Kevin O'Sullivan (baseball)

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Kevin Michael O'Sullivan (born December 27, 1968) is an American college baseball coach and former player. O'Sullivan is the current head coach of the Florida Gators baseball team of the University of Florida. O'Sullivan is best known for leading the Gators to the program's first College World Series national championship win in 2017. O'Sullivan also led the program to three consecutive appearances in the College World Series from 2010 to 2012 and four consecutive appearances from 2015 to 2018. He became the winningest coach in program history in 2021, surpassing Dave Fuller's 1975 record of 557 wins.[1]

Early years

O'Sullivan was born December 27, 1968, in Goshen, New York.[2] O'Sullivan attended Jupiter High School in Jupiter, Florida, and played high school baseball for the Jupiter Warriors. As a senior in 1987, he batted .438 with 17 RBIs[3] and was an honorable-mention selection to the Florida Sportswriter's Association's Class 3A all-state team.[4] As a junior, O'Sullivan was a starter on the Jensen Beach Post 126 team that won the 1986 American Legion World Series in Rapid City, South Dakota.[5]

College career

O'Sullivan was a catcher during his college playing career.[2] He played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Florida Community College in Jacksonville, Florida, where he batted .325 with 35 RBIs as a sophomore[6] to help lead the Stars to the 1989 state tournament.[2] After his sophomore year, he transferred to the Virginia Cavaliers baseball team, where as a junior he batted .327 with 29 RBIs and a team-high 14 doubles and was an All-Atlantic Coast Conference selection.[7] As a senior, he was an All-ACC selection and was named to the 1991 Atlantic Coast Conference baseball tournament All-Tournament Team.[2]

O'Sullivan graduated from Florida Community College with an associate's degree in 1989, and earned a bachelor's degree in sports medicine in 1991 from the University of Virginia.[2] He later earned a master's degree in exercise science and wellness from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida.[2]

Coaching career

After his collegiate career, O'Sullivan spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Florida Community College and another two at Florida Atlantic University before being hired as an assistant coach at Virginia in 1996.[8] While serving as an assistant at FAU, O'Sullivan coached American Legion Post 271 in Jupiter, Florida, to the semifinals of the 1994 state tournament.[9] In 1997, O'Sullivan managed the Bourne Braves, a collegiate summer baseball team in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named coach of the year.[10] His Bourne team featured future major leaguer Mark Mulder. In 1998, O'Sullivan was named an assistant coach at Clemson University.[11]

O'Sullivan accepted the baseball head coaching position at the University of Florida offered by athletics director Jeremy Foley on June 13, 2007, replacing Pat McMahon after the Gators failed to receive an NCAA tournament bid in either 2006 or 2007.[12] Florida is O'Sullivan's first head coaching job; he is the twenty-first head coach in the history of the Gators baseball program.[12] He spent the previous nine seasons as an assistant coach for the Clemson Tigers baseball team of Clemson University under head coach Jack Leggett, first as the Tigers' pitching coach and recruiting coordinator, and later as Leggett's associate head coach.[12][13] During his tenure at Clemson, twenty-nine of the pitchers he coached were selected in the MLB Draft.[12]

In each of his four seasons coaching the Gators, O'Sullivan's teams have improved their overall win–loss record and Southeastern Conference (SEC) standing.[14] In 2008, his first season as the Gators' skipper, the team finished 34–24 overall, 17–13 in SEC play, in second place in the SEC Eastern Division standings and third in the overall SEC standings.[14] In 2009, the Gators compiled an overall record of 42–22, 19–11 in the SEC, in first place in the SEC East.[14] O'Sullivan's 2010 Gators finished with an overall win–loss record of 47–17, 22–8 in SEC play, and SEC regular season champions.[14] In each of his first three seasons, his Gators also showed post-season improvement, too: early elimination in the NCAA Regional in 2008; progressing to the NCAA Super Regional in 2009; and a berth in the College World Series in 2010.[14]

In 2011, the Gators finished the regular season 41–15 overall, 22–8 in the SEC, and SEC regular season co-champions—sharing the regular season conference championship with the South Carolina Gamecocks and Vanderbilt Commodores.[15] After winning the SEC tournament, O'Sullivan's Gators received the No. 2 seed in the 2011 NCAA tournament,[16] and advanced to their second consecutive College World Series,[17] ultimately finishing as the national runner-up.[18]

O'Sullivan has also enjoyed recruiting success: his 2009 recruiting class was ranked No. 1 in the country by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Baseball America.[19] It was the first time in Gators baseball history that a recruiting class was ranked No. 1.[20]

Through O'Sullivan's first four regular seasons as the Gators' head coach, his Gators teams compiled the best conference win–loss record of 80–40 (.667), just ahead of the South Carolina Gamecocks (75–45) and the Vanderbilt Commodores (65–51).[13]

Minor League coaching

In 1998, O'Sullivan served as an assistant coach for the Gulf Coast Twins (34-26), a Rookie League affiliate in Fort Myers, Florida.[21]

Personal

While coaching at Clemson, O'Sullivan married Victoria Diane Vought, a pediatric nurse and Florida State University graduate, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.[22] O'Sullivan has one daughter, Payton, born in December 2010, and son, Finn, born in September 2012.[2][13]

Head coaching record

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See also

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Notes

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References

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  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g GatorZone.com, Baseball Coaching & Support Staff, Kevin O'Sullivan Template:Webarchive. Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  12. ↑ a b c d Brandon Zimmerman, "UF Selects Baseball Coach Template:Webarchive," Gainesville Sun (June 13, 2007). Retrieved September 23, 2009.
  13. ↑ a b c Pat Dooley, "O'Sullivan's travels led him to UF," The Gainesville Sun (June 3, 2011). Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  14. ↑ a b c d e 2011 Florida Gators Baseball Media Supplement Template:Webarchive, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 109 & 112 (2011). Retrieved June 4, 2011.
  15. ↑ Robbie Andreu, "Florida baseball claims share of SEC title with blowout Template:Webarchive," The Gainesville Sun (May 21, 2011). Retrieved May 24, 2011.
  16. ↑ "Florida draws Miami, Jacksonville and Manhattan in Gainesville Template:Webarchive," The Gainesville Sun (May 31, 2011). Retrieved May 31, 2011.
  17. ↑ Kevin Brockway, "Gators make it back to Omaha with comeback win over Bulldogs Template:Webarchive," The Gainesville Sun (June 12, 2011). Retrieved June 12, 2011.
  18. ↑ Pat Dooley, "Gators' season ends with sweep by Gamecocks in title series Template:Webarchive," The Gainesville Sun (June 28, 2011). Retrieved July 14, 2011.
  19. ↑ "Florida Baseball Recruiting Class Ranked No. 1," GatorZone.com (September 17, 2009). Retrieved September 24, 2009.
  20. ↑ "Baseball America Names UF Recruiting Class No. 1," GatorZone.com (October 20, 2009). Retrieved October 20, 2009.
  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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