAA Division I baseball season|2000]] 
 | name         = East Carolina
 | overall      = 46–18
 | conference   = 14–7
 | confstanding = Tie–1st
 | postseason  = [[2000 NCAA Division I baseball tournament|NCAA Regional]]
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = confboth
 | season       = [[2001 NCAA Division I baseball season|2001]] 
 | name         = East Carolina
 | overall      = 47–13
 | conference   = 19–2
 | confstanding = 1st
 | postseason  = [[2001 NCAA Division I baseball tournament|NCAA Super Regional]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record subtotal
| name       = East Carolina
| confrecord = 57–26
| overall    = 169–76
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
 | name      = [[East Carolina Pirates]]
 | conference= [[Conference USA]]
 | startyear = 2002
 | endyear   = single
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
 | championship = conference tournament
 | season       = [[2002 NCAA Division I baseball season|2002]] 
 | name         = East Carolina
 | overall      = 43–20–1
 | conference   = 16–13–1
 | confstanding = 6th
 | postseason  = [[2002 NCAA Division I baseball tournament|NCAA Regional]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record subtotal
| name       = East Carolina
| confrecord = 16–13–1
| overall    = 43–20-1
}}
{{CBB yearly record end
| overall = 440–231–3
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ecupirates.com/sports/m-basebl/ecu-m-basebl-body.html ECU Baseball official site]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110208025526/http://www.coachingthird.com/ Coaching Third]
*[http://www.whitecapsmedia.com/ Coaching Third: The Keith LeClair Story]

{{Western Carolina Catamounts baseball coach navbox}}
{{East Carolina Pirates baseball coach navbox}}
{{Southern Conference Baseball Coach of the Year navbox}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:LeClair, Keith}}
[[Category:East Carolina Pirates baseball coaches]]
[[Category:Western Carolina University alumni]]
[[Category:Western Carolina Catamounts baseball coaches]]
[[Category:2006 deaths]]
[[Category:1966 births]]