NEWARK, Del. — Troy O’Neal, a former University of Delaware baseball standout who spent his first season on the UD staff as a volunteer assistant in 2016, has been promoted to a full-time position as pitching coach, UD head coach Jim Sherman announced Thursday.
O’Neal, who worked with the Blue Hen catchers and as a hitting coach this past season, replaces Brian Walker, who stepped down this summer after four seasons to take a position with a local business.
“We are really excited to make Troy our full-time pitching coach,” said Sherman, who recently completed his 16th season as head coach of his alma mater. “He adds a wealth of knowledge and will be an outstanding recruiter. His background in handling pitchers in college and professional baseball is well-respected. Troy already has tremendous respect within the pitching staff and the kids are really excited to have him on board full-time.”
During the 2016 season, Delaware posted a record of 32-22 and finished seventh in the Colonial Athletic Association standings, just missing a spot in the CAA Tournament. The Blue Hens ranked No. 2 in the league in team batting with a .296 batting average and finished No. 6 in pitching with a team earned run average of 5.55.
A native of Wilmington, Del., O’Neal was a standout catcher for the Blue Hens in 1992-95 under Hall of Fame head coach Bob Hannah and led UD to a four-year mark of 156-62 (.715), including a 63-25 (.716) in North Atlantic Conference action. He led teams to NAC titles in 1992, 1994, and 1995 and to NCAA Tournament appearances in 1992 and 1995. He was a co-captain – along with current UD associate head coach Dan Hammer – for the 1995 team that went 45-14 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
O’Neal, who earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Delaware in 1996, was a four-year standout who appeared in 151 games with 116 starts and batted .321 with 93 runs batted in, 30 doubles, and nine home runs. He also set a school record by being hit by pitch 33 times and had 10 game-winning hits over his final two seasons. An outstanding defensive player, he had a .973 career fielding pct. and helped the Blue Hen pitching staff lead the NCAA in team earned run average in 1994 and rank No. 2 in 1995.
He hit .348 overall as a junior and .304 as a senior when he earned second team All-North Atlantic Conference honors and earned the team’s Perry Burkett Triple Effort Award for dedication and inspiration.
He signed a free agent contract with the Milwaukee Brewers following the 1995 season and played four seasons in the minor leagues with the Brewers and the Arizona Diamondbacks organizations, moving up as high as the AAA level.
O’Neal has served as director and owner of the Bullybats Baseball Academy since 2008 and has managed a staff of 12-24 high school coaches and instructors who have provided individual coaching instruction to over 1,000 aspiring local athletes, helping place several with college programs. He previously served as a realtor with Re/Max of Wilmington in 1999-2008, has been active with local Little Leagues, and served as varsity basketball coach for Hodgson Vo-Tech High School in 2011-14.
He and his wife, Monica, reside in Hockessin, Del. with their son, Logan, and daughters, Chase and Bailey.
