Virginia Kevin McMullan named Assistant Coach of the Year

2.2K

FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia associate head coach Kevin McMullan has earned the 2009 ABCA/Baseball America Assistant Coach of the Year Award, the ABCA and Baseball America have announced. McMullan helped Virginia win an ACC Championship and reach the College World Series last season.

McMullan will be presented his award at an honors luncheon at the national coaches’ convention in Dallas on Jan. 9, 2010.

"Thank you to the ABCA and Baseball America for choosing me as the recipient of the 2009 National Assistant Coach of the Year," McMullan said. "I believe any time individual awards come a person’s way, it is more about the program they are involved with than about the individual person. This award is about the players and coaches in our program more so than about me. I am very thankful to the players and coaches who have played and coached at The University of Virginia for the sacrifices they have made to make our program amongst the best in college baseball."

McMullan is starting his seventh season at Virginia and has been a member of head coach Brian O’Connor’s staff since O’Connor was hired prior to the 2004 season. McMullan serves as Virginia’s recruiting coordinator and hitting coach and works defensively with the Cavaliers’ infielders and catchers.

"Kevin is very deserving of this award because of his ability as a recruiter and evaluator of talent, combined with his ability to develop position players at the college level," O’Connor said. "As our recruiting coordinator, Kevin has continued to bring in outstanding players who are the right fit for The University of Virginia.

"One of the most important reasons for our continued success at UVa has been the loyalty and commitment of our assistant coaches. Kevin has been 100 percent dedicated to the players in our program for the last six years. His everyday interaction with our players and assistance in their development is what separates Kevin from other coaches. He is completely committed to helping our players reach their potential."

The Cavaliers went 49-15-1 last season and played in the College World Series for the first time in program history. As a team, Virginia hit .327 and had a .972 fielding percentage last season – each total ranks as the third-best mark in UVa history.

The Cavaliers exploded offensively in 2009, leading the ACC in batting (.327) and setting six offensive team records, including hits (767), runs (507), doubles (138), triples (28), RBI (486) and at bats (2343). UVa had a school-record five players earn first-team All-ACC honors, while utility Danny Hultzen and outfielder Jarrett Parker each gleaned All-America laurels. Hultzen also was named the ACC Freshman of the Year, while Parker set the Virginia single-season records in runs (75), hits (94) and total bases (176) and tied the record for triples (7).

In his six years at Virginia, McMullan has helped guide Virginia to 265 wins – by far the most wins ever at Virginia over a six-year period and an average of 44 wins per season. Virginia also has earned six-consecutive NCAA tournament appearances as well as three No. 1 seeds. The NCAA appearances culminated in the Cavaliers’ first-ever appearance in the College World Series in 2009.

Thirteen of his Virginia position players have been selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, including Ryan Zimmerman (Washington Nationals), Mark Reynolds (Arizona Diamondbacks) and Joe Koshansky (Colorado Rockies) – all of whom have already made their MLB debuts.

Zimmerman took just two months to jump to the major leagues and was selected as a National League All-Star in 2009, becoming the first former Cavalier to appear in the MLB All-Star Game. Reynolds and Koshansky each made their big league debuts in 2007.

McMullan has been instrumental in landing the most highly-touted recruiting classes to sign with Virginia. The 2004 class was ranked 12th nationally, while the 2005 class rated 10th, the 2006 group eighth, the 2007 class 13th, the 2008 group 14th and the 2009 class ninth.

Defensively, the Cavaliers have shined under McMullan. Five of the six teams have ranked among the nation’s top 40 in fielding percentage, with a program-record .975 mark (seventh nationally) in 2005.